From the desk of Fr. Peter

May the peace of Christ reign in your hearts!

From the readings this weekend, I am reminded of the true sovereignty of Jesus and that in order for one to experience Jesus’ saving power, one must approach him in humble, sincere faith.

The message in the first reading from Isaiah foretells that God will replace someone of royalty because he is corrupt and guilty of neglecting his responsibility to provide care for the people.  His replacement will be a servant of God and like a father to the people caring for them from the heart.  God will sustain him and establish his rule firmly because he strives to follow God’s law and fulfill justice.

St. Paul praises the wonderful, mysterious wisdom of God and expresses his recognition that God, as creator of all, has sovereign dominion over all things, but more importantly is moved by love.

Jesus asks the disciples “who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Out of all the disciples, Peter is the first to make his profession of faith in Jesus as Son of God.  Jesus recognizes that Peter’s faith is a gift from God and then Jesus establishes Peter’s faith as the foundation of the Church and extends to him the authority and responsibility to govern the Church with the promise that God will always sustain the Church.

As Catholics, this passage is a great comfort to us because we know that God, the source of all power and authority, has pledged that he will establish, protect, guