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From the Desk - 2007
December 30, 2007 Holy Family Sunday
Dear Parishioners,
Having Holy Family Sunday nestled in between Christmas and New Year’s Day is most fitting since so many families are together for the season. Our culture is in a time of make-overs and making over the family is wonderful.
Using religion to build family works. The family that prayers together stays together. The family that eats together has smarter children both in intellectual intelligence and emotional intelligence. They also are less likely to have alcohol or drug problems. Meals are intergenerational. Going to church is intergenerational.
As I witness couples coming to the church for their engagements and marriages, they are seeking something missing. Even the baptism classes are calling us back to a Christ- based family life. All families are meant to be holy. We cannot do it on our own. The spiritual neglect of past generations is taking a turn yet again to find the holy in the home. Family life, church, routines, customs, praying times, etc. all make for this primary order of society.
Meditate on the Holy Family these days while the crib is still up. Do not let it be a head trip or a romantic distraction. A stable or cave is not romantic. In today’s world it would be like giving birth in a rest area or a car—no 911 to call.
People started romanticizing about Jesus long ago. They made Him all God with some human dressings as it were. Some said he seemed to be born and seemed to die but He was God so it was easy for Him. Francis of Assisi back in the 13th century addressed this with making people see Jesus as true man. Humans are born and die. The crib and the stations of the cross were Francis’ way to bring this to our reflective hearts. The first crib was real animals and done in a barn-like stable. Meditating at our crib should take us to the real and not some romantic.
All family life is real. All families like the holy family find themselves living a script not exactly what they had envisioned in their altered moments. This Christmas season takes us to family life based in God and reconstructing from there. The best family make-over is looking at the first family—the Holy Family. From there all our blessings and challenges make sense.
A blessed season,
Fr. TomDecember 23, 2007 Artistic Moments
Dear parishioners,
Have you ever felt that the Catholic Church is a teacher of the arts? Whether we are talking our buildings, music, sculpture, paintings, etc. the church has been the curator of western civilization art. After years of dormancy, theatre was preserved and rescued by the church in the first millennium—this was the sequel to the Greek classic theatre. The reason I am reflecting on all this is because of some of the exciting happenings here at SVF.
The church building can be the space of the sacred in more than sacraments. The School of Religion brought in internationally acclaimed actor Leonardo Defilippis gracing us in Advent with the “Gift of Peace.” This was sacred theatre. Last year we had the Michigan State Choirs from Kalamazoo here in concert. The entire format was sacred. This Lent we will have a presentation of “The Seven Last Words,” performed with music and sacred texts.
SVF church is perfectly set with acoustics that makes sound wonderful. Artists from all disciplines relish our space. I would love for our space to become a haven for the sacred arts. Those I have listed above are all imports, but we are also have our own treasury—our children.
This past week we had our day school present “The Ceremony of Lessons and Carols,” an Advent celebration that churches the world over have performed during the last century. In the past, our school presented Christmas pageants in the gym. This year we upgraded into prayer in the church. In the sacred space, the holy was presented. Coming soon, our youth group. “The Vincent Project” will be presenting a 50th Anniversary production of Rod Serling’s Requiem for a Heavyweight.
Art should move us from the entertainment and recital motif to something more. Prayer, reflection, awe, questioning, peace, gut-wrenching sorrow—the arts can do it all. Historically the ecclesial arts have built the culture we know. Jesus Christ should be the center of art. He is the holy. He is the artist of artists taking us to the mystical that only good art can do.
I am excited about these artistic moments at SVF. Hopefully, something is slowly taking root, bringing our heritage into the future.
Blessings of this season. Our senses are saturated with so much these days. We celebrate Christ’s coming to the earth in flesh so as to experience humanity. The arts allow us a window into the human experience as well, and, in turn, a glimpse into the Divine. Use the many qualities of the arts of the season to deepen your Christian experience of the Lord.
Peace,
Fr. TomDecember 16, 2007 The Reason for the Season
Dear Parishioners,
Well, ‘tis the season. For some this is a high time. For many this is a season of stress, depression, demands and loneliness. Going back to my days of ministering in mental hygiene as a military chaplain, I recall so clearly the spike in patient census beginning in late November and going until spring showed herself. The culture puts many demands on us. When we are led by our faith and not the culture, this season can be more than tolerable. We can be bathed in blessings.
Let’s take it to the home and permit me to reflect a bit on Catholic parenting for the season. Grandparents should include themselves in this because over 60% of them in our USA are actively involved raising their grandchildren. My reflections are concrete suggestions for the home during these holidays. After all, we are in an age of rebuilding family and marriage in our foundations of faith. Each of my suggestions should lift our spirits or at least those of a household.
Who is Santa? The legendary Santa has a real origin: St Nicholas. In the Dutch he was Sinter Claus. Nicholas was a bishop in present day Turkey in about the 4th century. Bishops wore red—like Santa. Actually the Santa hat was a bishop’s miter. Bishop Nicholas was noted for his anonymous charity. The beneficiaries of that charity defines his litany of patronages: children, bankers, pawn brokers, sailors, perfumers, brides, unmarried women, travelers, fishermen, dock workers, brewers, poets, and prisoners. Santa was and is a saint. Children need to know that. His feast day is December 6th.
The Crèche. I would dare say that every home has a crèche of some kind. My suggestion is when putting up the crib/crèche, teach the story to the little ones. The Gospel of Luke has the Mary story with the shepherds—remember Luke writes for the poor and outcast so women and shepherds qualify. The Magi and camels are from Matthew. He writes for the Jews and has foreigners recognizing Jesus as a King.
Besides the crib at home, take some time in church to not just pray before the crib but also teach the story. Have the older children teach the younger ones. Did you know Bethlehem means “House of Bread”? To someone who has made their Communion that is a manger to feed out of!
I noticed the other day in the drug store that there were cribs for less than five dollars. The pieces were separate—not glued down. What a great way for the little ones to learn the story—if they loose a piece or break one, it is not the end of the world. Beyond the Christmas season, a Noah set tells another story. Coloring books are great for getting these bible stories down. I am finding the children know some of it but not all the details.
The Christmas calendar. Christmas begins around Halloween in the secular calendar. While even Catholics jump the gun on the holidays having Christmas activities in Advent, perhaps we can accept that and prolong the season. Too often the tree is in the trash on the day after Christmas. December 17th begins the novena of Christmas—the first coming of Jesus. It is a perfect time to put up the crib. For the next nine days a couple figures can be added with Jesus being placed on Christmas Eve as the finale. Stretch the season.
Teach the two Christmases: December 25th is the Lukan Christmas and January 6th is the Matthean Christmas. The USA calendar has moved the Epiphany to the closest Sunday. This year the 6th falls on a Sunday. Theologically the Matthew Epiphany is the greater Christmas because Jesus is recognized by all nations through the Magi.
Build your family customs in faith. At our SVF priory we use the Sunday afternoon before Christmas to put up the tree, gather for food and be together as a house. We do our exchanges of gifts in January with the Epiphany.
Our gift giving is modest. We each buy a ten dollar gift that is friar-friendly. The fun way we exchange is by drawing numbers; the gifts are opened one at a time in the numerical order. Here is where it gets playful: each person opening a gift can exchange on-the-spot with whomever had the gift before him. So, the person drawing the largest number gets the pick of everything preceding.
Use your faith in this lovely season to remember the reason for the season. Share your faith ideas with other families in building customs. Light in darkness is what it is all about. Jesus is the light in our darkest moments.
God Bless,
Fr. TomDecember 9, 2007 The Dominican Sisters
Dear parishioners,
Following you will find a letter from the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters general council regarding our Sisters Susan and Margaret. Here is some information for you that may put things into context.
The Sinsinawa Dominicans have served SVF school since 1941. Sister Susan Hahn retired full time school ministry in 1995.
When the SVF Millennium Building projects were looked at, the use of the convent space was in the discussion. The Sisters were offered residence here as long as the space could meet their needs. That agreement remains intact.
The needs of the Sisters is not determined by me but by their Prioress and council. In religious life we are visited annually by our communities to assess our spiritual, physical and total well being. That ministry has been going on constantly with our SVF Sisters here. Community life of prayer, sacraments, safety, care givers, the religious life social structures, etc. become more important in our aging processes. All this is what is happening at this time. Many of you do assessments of the elders in your own families so you know what I am speaking about.
Rumors are saying that I am ousting the Sisters. That is false. Any decisions come from their Prioress and council. I stated when I became pastor that the convent space is there as long as the Sinsinawa council sees it fit for the Sisters.
There are rumors that we need the space or that others are moving in. The Buildings and Grounds Committee has and does discuss the full SVF campus. The Committees job is to look at long range plans—decades down the road. That discussion is about property and not people.
Yes, I have been in conversation since 2004 with various Dominican Sisters’ communities to come and teach in our school. The Sinsinawa, Wisconsin Dominicans have said that they have no teachers for us. The Nashville, Tennessee Dominicans have declined again this year.
I am in dialogue with other communities as well. The parish convent is not part of any of these conversations. No dialogues have gotten that far. Even if I could bring Sisters back to the school, they may not want the convent. It would not be reason to ask our Sisters to leave. I would trust in the SVF parishioners to create a convent residency if that became a factor in the dialogue.
Transitions are tough on us all and the elderly more so. My prayer is that as a parish we be as supportive of the Sisters as possible. Rumors are not supportive; they are sinful. We also need to be supportive also of those in their charge. We are so grateful to the Sinsinawa Dominicans in SVF life. My personal prayer is that it would never come to end and their Community is always welcome to minister at SVF.
Please read the letter which follows from the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters Council.
God Bless,
Fr. TomDecember 2, 2007 Catholic Social Teachings:
Dear Parishioners,
How are you holding up with all the political news for our 2008 presidential election? I know, we are not supposed to talk about religion and politics, but….! To be honest, at this point I do not know if I am talking about religion and/or politics. I think that it could be talking more about personalities, ad hominum, egos, and—dare I even say it—fashion and looks.
What got me thinking about this was the other night when we had our confirmation candidates from the parish school and school of religion reflecting on their journey in faith. They were here with their sponsors. One of the parts of the Confirmation program is service. Catholics serve. SVF faith formation director, Karen Dix, gave the students the church’s social teaching principles. In this political moment, how appropriate. As I was reading them I was thinking how much most adults would appreciate reviewing them also.
One of the defining realities of the Catholic church is her principles of social teaching. I personally have heard folks say it is the reason they became Catholic or have returned to the Catholic faith. Our culture encourages us to check in on how we feel about something or what we think. It all sounds so personal and individual and it is. There are solid norms for the common good which are clear .
Both religion and spirituality are challenging realities. We come to church to feel comfortable and at peace. Yet healthy religion will also make us feel uncomfortable. In a comfort culture we will be stretched. In Assisi, Italy back in 1999 the late John Paul II convened all world religion leaders; one simple statement came forth: Entering the third millennium, the ills of the present world can only be addressed through healthy religion.
Use these principles for your Advent reflection. We talk about the seven capital sins. Maybe these seven principles can examine our social conscience to seven capital actions of virtue. They will definitely take us to the greater issues lying before us. Keep our Confimandi, their sponsors, and parents in your prayers.
Blessed Advent,
Fr. TomCatholic Social Teaching – the 7 Principles
1. Life and dignity of the human person. All life is sacred. This is the foundation of our moral vision. Respect life is the action of this principle.
2. Call to family, community and participation. People working together provides for well being of all. The common good is the norm over individual selfishness.
3. Rights and responsibilities for a healthy society. All people have a right to life and the things necessary to sustain it. Catholics have a duty to protect these rights.
4. Option for the poor and vulnerable. We are called to pay special attention to those in our world most at risk, and to do whatever possible to meet their material needs. The Biblical language of the poor and vulnerable is “the widow and the orphan.”
5. Dignity of work and the rights of workers. The church promotes the value of work, the right to join together for workers’ rights, and believes the economy should serve people.
6. Solidarity with one another unites all people in their common struggles and needs. It unites rich and poor, weak and strong.
7. Care for God’s Creation. The world is a gift and we must treasure it. We should protect and conserve resources. We are called to make ethical choices. To the Catholic, we are mandated to be respectful and responsible with the worlds resources.November 25, 2007 Parish Audit
Dear Parishioners,
This past week the procedural audit of SVF was completed. MS & Company (Michael Silver & Company) was our auditing firm assigned by the Chicago Archdiocese.
The last audit of SVF was sometime back—at least fifteen years. Audits should be done each time either a pastor, principal, or business manager are moved. With my term ending in 2010, this makes the audit fresh for the transition. Audits carry with them recommendations which will give us enough time to implement what needs to be done.
We got a really good report card. SVF has Jean Finnegan as head CFO. Her CPA credentials we found to be rare in Catholic parishes. This gave us an edge in doing everything by the books—that was a pun. Best practice of the Archdiocese which includes federal, state and banking practices, is normative to SVF. Our kudos were many: the one bank banking, the requisition forms for checks, approval procedures, QuickBooks, computer savvy, etc. The auditors said that SVF was more advanced and exceptional to most parishes in its procedures of finance. They were very complimentary of our operations. Doesn’t that sound good!?
There were no glaring or urgent recommendations. Those MS & Company gave us will be implemented as soon as possible. This means contacting various groups with the audit results; it also means some minor tweaking of our processes. Most of the recommendations made were already changed or are now being changed.
The audit closed with the SVF finance chair, Joe Ponzio, Jean Finnegan, Pat Pomykalski (Vicariate Administrative Consultant), Francesca Mazzulla, school principal, myself and the auditors bearing the good news. So just know that your moneys are in good hands and good procedures are in place and being practiced.
Blessings
Fr TomNovember 18, 2007 Parish Photo Cards
Dear Parishioners,
Have you ever heard someone say how beautiful our SVF church is? Have you yourself said it? Would you like some SVF photo cards of the church? That is just what is happening: you can purchase a packet of eight cards by next month. Sometimes a photo shows us a beauty more than we see at first glance.
Perhaps you have not done all your Christmas shopping and I can make this a suggestion for you. After the first of December our Parish Office will have SVF cards - a packet of eight different pictures of the church. These are both inside and outside photos. The cards are blank on the inside. On front of the card is the photo of the church with some parish information on the back. Below are little snippets of them in black and white. They are of course larger, in color and more clearly defined than the photo’s below.
The cost is $25.00 per packet (each packet contains eight envelopes and eight different cards.) this is a limited series. Hopefully we can do some of series with different themes: SVF Christmas, SVF school, SVF stained glass windows, SVF interior of church, SVF grounds, etc. You get the picture - pun intended. Our SVF beauty increases when we capture it like this.
Blessings,
Fr. TomNovember 11, 2007 Follow Up Communication
Dear Parishioners,
Here is a follow-up communication with several items. Hopefully it all makes some sense.
The October Count: Our annual numbers are sent into the Archdiocese. Masses were between 150 to about 400. That is about the same as 2006. SVF holds about 1000 people. Thanks for your cooperation
“Low Mass”: A “low mass” is an antiquated term referring to Mass without music. There have been requests for the Sunday 7:30 Mass to return to the “low” - music-free status. Liturgically, all Sunday Masses should be sung. For these requests we will stray from the norm beginning with the church calendar of Lent (2008). The 7:30 A.M. Mass will be a “low mass.”
Adoration Chapel: The seating has been requested to be reconfigured. Art and Environment approved and it is done. Hopefully it improves your prayer. Note more adorers are still needed.
“Fallen Angels”: Where are the three angels from in front of the rose window over the altar? Were they pitched? I do not throw out any church art. They are going to have stands made for them to free stand within the church. Nothing gets discarded—even the baptismal gates were brought back to life. The detail and artistry on these angels is impressive. The Art and Environment Committee asked for their relocation. Jose and Lupe Jimenez along with their work crew engineered this relocation. Thanks so much for the quality work!! Gracias!
Fall/Winter mailer: All SVF members should have gotten a packet. Contents: Advent/Christmas Schedule, Catholic Cemeteries Brochure, 2006-2007 parish fiscal report, and SVF hosting St. Jude Novena. If you have NOT received one by Thanksgiving, please call the office.
Thanksgiving is near. Hands down this is the holiest of the civil holidays in our USA calendar. May we all be blessed with attitudes of gratitude.
Gratefully,
Fr. TomNovember 4, 2007 Big Mac,Ten Commandments
Dear Parishioners,
The last several letters I have written were about administration, finance, and parish nuts and bolts stuff. You likely enjoy reading it as much as I like writing about it. No matter how we look at it, not-for-profits are just as much business as are profits. Utilities, maintenance, wear and tear-it all happens. I chalk it up to the effects of original sin. This letter is a reflection on the spiritual side.
This chart I am enclosing is from a survey done of today's young people. They know the ingredients of a Big Mac more than the Ten Commandments. Note the statistics.
Last week at the baptisms we had four boys; all had Joseph in their names and our Brother Joseph did a reflection. Brother encouraged the parents to be hope and teach hope to these little ones. We protect the children because they are hope. He spoke of these little boys coming into a culture glorifying celebrity, being a thug, and living outright godless lives. Pouring the water at baptism is the easy part; teaching them everything Jesus has commanded is tough stuff.
We teach our little ones their letters, their colors, their numbers, their manners, etc. At the same time they need to be learning their prayers, the ten commandments, the seven corporal works of mercy, the seven spiritual works of mercy, and six precepts of the Church. All this should be the package of growing in the Lord. Parents, Godparents, and grandparents become the heroes and models of this hope and light.
Some years back I wrote an article for the Religion Teacher Journal on "Fairy Tales and the Gospels.” My simple point was for children to be saturated in the teachings of stories of the Bible, Disney, Aesop, cultural heritages and whomever. Children love stories. Good stories change us, form us and anchor us. Stories take us into deep thought-not just two-dimensional thinking. Jesus used the story style of parables which we are still learning their depth two millennia later. As a little one goes to church over the years, they discern that only the Bible stories are read at church. All the stuff they learned about in commandments, precepts, and good works comes from the stories of the Lord. They pick up depth of wisdom, age and grace.
Our culture is one of information and gossip more than knowledge and wisdom. We are a culture more of competition than compassion. We have become a people obsessed in narcissistic righteousness over knowing and doing what is right.
The ingredients of a burger is not as important as the ingredients of the soul. Can we name the ingredients, portions and blending of the soul's recipe? Be proud for the seeds of knowledge and wisdom you plant in your family. Get those stories read and those basics taught. These little ones need heroes of hope and beatitudes with skin on them.
We are never too young to learn. Often parents procrastinate the spiritual life of their children. "oh, he's too squirmy for church, "I want them to be free to choose for themselves," "I might teach them wrong," "church isn't entertaining enough for them." In the meantime, the culture has catechized them and they want nothing to do with spiritual ingredients.
"Do you want fries with that?" "No, actually I would like it with mounds of grace. It can be salt-free because I've learned that I am the salt of the earth in a great story by the greatest story teller."
Big Mac vs. Big Ten: U.S. respondents are more likely to know the ingredients for a Big Mac than the Ten Commandments. Percent of those who recall..
Big Mac: Two all-beef patties, 80%, pickles 60%
Ten Commandments: Thou shalt not kill, 60%, Honor thy father and thy mother, 45%Blessings,
Fr. Tom
October 28, 2007 Financial Report
Dear Parishioners,
In the last issue I brought you up-to-date on the campus undertakings of this past summer. In this issue we have the annual financial report of the parish. Due to parishioners’ summer schedules, the Finance Board decided to release the report at this time. The following page should be self-explanatory.
Permit me to do a little updating of the financial processes. There has been a bit of a progression with SVF becoming more Best Practice friendly. So much so that our parish is being used as an example of how to organize financial procedures.
Over the last few years we brought the auxiliary accounts of the parish into compliance. An auxiliary account is one designated in the name of the parish but for a small organization. These groups collectively would steward hundreds of thousands of dollars. There were nearly twenty of these accounts in multiple banks. We put these all in compliance with not-for-profit status and tax exempt status. The number of these groups was updated.
Our next phase was going to “one bank banking.” Community Bank specializes in non-profit organizations. All our accounts are now electronic and computer friendly. Everything is generated through the parish office. Best Practice says that any checks over $200 must be approved by the pastor. Any non-budgeted spending over $10,000 must have dialogue with the Finance Board.
This year our parish school joined FACTS for tuition billing and collecting. Many of the area grade schools and high schools already use their services. In this first year with FACTS we did not put the fees into their system for collecting.
In the next few weeks we will have a full audit of SVF by an auditing team from the Archdiocese of Chicago. This audit will be both procedural and financial. This is a service the Archdiocese provides to parishes. I have asked for this audit. Best Practice recommends audits when pastors are changed or someone in the fiscal department is moved. SVF has not had an audit in over fifteen years. With my term ending in 2010, this will be an excellent way for us to improve our monitoring of parish moneys having clearer structural leadership for that transition.
Finally, I would like to have at least two more members serving on the SVF Parish Finance Board. The requirements should be: a SVF parishioner, a team player, and a background in business or finance. You may want to present yourself to me for this position or you may want me to ask someone you recommend to me.
I like being pastor in the spiritual realm. The CEO of a parish is another story. As we jest, “they never mentioned any of this in seminary!” Hopefully my letter during these last two weeks has helped to make the administrative and financial components of SVF a little clearer to understand. We are building structures that are bigger than one person. This is how a faith community operates, with eyes fixed on the vision of future generations. Blessings to you for all your support and understanding.
Blessings,
Fr. Tom
October 21, 2007 Administrative Happenings
Dear Parishioners,
In this letter and next week’s, I am going to try to bring you up-to-date on some administrative happenings. Earlier this summer I had an issue in the not-so-quiet summer of maintenance. This issue I will do on property; the next issue will be on finances.
Our Building and Grounds Committee is newly birthed with a huge agenda. The Committee is addressing both immediate needs and long-range vision. With our campus aging, the deferred maintenance is much. I am listing in this letter the updated chart of what has been happening:
Date
Project
Cost
Budget
Status
14-Jun-07
Church compressor replaced
$5,700.00
yes
done
13-Jul-07
Parking lot sewer drains(2 of 8)
$6,200.00
no
done
24-Jul-07
New sinks pine room
$950.00
no
done
14-Aug-07
Urinals in School
$1,625.00
no
done
13-Aug-07
Asbestos inspection 3 yr old floor
$605.00
no
done
17-Aug-07
Asbestos tile removed 3 yr old room
N/C
no
done
25-Aug-07
3 yr old program Floor
$9,654.00
no
done
7-Aug-07
New Church Thermostat/rewire-2
$1,700.00
yes
done
1-Sep-07
Asbestos removal PC boiler room
$500.00
no
done
28-Sep-07
Pine room kitchen plumbing
$9,475.00
no
done
26-Sep-07
Gym roof temp repair
$1,315.00
no
done
Aug-Sept
Parish center pipes, pump & a/c
$4,300.00
no
partial done
Sept
Gym roof
$25,000-$30,000
no
bid review
Sept
3 yr old program replace heat pipe
$3,500.00
no
pending
Sept
Boys bath repipe water supply
$1,600.00
no
done
Sept
Replace Boys Ceiling
???
no
pending
19-Oct-07
Underground cable for network
$11,000.00
yes
late Oct. start
16-Oct-07
School boiler repair
$2,000.00
no
pending
The kitchen in the dePorres Pine Room has been completed. The codes have been approved and the Health Board inspection is done. We now have a green light for all our activities there.
You can see that the lion’s share of this is in the school building. Bear in mind that this is the older portion of the campus by nearly a decade. In repair work, as you likely have experienced in your own digs, opinions on the solutions abound. We try to look at safety, longevity and cost in making our decisions.
The gym was roofed and painted the year I arrived. It began leaking as soon as we got beyond the drought of last summer. Yes, we have called in the Archdiocesan legal resources and are taking action on this. The gym is safe and usable with temporary mending. Presently we are dialoguing with structural engineers. We should be signing a contract on the permanent repair soon. After all this, I am recommending to Brother Joseph that he also study roofing, roofers, and lawsuits at our seminary in St. Louis.
Most of the above-mentioned repairs on the chart were not budgeted. These bills are being paid out of the Building & Grounds funds. This is the second collection to which you so generously contribute. Any contributions to the cost of any of the above items are most welcome. Just mention your designated item at the time of your contribution. Thank you again to those who made a donation after my summer letter.
In the future you will see an awning-like structure on the south side of the gym. This is a $10,000 solar panel grant procured by Kristin Mazek who teaches science at the school. The students will learn environmentally friendly methods on location from this project. It will reduce campus utilities.
Thanks for all your patience with these repairs. Jean Finnegan was deep into all these building headaches while closing out the fiscal year. We thank her for her hard work! Brian Maite, the present chair of Building & Grounds, along with his committee, have been most resourceful in taking on some major messy projects. We thank you, Brian and committee members! (Check the leadership page for the rest of B&G members.)
This coming week the Finance Board meets. They will release the 2005-2006 SVF financial report. Stay tuned for Part II of my letter in next week’s bulletin.
Blessings,
Fr. TomOctober 14, 2007 Parish Membership, Boundaries and Permissions
Dear Parishioners,
What constitutes membership in the parish? And what does membership mean when it comes to the sacraments? There seems to be no little confusion about this. Some explanation would be welcome. Some say I am making up rules that are not part of the Catholic Church. Maybe some of this will help:
There are two ways of being considered a parishioner. The first is based on where you live. Every parish in the Archdiocese is created with geographic boundaries which mark off its official territory. So if you are a Catholic and live within the geographic boundaries of SVF Parish, that is, north of Division, west of Harlem, south of Fullerton and east of Thatcher—these are our official boundaries—then you are automatically a member of SVF parish. Even though we don't know you, or even if you don't go to church here or anywhere, canonically you are a parishioner. Such Catholics geographically "belong" to the parish in which they are living.
The second way of being a parishioner, and the deliberate way, happens when you officially register as a member of a parish—even if you live outside our designated boundaries. This is the preferred way of belonging to a parish. By registering in writing, you show a willingness to become part of the community, to share in our life and activities and to share to the costs of our ministry through regular contributions to the church. We would hope that all our parishioners would be registered in this way, come to Mass, and contribute to the church. This is the time, talent and treasure commitment of which parish you call home.
In the past, people from outside the parish would "register" in order to get married, or have their child baptized or receive confirmation. But they would not necessarily attend Mass here or contribute themselves in any way to the church. Their registration was a technicality to get a sacrament. As a result, over the years, our parish membership roster list became bloated with names of people who chose to have nothing more to do with the parish. Recently, we removed these totally inactive and non-participating people from our parish registry. They are classified as “friends of St. Vincent Ferrer” but not registered.
What about other family members? Registered families include all their children living at home. When the children grow up and move away to college, but still consider themselves as temporarily away from home, they do remain parishioners. When they finally leave home, get their own place, and begin to live on their own, it is time for them to register as adults in the parish where they are actually living. The civil world of voting or even motor vehicle relocations is the same.
Parish membership has consequences when it comes to the sacraments. Parishioners have the right to ask for the sacraments from their pastors. Every pastor has the right and the obligation to administer the sacraments to his parishioners. The pastor may delay a sacrament for pastoral reasons. For a pastor to baptize, confirm or marry people who belong to another parish, permission in writing from the other pastor is needed. This also holds true for godparents at Baptism, sponsors at Confirmation. We ask for authentication of their suitability to perform those sacramental roles here at SVF and this takes the form of a witnessed affidavit in writing received from their respective parishes and pastors.
Every parish keeps records of Baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations and Weddings. The Baptism registry is where your permanent individual record of sacraments is kept. We ask for Baptismal Certificates when anyone prepares for First Communion, Confirmation and Marriage. If these were done at some other parish, we will notify each of them by mail of the reception of these sacraments at SVF, and they are to certify by mail that their records have been updated. It is not unusual for us to send these sacramental documents to Italy, Ireland, the Philippines, Poland, Mexico, South America, and across the country, as well as across Chicago. Everyone, even children, should know the church where they were baptized.
Of course we welcome anyone to our weekday or weekend Masses. Anyone with any history or family in the parish may come to us to ask for the sacraments. We have an obligation to serve our parishioners, but we are at liberty to choose or to delay to administer the recorded sacraments for non-parishioners. We are most generous with the criteria for having a funeral of a loved one here at SVF. We are more selective in committing ourselves because of the long process of preparing a couple for marriage.
All of this business of registration, boundaries, rights and obligations, permissions and affidavits are part of Church law as spelled out in Archdiocesan policies. If in the past not much attention was paid to parish membership, it was because of the former stability of the culture. Now in this mobile age, the church is more defined in calling of deliberate observance to the sacramental requirements which are needed. Membership in the parish needs commitment and, therefore, is not a simple technicality.
Know that the benefits of membership depend on what we make of it. The Church has her norms, but fidelity to the faith is the deepest reality. The canons are not meant as obstacles but a call to a life disciplined in the sacraments. That is what makes us Catholic—our sacraments! For Catholics, Christ is encountered in the rites and rhythms of the sacraments lived day in and day out. It is our weekly habit. Recently Pope Benedict XVI said to the youth in Europe that Sunday Mass should not be looked upon as a necessity of law but as an urgent need to become holy. Our parish is an extended family for growing in holiness.
Gratefully,
Fr. TomOctober 7, 2007 Liturgical Ministries
Dear Parishioners,
Many of you ask about how to become trained in ministry -- this is usually for EMC (extraordinary minister of communion) or lector. This is the time. Every year each parish is to make available to her assembly the options to join a ministry, change a ministry or discontinue in liturgical ministry. WELCOME to the call for 2007 liturgical ministries.
One of the ministries is the distribution of the Eucharist. This is three-fold: taking the Eucharist to the home of someone, conducting a prayer service with the Eucharist, or the most common, distributing at Mass. At present SVF is in need of many EMC’s. Fr. Michael, in pastoral care, needs many EMC’s for the homebound. At most Masses we seldom have enough EMC’s to be able to offer the Eucharist at the cross-aisle. Requirements are to be 16 years of age and confirmed.
Lectors here usually have been one per Mass at SVF. Sometimes with youth or children we use a different model. Learning to proclaim in the SVF space is a challenge because of the liveliness of the sound. Many say they cannot hear many of our proclaimers. This is a perfect ministry for youth seeking their service in liturgy.
Ushers at SVF have traditionally been for the taking up of the collection. In many parishes this is a greeter/usher ministry. The October 2006 Parish Poll/survey did request that this ministry be further developed to greeters at all doors at all Masses. Again, this could be another perfect service for youth.
Mass coordinator/sacristan is the “behind the scenes” person of gold. Working in the sacristy, this person takes care of all the set-up for the Mass. The p.a. system, the sacramentary, the lectionary, the sign-in sheets for ministers, the vessels, etc. This is literally a clipboard job that puts everything into motion. SVF has had teens handling this ministry very well.
While servers are part of the above listings, because it involves those as young as fifth grade, they get their own special workshops. These have already happened. SVF servers at present are all the way to high school seniors. There is no cut-off age on this. Anyone still desirous of participating in this ministry of serving who has missed the training, just contact me, Larry Casserly, or Courtney Murtaugh.
Please know that these ministry nights will be offered annually for both veterans and newcomers. This is a presumed on-going journey in faith development. Sometimes we get the notion we sign up for life. Been there—done that. If you cannot come and are presuming continuation in the ministry, please call the office with your desire. While being versed in more than one ministry is acceptable, practicing more than one ministry per Mass is not acceptable. To participate as lector and EMC at the same Mass is double-dipping.
Thursday, October 18th, is the LITURGY MINISTRY EVENING at 7:30 p.m. in the Cabrini Parish Center Father Phil Horrigan will be the guest speaker for ministry renewal. Fr. Horrigan is with the Chicago Office of Divine Worship. The workshop will conclude by 9 p.m. with a practicum built into it.
The Eucharist is the source and summit of who we are as Catholics. Growing in the quality of our service of the Lord is pure privilege. May God bless you in your continued generosity of the Word and altar.
Gratefully,
Fr. Tom
September 30, 2007 "...how poor we are."
Dear Parishioners,
Sometimes on my day off I go over to the motherland, Iowa, visiting family. What I want to share with you is a bulletin article from one of the small farm parishes. It says much about our times, our generations, and our values. Enjoy!One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people can be. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On the return from their trip, the father asked the son, "How was the trip?" "It was great, Dad." "Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked. "Oh, yeah" said the son. "So what did you learn from the trip? asked the father proudly.
The son answered:
I saw that we have one dog and they had four .
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.
Our patio reaches to the front yard; they have the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond sight.
We have servants who serve us. They serve each other.
We buy our food. They grow theirs.
We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them.
With this the boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are."Too many times we forget what we have and concentrate on what we don't have. Take joy in what you have and see the treasure in it.
Blessings,
Fr. TomSeptember 16, 2007 Is Genuflection Out?
Dear Parishioners,
Are any of you old enough to remember going to the theatre or movie and genuflecting before you took your seat? It is a great give-away to say we are not only Catholic but creatures of habit.
Genuflection is still in. We teach it to our little ones. I asked a young class the other day why we genuflect and one said because “God is in the box” pointing to the tabernacle. He got it right. One of the little ones genuflected perfectly but was aimed toward the back of church and not the front. When we ask why, the direction becomes obvious. As Catholics we keep the reserved presence all year except during the Triduum of Holy Week. The sanctuary lamp burns always when the sacrament is reserved.
Many enter church as if going to a sporting event or some secular gathering. They walk in sitting themselves down. While the practices of reverences are lost and even endangered they have not been changed. This can be so blatant at wedding rehearsals, weddings, and church gatherings not commonly part-practiced folks lifestyles. The church is always a place of reverence with quiet talk if necessary. The outer quiet should only foster our inner quiet.
Genuflect is translated from the Latin genu flectere which means to bend the knee—a passage straight from the scriptures. Lots of folks have knees that do not bend anymore because of replacements, aging, vertigo or whatever. Some days my knees do not allow me to genuflect because of pain. I need two replacements. A waist bow is the next option that is acceptable. Genuflection is done when entering and leaving the church. When crossing the sanctuary area we stop and bow. Remember how we are instructed to bow before receiving communion? This is the same reverence we can use.
At one of the SVF weddings there were many guests who were Muslim. I was deeply touched when they entered our church with reverence and bowed before taking their pew. Sacred space should be observed no matter where. When I have entered mosques or temples or synagogues, or another Christian space, I am aware that I am in God’s house and reverence is always welcome.
Some of our own Catholics will shout across the church, chat on cell phones, and have no reality of the space. So have the norms changed? Not at all. What has changed is our teaching the basics of our faith from the parents. Children love to learn body actions. They respond wonderfully when taught to use their bodies for God. “At the name of Jesus every knee shall bend.” When we gather in His name, our bodies respond in holy ways. Even if you feel like the lone ranger because you are genuflecting, you are doing the Catholic and right thing. You are not a relic observing an outdated practice; you are a pioneer bringing our best back to tomorrow. Genuflections are awesome because they recognize awe in our midst.
Many blessings,
Fr. TomSeptember 9, 2007 Changes in Weddings and Funerals
Dear Parishioners,
One of the questions some asked in the October “06 survey was about changes with SVF weddings and funerals. While these changes have been on the web site since July of 2004, I will try to do a bulletin-worthy answer. Lots of buzz can spin with reading parts of the web, not understanding it, or “grapevining” a variation on a theme.
A well grounded, well educated Catholic made the remark after coming from a funeral that “I think there was a Mass in there someplace.” This statement really says it all. Weddings and funerals in recent history have drifted from our Roman liturgy to the secular. The culture trends have defined our sacraments. We become a community of “congregational” Catholics integrating our what-difference-does-it-make into the rites. The national film we use for the wedding workshop from National Liturgical Press has a statement for brides and grooms in planning their wedding: “Trust the Roman Rite.” It is 2000 years of wisdom. Whether we are talking a wedding or funeral rite, the secular redaction has lost the sense of the Catholic rites. These sacraments even become competitive with what we last experienced even if it was on TV or a movie. These rites are not “mine”; they belong to the church and her ancient heritage.
The Mass of Christian Burial is for the forgiveness of sins of the deceased. It is our closure in Eucharist of placing them before God. To do this we must believe both in sin and the liturgical forgiveness of sin. Many do not practice this in life so to understand this in death would be a stretch. In this context a eulogy is a totally different statement than the Mass is intended to be. It literally changes the subject of the Mass of Christian Burial.
The majority of SVF eulogies have been over-the-top in both time and content. Some things should not be said; some things should not be said in church. You need not hear the gory details.
Cardinal George is clear in the Archdiocesan booklet In Sure and Certain Hope. (These are always available in the church literature racks.) Eulogies have their place: the wake service, the cemetery, the meal following, or written in the program. A newly growing custom is for memories shared following the wake service. Secular music and secular readings have also seeped into the Mass. Again, these have their place and can be used outside the Mass. Eucharist is to have only scripture and sacred music.
The USA weddings industry has been even a greater magnet for customs, quirks and vender’s follies. Even the clothing has become celebrity style which is not necessarily church worthy. The Roman rite is the consent and the vows! Simple as that. Even rings are optional. They would have to be since the poor would not have had access to them. Here at SVF all appropriate customs and traditions follow at the very end of the ceremony. This can include flowers to the Virgin, the lasso, the roping, coins, unity candle, etc.
Flower petals, rice, bubbles, bird seed, balloons, etc. are not allowed because of safety and also the clean-up time before the next service. Most reception halls will not allow these. The aisle runner works best on carpet. On the SVF tile this becomes a safety issue.
The SVF norms and guidelines for weddings and funerals are in their third year. There still remains a great abuse of these sacraments. Many are competitive pageants of excess for the Kodak moment. Practiced Catholics are ashamed and embarrassed by token Catholics flaunting themselves through these sacraments. Recently a practiced couple “scouting” a wedding to plan their own came up to me afterwards and said how embarrassed they were to see in church what they did. I laughed and simply said, “you think that I exaggerate; now you know it is all true.” Many unchurched people have never been taught what sacred space is. They enter the church with all the behaviors of a sporting event—from their clothing choices, to gum chewing, talking on cell phones, yelling across the church, etc. It hurts the church-going people seeing the Lord’s house so abused. When they’ve left, it feels like we need to re-dedicate the church.
The basic changes made here at SVF are in uniformity with the Roman rites. Too often we apologize for our sacraments, making them fit into other traditions or even the movies. We even use them as “carrots” to bring “children” back to the church. Exploiting our sacraments is not the way to people who have already left to re-activate their spiritual lives. In the end it is not about what we like or don’t like. It is about our heritage and tradition and faith. Once we compromise on that to fit the culture or to please the disgruntled, we will not even recognize who we are or know our own identity in the sacraments of Jesus Christ.
More on this is on the parish web site. Many USA places have adopted our SVF customs; even a newly formed parish outside Melbourne, Australia asked for our copyright. (The web is public domain so it was theirs for the taking.)
We will use the bulletin for more of the questions of the survey. There were 14 recommendations in the survey—many from vocal minorities. All will be addressed with in the structures of the parish. Dialogue is always good.
Blessings,
Fr. Tom
September 2, 2007 SVF Priory 2007-2008
Often I am asked who lives in our priory—note I did not say “rectory” because that is a diocesan term. The Dominicans have three priories in the Chicago area: the “mother house,” St. Pius V Priory at 1909 S. Ashland, our SVF Priory and St. Thomas Aquinas Priory located at Dominican University’s campus on Division at Harlem. You well know we are a revolving-door order; that could be the secular term for itinerant preacher. Below are the friars in residence for the 2007-08 year. Fr Michael Kyte is the prior and I am the sub-prior.
Fr. Al Judy, O.P. serves SVF as a parochial vicar and functions as a “go-to” man for all things technological. He has been here since 2002. “Dr.” Judy holds his degree in medieval studies from Toronto. He has worked on the Leonine Commission of the works of Thomas Aquinas.
Fr. Michael Kyte, O.P., serves at SVF as parochial vicar. He arrived here in 2004. Prior to SVF, Fr. Michael served for 12 years as Novice Master. He was a Chicago Southside pastor at St Basil before it merged with Visitation.
Fr. Robert Antoninus Kilbridge, O.P., served at SVF as associate pastor from 1958 to 1963. He returned here in 1998 and is a supply priest as he approaches his 9th decade. The majority of Fr. Kilbridge’s ministry was in our places of Africa.
Fr. Kevin O’Rourke, O.P., accomplished theologian and medical ethicist, teaches at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. He lectures world-wide in medical/bio ethics. Fr. Kevin works on the Catholic identity of hospitals. He also supplies sometimes at our neighbor parish, St Luke.
Fr. Kevin Fane, O.P., serves as a chaplain at Resurrection Hospital. He came to our priory in 2000. Fr. Fane was on the SVF staff several years back and has a parish background.
Fr. Vincent Zarlenga, O.P., is the house elder having moved here in 1971. He fosters the development of religious art and artists and often concelebrates at Sunday Mass.
Fr. Peter Hereley, O.P., preaches on behalf of the poor at parishes across the country. The organization he works with is called the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging. Visit www.cfcausa.org.
Fr. Jack O’Malley, O.P., has lived at the priory here since 1987. Like Fr. Peter, Fr. Jack also travels to solicit aid for the poor. He works with Cross International Catholic Outreach. Visit www.crosscatholic.org
Fr. Michael Garcia, O.P. is in his second year at SVF priory. He ministers as a counselor to children at MacNeal School. This is a specialized secular school for the young with special needs. Fr Garcia is a licensed therapist and often concelebrates Mass.
Fr. Brian Walker, O.P., is in his second year at SVF priory. For 12 years he was pastor of St. Basil/Visitation Parish on Garfield at Halsted. (This is where I was based before SVF.) Fr. Brian is active in the itinerant preaching ministry. Visit http://web.mac.com/lupeop/Brians_Site/My_Life.html
Brother Joseph Minuth, O.P. is a clerical brother of the Order of Preachers of the Province of St. Albert the Great. He has completed his novitiate in Denver, Colorado and two years of theology at Aquinas Institute in St. Louis, Missouri. He is in the same program as Timothy Combs, O.P. was in the 2006-07 academic year under the supervision of Fr. Tom Noesen. After the completion of this internship, he will continue his pursuit of a Masters of Divinity and ordination to the priesthood.
Though from very different parts of the world, southern Mexico and Latvia in northeastern Europe, Br. Joseph's grandfathers fought communist governments and struggled to enter the United States. His maternal grandfather from Mexico succeeded in coming to the U.S. The Latvian government prevented his paternal grandfather from emigrating.Br. Joseph's father, John, entered the United States at the age of 17. During his medical residency in Houston, Texas, he met Ana Maria, a law student. The two would eventually marry and have two children: John, now an electrical engineer in Salt Lake City, and Michael, now Br. Joseph.
A native of California, Br. Joseph grew up in the border town of El Paso, Texas. He attended a Christian Brothers high school and competed nationally in fencing. After high school, he attended St. Edward's University in Austin, TX with one year of study abroad in Koblenz, Germany. Upon graduation, he worked in Hannover, Germany at the World Expo. He also worked for his uncle's campaign for the US House of Representatives in California. Other work included business product sales for Cisco Systems and Microsoft partners.
His call to pursue the priesthood came at an early age. As young boys, Br. Joseph and his brother would regularly bring up the offertory at mass. After presenting the gifts on a particular Sunday, one in which he had been misbehaving the priest grabbed him by the shoulder before he could return to his seat and whispered in his ear, "You would make a great priest some day." Br. Joseph, relieved that he was not in trouble, was unable to get those words out of his head.
Eventually, Br. Joseph began to visit religious orders. Due to a devotion to the rosary, he came across a Dominican website. He sent in a prayer request and was happy to see a quick and kind response from a friar. After some correspondence with this friar, he decided to attend a Dominican "Come and See" retreat. He fell in love with the enthusiasm and camaraderie of the community and their mission to teach and preach the Word of God.I came as administrator in February of 2004 while a pastor search was done following Fr. Botthof’s early exit because of health. Within 60 days Cardinal George appointed me pastor “effective immediately.” My term ends in 2010. My prior ministry was 12 years of itinerant preaching in the USA and Australia.
Do you remember Fr. Ed Ruane? Fr. Ed preceded our present provincial and now has been moved to second in command of the Order next to the Master General in Rome....So we are 12 friars—a motley crew not unlike some former followings of Christ by the same number. Yes, the house is very full—only one guest room. It is a special blessing that the Dominicans are able to provide four priests to serve the parish, whereas the Archdiocese would only be able to provide one. Please pray for our ministries in all these directions of the holy preaching.August 26, 2007 ARE CATHOLICS CHRISTIANS?
Dear Parishioners,
A great feud broke out a few years back when I was ministering in Minneapolis. Our confirmation students (age 16 for that Archdiocese) were being told by classmates in the public schools that Catholics are not Christians. Needless to say the kids had many questions when they came to class. So are Catholics Christians? They wrestled with this for quite a while coming to the conclusion that we Catholics are Christians. After they got it, I told them that not only are we Christians, but the original recipe. Not until the 15th century does the breakage within the Catholic body come to happen beginning with our own priest and doctor, Martin Luther. …by the way, Luther never became a Lutheran.
This story I shared came to mind this last week sitting with the new school board. The Chicago Archdiocese is taking on the challenge of Catholic identity in our schools with the GENESIS program. This is a global prototype. Fr. Andrew Greeley says the future of Catholicism will depend on the quality of our Catholic schools.
Catholic schools were founded by orders of religious men and women. They also had the quality control built in because the orders visited their institutions and checked out the teachers, the curriculum, the style of the system, etc. Beginning about forty years ago when the faculties merged religious with laity in the schools, this quality control was lost. Our Catholic identity became diluted. This was not because laity were the problem; it was because the quality control of faith no longer existed.
Today Catholic identity is basically generic “Christian.” The interpretation of “well, we’re all going to the same place,” “what difference does it make?”; and a pseudo notion of ecumenism has become systemic to the Catholic identity. Look at the way we have made our Catholic sacraments fit the generic Christian image as opposed to our own sacraments. Our schools have become private schools and not Catholic schools. When I was first ordained in the ‘70s, the weddings and funerals were done inside the Catholic church buildings but they were not Catholic in the true sense. We waived the rites and anything went. Secular music, readings not from the scripture, poetry, etc. We lost our Catholic identity. We apologized for being Catholic.
What excites me about this GENESIS that Chicago is daring to do under Cardinal George is to return us to the quality control of our faith. Catholics are sacramental people. The Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of our lives. What are the sacraments to a kid? How do they pray? Do our children know church behavior and customs? How can they learn it? What about teaching the scripture stories? The catechism teachings? GENESIS has a curriculum of faith built into it.
GENESIS is about being Catholic, vital and excellent. Vital is the driving resources to make things run; excellent is the educational quality of the full person. Catholic is about faith. It is a subculture of safety to a child. It is the conscience formation of blending all the sciences with all our beliefs. It is a rebuilding of family life from the school system. It is about habits that are holy and healthy.
SVF was being watched last year as we converted all our banking and money processing into one-bank banking. We are a prototype in this computerized conversion methodology. Now SVF will be the prototype again because we have volunteered with GENESIS to move to the method of specified jurisdiction with our school board, faculty and consequently our little ones. This is all geared to quality control of our faith in everyday family life. Pray for the transition. We did not get here overnight so it will be a struggle back. Rally in rebuilding Catholic systems that are really Catholic.
Blessings,
Fr. TomAugust 19, 2007 PARISH LEADERSHIP
Dear Parishioners,
On August 2nd the Finance Board met. This is the meeting that follows the closing of the budget with the fiscal year ending on the 30th of June. In the fall, when more folks are back in the school year swing, all the money numbers of last year will be posted in the bulletin.
Present at the meeting were parish CPA, CFO Jean Finnegan. Board members present were Bob Gale, Jerry Trakszelis, and Brian Maite (liaisons from the Buildings and Grounds Planning Committee). Newly invited board member Michael Kelly was present. Anthony Kolovitz, Gabriele Romanucci, and Bob Sassetti were absent. The principal, Frances Mazzulla, is ex officio part of the finance board. New members invited into the next meeting are Joseph Ponzio and Rich Neri.
There have been three resignations on the Finance Board. Lud Streck, Nancy Burke, and Dan Finnegan. These members served well over a decade each. Remember that there are neither terms nor elections for the Finance Board. I wish to thank this trio for their outstanding financial leadership. They have steered SVF through many tough decisions. Please add your gratitude to mine when you connect with these fine stewards.
Of all the parish ministries, the Finance Board is the one that is canonically required. This is the highest of the parish advisory positions in the Roman Catholic parish structure. The Board is recommended to be about eight members. Beyond that number, there are ex officio members from the School Board of Specialized Jurisdiction, Building and Grounds Planning Committee, and Development Committee (formerly known as the Marketing Committee.) Meetings are quarterly. Sub-committees’ work would be in addition to the four scheduled. The sub-committees of Finance are annual budgeting, investments, offertory collection campaign, annual Archdiocesan appeal, estate planning, fund raising, and capital improvement. The best practice policy of the Archdiocese requires the Finance Board to be aware of all spending beyond $10,000.
To qualify for service in the ministry of this board, the applicant would need to be a SVF parish member. His/her faith life would need to be paramount in his/her decision making. Helpful skills of the secular domain would be budgeting, cost controls and assessments, business experience, fund raising, brokerage, investments, etc. While degrees are not necessary, an MBA or CPA or the like are most welcome. There are no terms to this board. This board is never filled with elections but rather invitation by the pastor.
Think about yourself or someone else in the parish whom may be called to serve in this ministry. Call me with your information.
This past Thursday the Parish Council convened with both new membership and election of officers. Deacon Jerry Trakszelis filled in for me because I was in Iowa burying my cousin (had just buried her spouse in February). All meeting proceedings were appropriately done according to the norms; Deacon Jerry is very good at that.
Continuing members of the council are: Ruth Skinner, Marty Christensen, Ai-Xuan Holterman, Nancy Morelli, and Veronica Zemgulys. Jerry Trakszelis is also continuing. Not mentioned here are the liaison members from the Finance Board and School Council and the Developing Committee (formerly know as the Marketing Committee) as well as from the Building and Grounds Planning Committee.
New members are Mark Gannon, Richard Cooke and Carmelina Mazzulla. There exist two open vacancies on the Council. If you feel God nudging you, give me a call. Meetings are held monthly on the second Thursday. Officers for the coming year are president, Joshua Quail, vice-president, Jonathan Zivojnovic, and secretary Pat Wallenberg.
Blessings and prayers to these leaders. Support them with your kind words and works. Give them input on how to make our parish a holier place. In the future, I want to get pictures of all the leaders in the advisory positions. Once we get to the parish summit meeting, we should be able to get all that done.
Blessings,
Fr. TomAugust 5, 2007 Should Children Go To Funerals ?
Dear Parishioners,
Some of you have asked this question of children at funerals. In my childhood it seemed like wake services were our social life. Granted that is an exaggeration; in the eyes of a child perception can become reality.
My general answer is all children should experience death in a safe and holy way. They need good guardians to get them through this. If adults handle death in a good and spiritual manner, then children of all ages will do likewise. No child is too young to take to a funeral. Do not turn the wake or the funeral into a fight scene that they must go. Try to find out their fears or problems with going. Often their imaginations have created an amplified situation.
At the request of a family I took four siblings to a wake service—privately—for their grandfather. They ranged from 8 down to 2. The eldest looked at me and said “he’s dead, isn’t he?” My response was one word—yes. I gave no explanation. Next he asked if he could touch the body. I said touch his hands. At this point another brother said he did not want to touch the body. That was fine. The little five-year-old asked to pick flowers. She went through the sprays of flowers as though in a garden, creating a little bouquet for grandpa. The two-year-old was along for the ride. Each was in his/her own mode of grief—good grief.
Private time: take children to a wake when no one else is around. Let them ask questions. Be careful to not offer too many answers to questions they are not asking. Children will ask if the body is cold. What have they done to the body? Who all has to die? Children understand death more than we do as adults. A sevenyear–old child knows life has death—the seed in the styrofoam cup that died, the fondly loved pet, the relative. In our culture a sixteen-year-old youth has observed over 8,000 deaths. Granted these are simulated in the movies, animations, TV stories, etc., death is still a reality even when simulated or even distorted.
Stay with healthy theology: death is the passage to eternal life. Be careful of trite statements. “They are just sleeping.” Do not be surprised when a child does not want to go to bed or has bad dreams.
My favorites on this is “only the good die young” and “God picked the best rose to take to Himself.” When I was about ten my seven-year-old cousin died. I heard these comments over and over. My unspoken inner question was why am I still alive? Even then I could tell that the old fogies in the room had just put themselves down by still being alive. I could not put this into words, but I knew it was not right. Death is a mystery and needs to be respected as such. Keep death real and let God be good.
No matter our ages we all handle grief differently. Some want to be quiet; others need lots of engaging with family and friends. Often children will express their grief in some art form—even like the little bouquet I mentioned above. We do children a disservice if we shield them from death. They need to be able to cry, and speak, and share their little hearts that are breaking.
Our culture is death denying. I am always amused when I see yards made into graveyards for Halloween with the skeletons and all. My first assumption is whether these children know healthy and holy death in their lives. Do they go to funerals and wakes and cemeteries?
Take children to wakes and to funerals. Let them be with you in your grief. It is a teachable moment just by their presence with you. We witness our faith on location at such moments. Peace, even in your grief.
Blessings,
Fr. TomJuly 29, 2007 Quiet Summer?
Dear Parishioners,
Many of you kindly ask if the summer is a quiet one. In parish work there is an ebb and flow of seasons with lots of unpredictable interruptions. The norm of the summer is the wedding season plus the fiscal closing for the July 1st new season. These all have their own pace and absorption of time. The many surprises are all maintenance on the SVF campus.
Over a year ago you may remember our roofing work and later painting of the gym. You can see the water damage inside the gym from an inadequate job. We are in the process of rectifying that legally. The botched roofing has the gym ceiling now falling down. …and you thought church was exempt from all those headaches.
The other non-budgeted property items are absorbing much energy, time, and money. The pine room kitchen is undergoing improvements required in order to continue the school hot lunch program ($4850.00). This estimate is plumbing only, not including dry walling and floor replacement. Two of the boys’ restrooms—one over the other—have leaking plumbing. Even the ceiling has collapsed and will need replacement. ($11,500.) All the storm sewers on the campus are of the era when they were built of brick. Brick erodes in time. Eventually all will need replacement but two were done this last week. One on the east parking lot and the other on the playground. The new replacements are cast cement ($3,100 per replacement). In the one classroom we need to replace a broken pipe that has caused the entire floor to buckle; once the pipe is fixed the floor will need to be replaced (estimates are still in process.) After having said this, I feel like one of those commercials that should end by saying “priceless.”
The newly formed building and grounds committee is on top of all this. They are trying to prioritize these various deferred needs of the campus. It will take over a year to just assess the campus needs where it will be put together for you.
So where does this money come from when not budgeted? The lion’s share will be out of the building and grounds monies. This is the second collection you give the most to consistently. Bless you for that generosity to your parish. Remember the $150,000 boiler a couple of years back? The Buildings and Grounds fund rescued this. If any of you feel inclined to make a designated donation to any of the above projects, please know that it would be pure blessing.
Getting everything done while the little ones are away is a time crunch. In weeks they will be back. Repairing can be worst than building because you never know what surprises lie ahead. Pray for all to go well.
So is it a boring summer? There is no boredom in this pastor ministry. We have lots of great folks working hard in lots of projects. Thanks for asking. Hopefully, this is a little more information to keep you abreast of the parish pulse. May your summer be pleasant and your projects simple and inexpensive.
Blessings,
Fr. TomJuly 22, 2007 NCBC follow-up
Dear Parishioners,
Many of you recall last week we announced the National Catholic Biblical Conference in our back yard at Dominican University. Hopefully some you were able to go to some part. Quite a privilege to have such a gathering so near.
Friday night I got to Jeff Cavins’ presentation. He is the "revert." This is not a convert to Catholicism but one raised, left and returned. Jeff became a minister in some denomination only to find what he left looking for was back in the Catholic church he left. Hmm! ! !
His talk which I heard was on "the best worst-case scenario of the bible." The worst-case scenario is going to war and wondering where God is. That is the story of the bible—how do we battle the enemy? Where is God when we battle? The real enemy is always the evil one. Keep in mind the scenario does not change—only the enemies. Cavins used the war history of Judah being the chosen tribe leading the other tribes into war. This was the grounding of his talk.
In our worst case-scenario of battling illness, depression, disappointments, family problems, personal challenges, etc., two elements are always present biblically and especially with the tribe of Judah. Praise and thanks! Quite the weapons, don't you think? Next time you are in a fight, ask where is your praise—who do you praise? Also ask to whom do you give thanks? Not common weapons when we are all heated up.
Praise is what and where we cast all our energy. If our praise is not toward God, we praise ourselves, our power, our strength. Goliath had his power; David had praise of God's power. You recall the settlement of that battle?”
In thanks we find our identity outside ourselves. We see victory as a gift, not an entitlement.
Putting praise and thankfulness central and daily in our lives, Cavins used the Catechism and the sacrament texts to show our language and need for praise and thanks: in the Eucharist, “Jesus, when He took the bread and wine before the battle of His death,” and “it is right to give Him thanks and praise.” As Catholics we live thanks and praise in our daily battles. Listen to our language of thanks and praise. "Thanks be to God." How often in Mass we say that! ...after a reading. "Praise to you, O Lord."
Our culture thrives on debasement not praise; we feel entitled not grateful. To ground our family lives into praise and thankfulness makes us warriors of grace. Cavins used some of his family stories, being married thirty years with five children. He told one where his family creates an annual ornament based on a family event of gratitude. He said the ornaments do not go onto the tree until the story gets told by the older kids to the younger.
The Biblical message was presented well in a style akin to the TV and media evangelists. It was more academic than usually televised but easy to follow. What was crystal clear was a Catholic conference from beginning to end. Praise and thankfulness make us Catholic in our sacraments. If we are in a frump and grump, the sacraments can re-lead us to praise and thankfulness.
So I praise the conference and I am grateful it made it to our back yard. Hope you got a sampler of it.
Blessings,
Fr. TomJuly 15, 2007 “…wutch ya talkin’ ‘bout?”
Dear Parishioners,
What do we talk about? Yes, we are talkers but the content is the issue. In our spiritual life, we can tell a lot about ourselves and others by the content of our conversations. One old guy used to tell me that he only wanted to talk about something of substance. He was crystal clear that he was not interested in talking people or things.
We basically have three channels of conversation: ideas, people and things. There is also a hierarchy—just in the order I wrote them. Not a lot of our lives get to the ideas level. Most of TV, media, commercials, etc. are talking about people and things.
Ideas When we are talking about ideas we are talking our faith and beliefs. This is the domain of values and virtues. It is what makes us tick on the deepest level. This is not the world of small talk nor is it the world we can share with everyone. Ideas imply intimacy. Theology of life will both cause ideas and come from ideas. Jesus was most succinct in this when He spoke of the beatitudes in Matthew 5. He connected this world to blessedness and happiness. Healthy ideas should animate us to lives of service and sacrifice. This is the top of the conversation pyramid. If we are talking this level, we are on the holiness quest.
People Here we even have the name of a magazine. People! Most conversations are critiques of people, information about family, updates on the neighbors, buzz on the work scene, who’s who and who’s where. We are people persons; social by nature. On the people level of the pyramid of conversation we can talk about people in depth and a holy relationship or we can toy with them for our amusement. People talk can turn them to pawns, objects, or commodities. Jesus talked about people in accord with their ideas. The woman in adultery was respected—Jesus stopped the gossip. The widow’s mite brought acclaim for virtue from Jesus’ critique. Nathanael was referred to as the true Israelite. People with great ideas shape us and call us to a higher level. Now having said all that, let me say names of spin: Paris Hilton, Hollywood hot couples of the moment, latest sports report worthy of the police blotter—you get the picture. Within the people category is the blessed and the blasphemous. We are always safe in naming the grace of people when talking in the people category.
Things Most commercials are about things, possessions, and products we are converted to believe we must have. The world of commerce is about things. We can talk about things forever. Actually it is good to be able to do small talk using things as a decoy. It is always safe to talk about the weather and food. You may cause trouble while doing it but it is not a conversation of depth. Some of the largest salaries are for people to write or speak about things. Jesus talked about things like lilies, sparrows, and clothing. He just let them be, putting very little energy into them. His theory on home furnishings was “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Things are always passing in the spiritual world. Our aging changes our relationships with things.
So, “wutch ya talkin’ ‘ bout?” Listen for the three categories of talking. You will find only your friends in the ideas realm. You will find your talking with God in the same category. God willed us and we came to be. That was an idea. Jesus says to cast into the deep. Our conversations are castings into the shallow and deep. Choose well the deep in friends, self, and prayer. Do not ever think you are without something to talk about.
Blessed conversations!
Fr. TomJuly 8, 2007 HOLY ORPHANHOOD
Dear Parishioners,
The deepest desire of the human soul is to belong. This is true in the natural order with a family and also in the spiritual order. Baptism is the ritual of these roots of belonging to God. When we are not part of a family we are orphans—or feel like an orphan in our own home or with our own kin. In the best of families and the holiest of parishes there will be times of orphanhood for all the members. This is a call to holy orphanhood.
There are some very clear times in our lives when we each experience holy orphanhood. These can be in any order-the death of our parents and moving from the home of memories. Reflect on these in your own life. Many of these you likely have already experienced. Mind you, each is a crisis of faith.
Let me share a little of my own call to holy orphanhood. Last weekend I went to Dubuque to move Mom out of her apartment. Even though this was the fourth apartment since she sold the family home some thirty years ago, it is still a stage of passing through orphanhood. You know the experience of going through boxes of old black and white photos, those child-made cards that are discolored, favorite clothing, furniture that could tell stories, etc. It all brings us to an orphanhood moment. It is a world that has past. It is a world that exists now in our hearts but not in a physical reality. How do you grieve and say thank you to a place that was a holy shelter caring for you for many years? We attach by nature. Spiritually we are called to detach. It is holy orphanhood—feeling alone or without our usual groundings.
Losing parents to death is obvious orphanhood. We can lose them by moving away, by a relationship becoming stressed, or even as they lose their acuity. We then become occupants of a new space—dare I say, an undesired space. It again is holy orphanhood.
Relationships with siblings become either better or worse after the passing of a parent. These family relationships never stay the same. The second parent dying makes this felt all the stronger. When mom and dad are gone, we are entering into holy orphanhood.
So what makes our orphanhood transitions holy? Simply answered it would be in our brother, Jesus. He says He will not leave us orphans. That does not mean we will not feel like orphans. That does not mean that we will not grieve all that has shaped us. Whether our story is step-parents, or foster parents, or birth parents, there are good-byes in our lives. These are necessary losses, passages of the soul.
The natural passages of our lives will definitely unfold: parents who loved us and tried to love us will pass; houses and apartments that shaped indelible memories within us are closed. Attaching to God gives us the belonging we need. Jesus had many holy orphan moments: for example, in the temple at twelve referring to His heavenly Father while his earthly father listened in bewilderment. Giving John to Mary was truly a restructuring of family even from the cross. Jesus always tells us our home is away from earth. We are always at some milestone for an option of holy orphanhood in our lives. Life will invite us to see what and to whom we are attached and detaching from. It will lead us to the transitions making us holy. Jesus has the little space to nestle into finding us our new home—a place only He can prepare.
All this happens in the soul quietly and peacefully but only in prayer and reflection. Who would ever think even orphanhood can be holy? With God all things are possible.
Blessings,
Fr. TomJune 24, 2007 Transitions
Dear Parishioners,
This past week there were some major transitions in SVF leadership. Four of our parish councilors finished their terms of service. They include Cathy Platt, Ed Gesualdo, Sean Toohey, and Valsa Kappil. Cathy served as president and led the parish through our 75th anniversary. The council became events planners in addition to all their regular ministries. Kudos and blessings to this quartet for a job well done. These senior councilors worked well with those members continuing to serve.
The way new members are added is by a discernment through a membership committee. You may recall Joshua Quail speaking at all the Masses about this council transition. The committee recommends to me and then I appoint.
Other transitions come from the Finance Board. Lud Streck has resigned from the board and the chairmanship because of many demands with family and business. Nancy Burke has also resigned to simplify her life. The Finance Board does not have terms like other boards. Both Lud and Nancy each have served SVF for over ten years. They have engineered many budgets and tight turns in our parish life. Many blessings to them and our deepest gratitude.
The Blaine sisters: Rosemary and Sarah, will be relocating with family. They have volunteered at least 40 hours per week in church ministries. Rosemary has been head sacristan at 11 a.m. Mass on Sunday and covering funerals plus the vigil lights, candles, sacristy inventories, etc. Sarah has done the linens to perfection— altar cloths, purificators, corporals, towels, etc. We will need a team to replace them! SVF is most grateful for their years of ministry. Keep them in prayer during their transitions.
Courtney Murtaugh is speaking at all the Masses this weekend. She is our latest transition to staff. Courtney is our liturgist. This is a part-time position. Steve Senski remains in music ministry. Previously these two staff positions were merged into one.
Our priory has had some transitions effecting the parish. Fr. Kilbridge has been limited by his health since the beginning of the calendar year. He did enjoy his 60th anniversary earlier this month. Thank you to those of you who came to celebrate with us. Fr. Michael Kyte and his family just buried their dear mother, Ruth. Thank you for the prayers and concern. Health and death make transitions constant in our lives.
A personal transition is going on with my family. I am going to Dubuque this weekend as my Mom begins to make a transition in her lifestyle. She has enjoyed apartment living for nearly 30 years since she sold our home after Dad died. Mom will be 99 in January. Maintaining an apartment for her has become a burden. My siblings are joining me in breaking down her apartment. We have a lovely place for her where her older friend—can you believe that!—already is. They will enjoy being back together.
Transitions are part of our parish, our families and our own personal lives. It is kind of like weather. Various fronts move through—some desirable, some severe, sometimes they are upgraded and sometimes downgraded. To be in transition is what life is. Philippians says that our citizenship is in heaven. Our coping through transitions is God’s grace making us holier.
Blessed transitions in your own lives,
Fr. TomJune 17. 2007 STATE OF THE PARISH REPORT ‘07
Dear Parishioners,
On Pentecost Sunday the 2007 the State of the Parish Report was published. Basically I write this for our vicariate Bishop and the Dominican Provincial plus the parish leadership. There is nothing secret so it is available on our website plus copies at the office for the asking.
As in the past three reports, I continue to focus on the need for healthy structures for functioning. SVF is historically very strong in charismatic leadership and struggles with structural leadership. Institutions with strong charismatic leadership crash when leadership changes. My term ends in 2010; structural leadership will determine a healthy and holy transition.
In the first part of the report I address the need for interior structures. Some would call this pre-Christian structures. There are four that we all need even with no faith: our call to civility; our call to respect; our call to affirmation; and our call to the common good. This is not abstract stuff. I explain each and use SVF examples as I go. These four calls make a family functional. They make any institution a haven of integrity. Moving from the pre-Christian items, I move to SVF's call to have a parish family identity. In the call to worship I address our challenges to be a sacrament people in an events world. Prayer is not show time. Modeling off the culture, we can become competitive in sacraments and concerned about the picture more than the grace. The routine of weekly Mass and daily prayer is a tough structure to create.
The call to lead takes us directly to the first SVF parish summit. These are the five advisory-to-the-pastor boards: the finance board, the parish council, the school board, the building and grounds board (new) and the marketing board (new). The report is the structure of the November '06 summit: the members, the mission, and the '07 agenda. Please bear in mind these groups normally do not know each other nor do they know what they are doing.
There is a section on a call to simplicity. We are busy and complex people. Look at our oppressive schedules. This can also be about possessions but it carries many layers of holiness.
The structure that is the call to learn is next. The report addresses adult education, the schools of religion, the day school and other opportunities of faith formation.
The call to listen looks at the results of the structure of the parish survey/opinion poll of '06. The parish council has made this a huge agenda and is trying to move forward with recommendations. Some of the preliminary findings are in the report.
The call to stewardship is a section of the report. While we can think of many euphemisms asking for money, stewardship is budgeting God first. When that is done, we need not even ask. Our SVF Increase Offertory Appeal was excellent increasing us by literally thousands per week. The novelty is waning. Other financial structures are listed in this area of the report.
There is a section on the staff transitions of ‘06-‘07. I am still interviewing for several positions. Before the summer is over, we will have two new faces at SVF in ministry.
The last two calls are pure gospel: the call to serve and the call to truth. Without these structures we tear each other apart. Without these two structures in us we are employed by the evil one. Again, these are the family building structures that build society.
The report closes with a picture of a structure of the temple of the self. We are taught to be the temples of the Holy Spirit. That structure builds from our fears, anger and shame into virtue. The temple rendering diagrams the structure of our faith lives.
The report prints out to 17 pages. Maybe you have already read it because is was released 3 weeks ago. All are welcome to read it. Parish leaders need to read it to answer their call to serve. Hopefully, Pentecost will be the fire of SVF ever present, ever new.
Blessings,
Fr. TomJune 10, 2007 Atheist Gives Millions
Dear Parishioners,
We are well into the summer. Hopefully you have plans for prayer and play. The following article is a rare press release-absolutely positive. Enjoy.
ATHEIST GIVES $22.5 MILLION TO CATHOLIC EDUCATION
NEW YORK, MAY 25, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Archdiocese of New York received a record-breaking gift of $22.5 million from self-styled atheist Robert Wilson to provide educational scholarships for inner-city children.
Wilson, a philanthropist and former Wall Street investor, gave the money to the Cardinal's Scholarship Program, started in 2005, to aid disadvantaged students. Cardinal Edward Egan, Archbishop of New York, has expressed his gratitude for the "historic and far-sighted support from Mr. Wilson for the education and future well-being of our neediest children in the Archdiocese."
Wilson, 80, told Bloomberg News, that, although an atheist, he has no problem giving money to fund Catholic schools.
"Let's face it, without the Roman Catholic Church, there would be no Western civilization," Wilson said. "Shunning religious organizations would be abhorrent." Wilson added, "It was a chance for a very modest amount of money to get kids out of a lousy school system and into a good school system."
Another anonymous donor, after learning of Wilson's gift, gave an additional $4.5 million to the program.
Dare we pray for more atheists like this!?!
Blessings,
Fr. TomJune 3, 2007 A Lot Is Happening at SVF, As Usual
Dear Parishioners,
Let me use this forum to thank Brother Timothy Combs for the residential internship he just completed in early May. Thanks also to the board that I called for his formation. Kudos on forming this man in the gospel! He has blessed SVF well. Brother Timothy will be speaking at all Masses today, June 3rd. After the 11 a.m. Mass he will be in the courtyard where refreshments will be served. Drop by to thank him.
At 3 p.m. today Fr. Robert Kilbridge and six of his classmates are celebrating their 60th anniversary with an extra scheduled Sunday Mass. You are also invited to the reception immediately following in the gym. Our beloved Fr. Kilbridge continues to mend slowly. In his physical weaknesses he is spiritually strong. This celebration is being sponsored by the Dominican Province using our SVF space. We are honored! Do the math: seven friars celebrating 60th anniversaries comes out to 420 years of gospel service. There is cause here for rejoicing!
Tomorrow the Central Province goes into the annual Assembly followed by the Chapter which convenes only every four years. The chapter is the definitive governing body of the Province. These friars determine our direction for the next four years. It is then carried out by the Provincial. This is the conclusion of Fr. Michael Mascari’s term. He is eligible for another four years if elected; two four-year terms are the maximum. Fr. Michael Kyte, as prior of the SVF priory, must attend the chapter. He could be gone for all of June while the chapter convenes. Please keep our province in prayer.
Fr. Matthew Strabala will again be with us for a week this summer. He is continuing his doctoral work at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.. You may remember Fr. Matt from the last two summers when he helped out. Again we are honored with his presence.
As we enter these summer months, enjoy them! Do not take a vacation from prayer but maybe you can even loiter with God more wherever you find yourself.
Blessings,
Fr. TomMay 27, 2007 Memorial Weekend
Dear Parishioners,
Growing up, my memories of this day was our family pilgrimage to the cemeteries. Not what I thought was a great thing to do. As a child it felt to me like we knew more family dead than alive. The table talk for weeks in advance was over the likelihood of which flowers would be worthy of the graves we were visiting—the iris, the peonies, the bridal wreath. Would God mess with the weather that we would have to buy flowers and not be able to take those from the yard? Every year we had our own fresh cuts of some kind. It was on these pilgrimages that I met my grandparents as we visited their graves. I asked more questions than a newspaper reporter, sometimes not even being quiet for the prayers we needed to say. Looking back now from adulthood, I am glad that these inconveniences to my childhood were there.
In recent history our society has made Memorial Day into remembering all the dead. Its early roots go back to the Civil War. Later wars named it Decoration Day. The Civil War story is the best because it takes us to widows going to the graves not only of their spouses but sons, brothers and friends. It is the best story because they also went to the graves of the enemy and decorated their places of rest and prayed for them. The women of war knew these stories of death only too well.
Today we are in war. Let us not only remember our many thousands who have died but the even more thousands who have died from Iraq. War leaves a wake of carnage and raw memories. As Christians our prayers are deep and constant for those who have died and are dying daily. We remember those in uniform and those who have died because of the war.
This past weekend we had families from Bethlehem at SVF with olive wood art work from the Holy Land. They were selling their wares in the back of church. I listened at length to their stories of the Mid-East and the dying, the walls being built creating two prisons—a confinement from either side. In the USA the only wars fought on our soil were the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. These Bethlehem Catholic Christians are living in the war zone, burying children caught in the cross-fires is daily. We remember all these in our prayers.
Jesus’ farewell gift was peace. Remembering World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Viet Nam, Iraq, and all the wars, we pray for the dead. We pray that their deaths may be for the betterment of life.
We pray that we may become faster learners from war and all who have died in war. This weekend is like a secular version of our Catholic All Souls and All Saints days. When we remember the dead, they never die.
Let us remember our living serving in the military who are separated with this war. While we are enjoying our families and grilling out back, we know it is not the same for everybody. We use this weekend of memory to remember our Jesus commanding us to live a way that is His in peace. May all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Blessed weekend!
Fr. Tom
May 20, 2007 Ascension Sunday
Dear Parishioners,
Here we are coming to the end of Eastertide with all the signs of risen life and spring freshness. So why our heaviness? …and I am not talking about my being overweight. Three weeks before last we had anniversaries of what we want to forget—not remember: Oklahoma City, Columbine, and then our Virginia Tech slaughter. I have not even mentioned that we are in our fourth year of a declared war. Somehow any human with a spark of holiness will have a very heavy heart.
Jesus’ first words after His slaughter was: “Peace be with you.” The Christmas story is peace on earth through good will. Even when bad will crucified God Almighty, the message remains the same. The greater the oppression the greater the need for the virtue of peace.
Remaining Christian—or even civil—in a slaughter house society is not for sissies. Sometimes we look at being Christian is some kind of a “yes” to everything. Smiling and giving into whatever people want does not make us Christian. Sometimes we think that being nice is being Christian. Being nice was not Jesus’ hallmark of memory.
As Easter people we are always peace seekers and peacemakers. This is never an option. We build peace from within. We work on thoughts of peace knowing full well that conflict will blast us from the media, our household, our employment, our spouse, whatever.
We may be going through a separation or divorce: Do we approach it with vengeance or peace in the storm? There may be that person at work who loves to pick on us—or maybe someone we pick on in the name of humor—where is the peacemaking? The neighborhood and the playground are both opportunities for peacemaking. True leaders are peacemakers.
Compassion fatigue will be our banner unless we find the out-of-the-way place Jesus talks about. Daily the peace and quiet that only is born of prayer will sustain an Easter people. Maybe it is the rosary on the way to work, a prolonged “rest room” break at work, a walk around the block, a power nap with some prayer going in and coming out of that space. For each of us it is different and it changes. What made us an Easter disciple last year could be out-dated this year.
I recall years back a lady who came to church alone. After decades her husband converted and wanted to come with her. In what would seem like a joy-filled moment, she was a mad hatter. She complained to me that she had to find a new time and space for prayer.
These are tough days and tough times. Pray! Find the Prince of Peace who is our Peacemaker. Even in your fatigue, peace be with you.
Blessings!
Fr. Tom
May 13, 2007 Sixth Sunday of Easter
Dear Parishioners,
So how is your spring fever? It is nice to have the greenery of the world visit us for these summer months. With our northern hemisphere world this fits our liturgical calendar very well. (I need to say that having lived in Australia with the flip of seasons.)
The liturgy picks this up with Isidore the farmer’s feast day on May 15th , Tuesday.
Isidore lived in the 11th century and both he and his wife, Maria Torribia de la Cabeza, are canonized saints. Their entire life was simple and poor; they had a family farm. They took care of the poor with what they grew; people were welcome to come and live and work with them. Early in their marriage they had a child who died while still a baby. Their parenting after that became all of God’s children. The feast of Isidore is the time when fields, orchards and gardens are blessed. It marks the beginning of the growing season.
The May 15th feast takes us to the end of the growing season which is August 15th. Liturgically we frame the crops from the seed to fruition. Remember that Mary’s Assumption is literally the gospel coming to the harvest time. Mary is referred to as the “first fruits of creation.” Think of all the images in the scripture of seeds planted and bearing fruit. Jesus centered many parables on these realities.
With our urban asphalt culture we go to the store—not the garden. We are city folk who are today eating food shipped from half way around the globe in winter and summer. Sometimes we are so removed from food production that we might even know what grows above ground, underground, on a tree, on a shrub, etc. I am glad they don’t quiz us at the market. Even though we are now a tech culture we still eat. Food production needs spring and summer to grow.
During this 90-day window let us pray for the farm workers, the field hands, the orchard workers, all who work that we can eat. Let us pray for our globe and a better relationship with this changing Mother Earth. “Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts” can have even more meaning in our spring fever. Easter is the earth opening to give life. We have many prayers of gratitude to lift to Our Lord.
Blessings!
Fr. TomMay 6, 2007 Fifth Sunday of Easter
Dear Parishioners,
Continuing to become strengthened spiritually in these fifty days, let's go back to the interior calling of our baptism. We are baptized to become saints; that is why we sing that litany at the baptismal rite. We believe they have risen and we want to be in their good company. Easter begins before we die. Easter begins for us with the sacrament of baptism.
Easter is meant to be an inner experience of the Risen Lord. Baptism is meant to take us into that journey. Immersed in Christ! Needless to say, baptized life does not remove the obstacles of daily living.
One of my favorite quotes to help me rise daily is from St John Vianney, the Cure of Ars. I have it printed and hanging in my room. He is the patron saint of the diocesan priesthood. Let me do some context and then the quote. John Vianney was asked to leave seminary several times. Basically, "you're a nice guy but you don't have it." Here is the quote from his writings--bear in mind this is not about ordained priesthood:
"One kneels in the consciousness of his own nothingness and rises a priest forever.”
The nothingness is the empty tomb but he found something deeper and holier. He found the Risen Lord inside himself during double dips of rejection by the church. Easter is experience. When he finally became an ordained priest he was sent to Ars in the boonies because they felt he'd do no harm. This man was so holy that all day he heard confessions (18 hours); the nights he wrestled with the devil.
We are so programmed culturally into our ego. Church can even become a commodity. John got it through the toughest stuff. From the tomb of his soul he was given it all. For each of us this is different, but the same Lord will visit us in the most difficult times of our lives. Consciousness of nothingness in prayer causes our rising. Did not Jesus Himself embrace His nothingness--the form of a slave--to become the Risen Lord?
Enjoy being visited this Easter season.
Blessings!
Fr. TomApril 29, 2007 The Press Gets It Right
Dear Parishioners,
We continue on the Easter reflections of what it is to follow the risen Lord. The Chicago Sun Times really got it right. You know it is the season of spring break. They did an article in the Sunday travel section (April 15th) called "Volunteer/Vacations." As Easter people we need to be healers no matter how wounded we are.
While the main stream press covers the uncoverings of spring break culture, there is another side. Many high school and college youth use this season for caring for the needy. This becomes inter-generational because many parents join as chaperones.
This article on the spring break sojourn was deemed a student's "vacation with a conscience." Students built homes; some transported food. Medical supplies collected during the school year were distributed. Not all the students are into the fantasy break.
The Sun-Times weekly supplement "USA Weekend" had the 16th Annual Make a Difference Day Awards. Some of the projects were founded by children younger than teenage. The press really had this right and referred to "Vacation/Volunteer" as first in an occasional series.
The majority of our USA volunteerism is under 30. Think about it: service projects are part of both secular and religious formation. This is not about where do I put my money but where do I put my sweat and muscle.
Here at SVF we have been trying to move from an "hours" mentality of service to projects making a difference. Last year our youth went to Appalachia and did a lot of grunting. This year to Mississippi with the Katrina aftermath.
Easter people make a difference with the stranger. When the poor have a name, our world has changed. When I was with FOOD FOR THE POOR, I was impressed at the parishes (some not even Catholic) who had adopted places in the Caribbean where they invested their vacation working in "paradise." Jesus must love us all the more when we make ourselves a global village.
Thank you Sun-Times for some worthy press of our youth!
Blessings!
Fr. TomApril 22, 2007 Third Sunday of Easter
In these 50 days of Easter we are called to renew the virtues of what make us Catholic Christians. Easter is not just the historical event of Jesus rising from the dead, but also the experience of Him today in our lives. What do I need to rise above? What have I already in God's grace risen above. The secret of Easter is rekindling those flames of our faith as baptized that makes us trek through this valley with its darknesses. Daily each of us struggle to rise above the oppression of war, lies, gossip, rejection, misunderstanding, etc. Easter is daily for us as Christians.
Jesus rose from the dead within Himself daily in prayer. The same is true for us. Resurrection has already begun within us. Each of us are rising like leaven constantly. In today's meditation as an Easter people, I want to reflect on our struggles with addiction in our culture.
St Augustine (354-436) is called the father of psychology. He wrote in his confessions about addiction. This quote says it all:
My unbridled will
yielded to my passions.
That unresisted drive
soon became habit.
Then habit became necessity.
Have you ever heard a better definition of addiction? This man knew the inner workings of the soul. If you know Augustine's life and works, you know his life was anything but risen above darkness. He was deep in the mire of self, sin, politics, money, rage outbursts, affairs, center-of-attention, etc. His mother, Monica, also a saint, stormed heaven for him to become a christian. Her prayers got him to rise above it all.
A good Easter meditation is to ask: “What are my addictions that serve me well?” Make it something positive. An addiction is a habit becoming a necessity. I think that perhaps Jesus was addicted to truth--it got Him killed. He was addicted to time alone, always looking for the deserted or out-of-the-way place. He was addicted to the word of God knowing the texts of the prophets and codes of Judaism.
What are the habits of holiness that makes us, our home, our parish, etc. of Easter quality? Changing habits is tough. We are told we cannot just eliminate some behavior but need to put a new one in its place. We are further told that until we have done something 20 times or more it cannot become a habit.
Reflect on your habits that have made you healthy and holy in the Risen Lord. Do not take them for granted. They will be connected with living the commandments, carrying out the works of mercy, applying the beatitudes, etc. Easter is here already as Jesus has us each taking the higher and holy road. Alleluia!
Fr. TomApril 15, 2007 Easter Thanks.
Dear Parishioners,
Thanks for the many laudatory statements made on Holy Week. While there is always the occasional comment of affirmation, this year many of you came to me in gratitude. The most common I heard was that they were prayerful and deep. Praise God! Also our numbers were higher this year than in the past. Praise God again!
Holy Week is a challenge because they are complex and detailed liturgies done only once a year. For all this to happen causing prayer many are involved. Think of all this as a volunteer's crunch time.
Who are all these volunteers? The first to mention would be the environment committee and all the extra muscle and ladder climbing. Changing over the environment so often in such short time portions is most difficult. The trees and plants are heavy. The volume is huge.
All the ministries have so much extra to do in these days. The ushers, the sacristans, the EMC's, the lectors, etc. are all doing more because of the season. Most ministries are not scheduled because of the parish attrition during spring break.
The altar servers were outstanding this week. None were scheduled; they came forward on their own. (The 9 a.m. Mass on Easter had 8 servers-likely an all time record.)
The music ministry had the most volunteers with the cantors, organist, bell choir, instruments, youth ensemble, etc. The music reflected the many moods of the week as it should.
This is my fourth Triduum at SVF. It is such a privilege to lead these days in prayer. It is not a rerun but a fresh experience each time. What a blessing!
Our SVF Holy Week method is to follow the book. It seems that this is the easiest, holiest, deepest way to pray the week. From what you say it seems to be working.
Volunteers get "paid" by your gratitude. Volunteers get into what they do to make a difference. When their ministry is noticed causing you to pray better, they are paid. Pass on your kind words to them.
We are now in the 50 days to Pentecost. Sometimes this is a tough time to sustain our Easter joy for so long. It is also tough to maintain the flowers of Easter for that long.
Blessings,
Fr. TomApril 8, 2007 Blessed Easter!
My friends, today we celebrate what it is all about to be a Christian. The “A” word is unleashed in all its glory. Alleluia!
For forty days we have been called by mother church to pray, fast and alms give. Now she calls us for fifty days to be filled with joy, wonder, and awe with the risen and glorified Christ. Our negative world offers us daily options of gloom and doom. To be lifted up by the Lord for fifty days is truly a challenge. If you think your penances of Lent were tough, try being joyful for these fifty days until Pentecost. People all around you will think you have lost it. Joy is frowned on in our culture; suspect at best.
What is the best news you ever received in your life? …getting pregnant? …landing a job? ….getting an award? …being loved? …kudos on an impossible task?..... The rising of Jesus is the best news that was ever spoken. This is not just true historically; it is the truth for each of us today. Being lifted through the mire of this earthen life to risen life is the best news.
Risen life does not just begin when we die. It began before we were conceived. Just try to live resurrection for fifty days—we all have our work cut out for us with the distractions of our daily darkness.
Peace in the Risen Lord,
Fr. Tom
April 1, 2007 PALM SUNDAY
Dear Parishioners,
Here we are at the holiest week of the year. I am always amused that our holiest days are not holy days. This is the week where our Jesus is welcomed and acclaimed as a king this Palm Sunday and before the week is over is condemned as a criminal.
The Christian story is hinged on the paschal mystery—that is the life, death and rising of Jesus. This has to make the story for, as St. Paul said, if He did not rise from the dead, we are the deadest of the dead. So here we are in these holiest of days.
Lent ends on Wednesday. On Thursday we begin the Triduum fast and intense prayer of the solemn three days. On Holy Thursday there is but one Mass in the evening. This is the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. The gospel is always from St John about the washing of the feet during the meal. When Mass concludes, the reserved presence is solemnly processed to a “space outside of the regular worship area.” We have been using the adoration chapel. A vigil is held until midnight.
There is a Chicago custom of making a pilgrimage to several churches during these night hours. My experience here has been for buses to be arriving right up until midnight.
Good Friday the church is open. No Mass is ever celebrated on this day. The Good Friday Service is at 3 p.m. This rite is a liturgy of the word, adoration of the cross, solemn intercessions, and the distribution of communion. The service is stark. Many ask for this more than once but the norms say that it is to be once. The evening of Good Friday will be the Way of the Cross.
The Holy Saturday Solemn Easter Vigil is the mother of all Catholic rites. No rites, services, or Masses take place during the day. (There is a blessing of the Easter foods.) At 8 p.m., in total darkness, we enter the church—the dark tomb. This vigil is four rites: the blessing of fire; the Judeo-Christian story told; initiation rites of baptism, confirmation and holy Eucharist with the Mass closing the evening.
In ancient times the vigil was all night, finishing with the rising of the sun when the “alleluia” would be released. After forty days of fasting from our favorite word this is pure joy.
As Catholic Christians, inconvenience your schedules with these holiest of days. They are rites prayed once a year—simple and powerful. They bring us into Jesus like no other time with His transition, transfiguration and triumph. Stop your world for three days and pray these solemnities.
A blessed holy week to you and your household,
Fr. TomMarch 25, 2007 STAFF NOTES
Dear Parishioners,
You have likely seen that SVF is looking for a part-time liturgist. We are also advertising for a part-time youth director. These searches are local because of the part-time status. Full time positions are put on national lists.
At present Steve Senski is wearing the hat of both liturgy and music. The annual in-services of all ministries comes in this department job. The planning of each and every liturgy is from the director of liturgy. Maintaining the updated church norms of each ministry is also this department. A liturgy committee should function as part of this ministry.
Some of you have asked me if Steve is sick because you do not see him at every Mass lately. Thanks for asking; he is well. The music ministry job description is to make certain the music is done—it does not mean he does it. With Brandon playing the organ until September, we can use cantors to pick up some of the liturgies. In the parish survey you asked about choirs. While these have stopped at present, it is not because they are obliterated. We have had a children’s choir several times seasonally. There is a youth instrumental ensemble. Adult choir and bell choir are on the request lists. When interest and volume in these can happen, it will be most welcome.
Many parishes with multiple weekend Masses have one or two groups that provide the music ministry of a given liturgy each Sunday. While that has not been the model at SVF, it would be a welcome addition to worship.
The music minister also is responsible for all special liturgies—holy days, funerals, weddings, etc. Even if he does not do them, he arranges and plans them all.
We have had several applications for the liturgy position. The youth position has not been as plentiful. Keep these ministries in your prayers.
Fr. Kilbridge has not been ministering in our regular SVF schedule; many of you have asked about him. He had fallen and broken some ribs a few months back. Those are healed. His energy level is not what it was. He appreciates your prayers and has a very good spirit. Some of you mention that I push him too hard with work. He calls the shots. As Dominicans, we do not believe in the “R” word—retirement. We call it limited service. Fr. Kilbridge is nearing 90 and has shown few limits until recently. Praise God!
Another question asked me is how we priests are scheduled for Masses. It is all by rotation for Masses, baptisms, “on-call,” etc. In the best of all worlds it would mean that every three Masses would rotate through all priests on staff. There are many interruptions and requests that make that not true. As pastor, I will schedule myself for special parish events which can topple the system. SVF has so much variety. If this were an Archdiocesan parish, we would likely have one priest.
Continue with your wonderful Lent. The weather upgrade is making it feel more like winter is subsiding. Spring is an easy season to pray.
Blessings,
Fr. Tom
March 18, 2007 REOCCURRING QUESTIONS
Dear Parishioners,
Lent means spring in French. Finally we are getting a little of that with our long winter. Moving from our sinful habits and wintry hearts is the annual welcome pilgrimage. Just as spring and winter mix it up, so does sin and grace stir and whirl in and about us.
Multiple times the following questions are coming to me so I thought I would just share the information with all of you. The first is about letters pastors write verifying membership and the second question is what is the difference between the terms “rectory” and “priory.”
When you are asked to be a godparent or sponsor, many parishes ask for a letter of good standing from the pastor. There is an ecclesial legal side to this. A pastor may only give recorded sacraments to his flock. (Recorded sacraments are baptism, first penance, first communion, marriage—even the “paper prep” of confirmation.) When someone from outside the parish comes for participation of these sacraments, written permission is to be given.
Many people claim to be Catholic because they were raised that way. That does not mean they are practicing. When a letter is requested, our history is not the question—the present practice is the question. Whenever we move we need to register in our new digs—for voting with the civil world, our driver license info, and our church. Going to Sunday Mass is part of practicing our faith. When a letter is written, it states the activity—minister of liturgy or committee member, etc. A sponsor or godparent will be vowing a Catholic life in the sacrament.
Is this new? Because of the abuse or even nonchalant use of the faith, there is an increase of requests for these letters which does make it new in some areas. SVF asks for letters on recorded sacraments taking place here. We are asked for letters of our practicing membership constantly.
On the rectory/priory language: one night I had invited some folks to a dinner meeting at our priory. Some went to the priory over at the Dominican University Campus. We had a little wait until it all got straightened out. A priory is a house of Dominican friars; six is the minimal number on this but our SVF house is twice that. In the Chicago area we have 3 priories—two here in River Forest and one in Pilsen at St Pius. A priory is a specific term used by religious orders like the Dominicans, Franciscans, Servites, etc. The word monastery would be another writing.
The word “rectory” is diocesan. This is where the pastor lives. Sometimes the term “parsonage” is also used but this is not so much part of Catholic terminology. My guess is that to make things easy and clear here with two priories so close, SVF used the secular term “rectory.” When the sign is repainted for the Jackson entrance, it will have the word “priory” on it. That will not happen until the lawn thaws.
Keep the faith, spread the faith, and enjoy the faith. This season is so rich in grace and blessings of Christ.
Blessings,
Fr. TomMarch 11, 2007 Lenten Mission
Dear Parishioners,
This past week-end I had the blessing of conducting a Lenten Mission in the Joliet Diocese at St. Philip Parish. I used my days off to do this. What a blessing! It all brought back memories of my twelve years on the road as an itinerant preacher. The principal of the school shared a handout with me. I loved it and thought I would pass it on:
“The other day, someone at the store in our town said that a methamphetamine lab had been found in the neighborhood and commented that we didn’t have drug problems growing up. I replied that I had a drug problem growing up:
I was drug to church on Sunday,
I was drug to church for funerals and weddings,
I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather,
I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful,
I was drug out to pull weeds in the yard and garden,
I was drug out of bed to go to school,
I was drug from playing to clean my room, do my chores, and finish my studies,
I was drug to homes of family, friends, and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow their lawn, repair a clothesline, chop wood, etc. and if mom ever found out I took a nickel I was drug back to return it.
These ‘drugs’ are still in my veins. They effect my behavior today in everything I do and say and think. The are stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin. If our children today had this same drug problem, we’d have a better world.”
Thought you might like this story. I found it a good reflection on generational culture.
Continue in your Lenten resolutions and remember well that our bodies are not obstacles but rather tools in becoming holier.
Blessings,
Fr. Tom
March 4, 2007 IOC Congratulations
Dear Parishioners,
Congratulations on your IOC (increased offertory campaign). You will note from below that we are less in membership numbers and more in donations. The national average says about one-fourth support the rest in church not-for-profits. SVF is way above that. Bless your generosity.
Effective immediately we will run the donations monthly in the bulletin. In the past when we did it weekly, it was up and down and all over the place. By doing this monthly you will have a more accurate look at resources because many families give monthly. The IOC has us starting off the new year well. Again, bless your generosity.
The budget committee of the finance board came up with the 2007/2008 budget. We are staying with the same financial zone we have been in. Since we were $150,000.00 short last year, by not increasing expenses we can make a bit of a recovery. We are reviewing all of our venders to make the best cost effective decisions with SVF.
Just as times are tight with your home, family expenses and business, the same is true all over. Keeping SVF high on your charity list is a great blessing. Almsgiving fits right into the season.
Blessings,
Fr. TomFeb. 25, 2007 LENT 07
Dear Parishioners,
It is that time of year again-Lent. My family would always comment on the season, surprised it was here already, as if it were something new to the calendar. Well, it is here. (The year 2008 may be a surprise because Ash Wednesday will be the first week of February, which means the wedding season begins already in late March.)
For us Catholics, Lent is the season of the desert. It is the season of resolutions. Beyond our communal call to fast and abstain, we make our personal penances to travel to the interior of the desert-the sparse places within. To make that trek most spiritual directors suggest not only giving up something but alsoadding something to the discipline list.
Often I hear resolutions like "I am going to go to church on Sunday." ...or something like "I am not going to look at web filth." These are sins. Lenten resolutions are not about eliminating sins that should not have been present to begin with. Lent is about resolutions through our bodies.
Note that the symbol of Lent is the cross, not the crucifix. The body-free cross makes us focus on our bodies as a means of grace. Baptized to be the body of Christ, we enter the Lenten disciplines to obtain graces in the neglected and flawed spaces that have festered over the last year.
There is nothing abstract about Lent. Lent is reality. Our body's fasting, almsgiving and praying is very real. Each of these disciplines empty us. Fasting empties our stomach; almsgiving empties our wallet/purse; and praying empties our ego. These bring us to the reality of the cross. In the clutter of our culture, Lent is welcome. It sweeps the soul clean for the Guest. Emptying ourselves prepares for the empty tomb.
Let us do less well than attempt too much and peter out in a couple weeks.To change a habit takes at least twenty attempts before it happens. Lent is the season we build habits of grace causing virtue. Yes, it is already Lent!
Blessings,
Fr. TomFeb. 11, 2007 "Green Zone"
Dear Parishioners,
We are back in the “green zone” but not for very long. Out of the 52 weeks of the year, the 30 plus majority Sundays are in the green of what the Church calls “ordinary time.” These thirtysome weeks do not run consecutively. They come in two unequal parts.
The first portion we just started will end with the beginning of Lent. The second and much longer portion follows Pentecost, closing with the Solemnity of Christ the King. Advent/Christmas/Epiphany immediately follows. So the former is minor and the latter is major; maybe you would like to think of them as green minor and green major.
The bottom line on all this is that we spend the majority of the Church calendar in ordinary time. The former phrase was “Sundays after Pentecost.” Some Christian faiths have called it “kingdom tide.”
Spiritually we live in the ordinary. The same old, same old of daily life is where we find or lose our holiness. Look at home life: is it not routines? It needs to be routines.
There was a part of me that exhaled after the Christmas season was over. It was not because of the work. (This past Christmas season was the best I have had at SVF.) It was because I could not remover what day of the week it was. My routine was out of sync. Sometimes a holiday weekend or even a holy day can do that to me.
The healthy souls are at their best with the ordinary. Routines, habits, schedules, etc. can make for holy people. Our Thomas Aquinas articulates habits of holiness as virtues; by contrast, habits of evil are sins. It is about habits. Habit by definition is routine. To change a habit some say it must be done at least 21 times the new way.
Let me contrast this to the culture into which we are saturated routine is seen as boredom; boredom is the enemy. Being bored is seen as a sign of alienation, lack of creativity, small mindedness, lack of adventure, etc. In an addictive culture-which we truly are in-our quest is for the stimulus of the different. We want out of the boring routine. We run from quieting routines. We want the high zone all the time. Sometimes we have schedules that use sheer volume because the content is so-dare I say it-“ordinary.”
In this short window of ordinary time before Ash Wednesday (February 21st), embrace the ordinary at work, school, and home. Such common things as the daily commute can be holy.
The daily hygiene habits can even be prayerful. Just don't sing in the shower–sing a hymn and mean it.
May the God of ordinary time be with you. May you not be bored but blessed with routine.
May it be contagious.
Blessings,
Fr. TomFebruary 4, 2007, LaPata
Dear Parishioners,
This coming Friday is our annual SILENT AUCTION.Much work has gone into this and will prove to be a wonderful evening just as last year. You are welcome to join us even if you are only now hearing about it. More information is on the cover of this bulletin. This year our honoree is Father Richard LaPata, O.P. Father served SVF as associate pastor from 1975 until 1985, when he was appointed Pastor and served in that capacity through 1989.
This Melrose Park boy was born to Dr. Frank and Ann (Vincenti) LaPata. His schooling was Mt. Carmel Elementary followed by Fenwick High School. From there he went to Notre Dame and then entered the Dominican Order after his sophomore year in college. His seminary training was Dubuque, Iowa and here in River Forest at the House of Studies. In l959Father was ordained to the priesthood.
Our honoree was and is a teacher. Fr. LaPata taught at Fenwick; Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas, Texas; Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa; and Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin. Father was also a chaplain at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village from 1991 to 1998. After being a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees for six years, Father was offered his present position. Holding the presidency of Fenwick High School keeps Father LaPata very busy.
SVF is blessed to honor one of our former pastors and native sons this week at the SILENT AUCTION party. We thank you, Fr. LaPata, for all you did here at SVF to make Jesus Christ more real to us. Your ministry was and is way beyond SVF. Thank you and God bless you!
Gratefully,
Fr. TomJanuary 28, 2007 Catholic Schools Week
Dear Parishioners,
This week, from January 28th to February 2nd, we celebrate Catholic Schools Week. For over 150 years, Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago have exemplified the mission of the Church and worked for the good of society. For all these years, Catholic schools excelled in providing religious formation and quality academic education to all students.A new document has been recently created to move Archdiocesan schools forward in response to the challenges of the 21st century. This visioning document, Genesis: a New Beginning for Catholic Schools, is an action plan to support the long-term success of Catholic school students. It offers some new directions and goals. Its ultimate goal is to make schools increasingly more Catholic, Excellent and Vital.
Catholic schools exist primarily to evangelize and to educate Catholic students to service the Church's mission in the world. Catholic schools provide students an opportunity for educational Excellence in the Catholic intellectual tradition. Catholic school communities bound by faith foster the uniqueness of each student and work to promote growth on many levels. Catholic school communities strive to make schools Vital, accessible and affordable.
Some Catholic schools over the decades have turned into private schools. A Catholic school is chosen for the soul-whoops-sole purpose of faith. A private school is chosen for location, teacher/student ratio, prestige, traditions, discipline, safety, etc. What is happening with Genesis is that the schools are trying to get back to their roots. The Catholic school system was founded on faith by the believing community. Our future is in that heritage.
At SVF, we provide students with an education in the best Catholic school tradition. The values-based curriculum is taught by a dedicated and professional faculty who promote and stimulate the spiritual, intellectual, emotional and physical development of each student entrusted to their care. Through the Faith Community of our school and parish, the spirit of Catholic values is shared by serving and learning from one another.
For all you do to support, build and better educate Catholic children at SVF and everywhere: Thank you!
Bless you!
Fr. TomJanuary 21, 2007 St. Pius
Dear Parishioners,
Here is something that I would like to share with you from our Twinning Parish.
God bless your generosity this holiday season, it was greatly appreciated.
Well done.
Fr. TomST. PIUS V PARISH
Dear Tom:
As we celebrate the Epiphany of our Lord, we reflect on the ways in which God unites humanity, both strangers and friends alike. This Epiphany, our parish is thankful for how the many families of St. Vincent Ferrer have offered support to our families in need this past Christmas. Through their efforts we were able to provide 138 families and their children a set of clothes and a toy in our St. Vincent Ferrer sponsored Christmas Store. You also allowed us to share in our celebration of Epiphany with a distribution of over 350 toys to children who participate in our Religious Education program this past Saturday. I want to thank you and the parishioners for your generous support with so many toys during the Christmas holidays.Two years ago, Silvestre, age 20, was shot and killed by his own gang members angered at his departure from the street gang. Two months later, his father died of complications involving years of alcohol use. These past two years, his brothers, Lupe and Tony and sister, Betty, all adolescents, have been supporting other teenagers in our Reflection Group encouraging them to stay away from the dangers of gang life. Six members of their family live in a two-bedroom apartment that was once a garage. Your gifts brought this family gifts that they would not have seen this Christmas.
You are really kind and generous to continue to share with us and our families, and we deeply appreciate the help. Your gifts help bring some happiness to Christmas for hundreds of poorer children who would not otherwise receive gifts at this special time of year. We are blest by our relationship with St. Vincent Ferrer Parish.
Sincerely,
Fr. Brendan Curran, O.P.
St. Pius V Pastor
January 7, 2007 THE NEW YEAR...
Dear Parishioners,
Blessings of the New Year: 2007! This letter is a recap of the homilies I gave on Christmas Eve. Several of you asked for the sources of the information so allow me to recap a little of what I remember. The focus of my Christmas homily was the loss of awe in our culture. The search for the “wow factor” is much needed. The loss of awe is replaced by shock, depression, and even boredom. I back-tracked into some formative realities which have shaped us into being who and what we presently are at this moment in history. One of the side effects of a god-is-dead culture is the loss of awe. Christmas is a season that is awesome and should take us to the world of awe; the world of the holy.Even though the cover of TIME magazine in 1966 read “God Is Dead,” it did not start there. Back in the 1860s, Frederich Neitchze was the one who spoke of this reality and used the metaphor of the shattered lantern in the town square. The story goes that after the cry of “God is dead,” the lantern was smashed to the ground. The Shattered Lantern is the title of the Ronald Rolheiser book identifying the long-range effects of a god-is-dead culture. In my State of the Parish Address 2005, I made reference to his first 50 pages identifying this reality.
Whether God is dead, dormant, or optional in our head, heart or home, the effects have the same binding effects on our behaviors. I quoted Ezekiel 18 where he says “The fathers will eat sour grapes and set their children’s teeth on edge.” Many times our actions do not show up until generations later.
Here are the 4 characteristics that militate against the vital awareness of God not lived out in daily life:
1) narcissism - this was covered in a fall SVF bulletin using the seven traits of narcissism as defined by the Sunday FLUFF section of the Chicago Sun Times. This clinical personality disorder does define our times and culture. None of us are exempt from this influence.
2) pragmatism - here we take our worth from what we do. We become human doings rather than human beings. If we are what we do, when we don’t then we aren’t. Our worth is not our work.
3) unbridled restlessness - often we use the term anxiety to define our age. Only God can bestow peace: it was the gift of Christmas with “peace on earth through good will” plus the gift of Easter when Jesus’ first words were “peace be with you.” Without God there can be no peace.
4) loss of the ancient instinct of awe - this is where I focused on Christmas eve. The distinctions I made was awe that is godless and awe that is God-filled. Let me say it another way: the best awe money can buy or awe that is priceless. Awe in our world is with the wow of science and its new frontiers, media and the special effects created, the overwhelm from drugs or alcohol, etc. “Awe! He went to Jared's!” All these awe’s are externally stimulated.The priceless awe is of the shepherds of Christmas. It is the inner awe that comes from living and loving the sacraments. The awe of prayer. It is the awe in the movie the Nativity when everything we plan is not what God plans. Awe is a speechless moment. When the awesome moment passes, the only real response is “I love you,” “thank you,” or “I am sorry.” This is the language of prayer and intimacy.The total awe of Christmas is that God is in our skin. That should leave any one of us speechless. That Catholic doctrine is called the Incarnation.
These thoughts are incomplete and sketchy but roughly the information of the Eve’s message. May your 2007 be awesome. Because of your great love of God, may you enjoy what this world cannot give.
Blessings of peace well beyond this season,
Fr. Tom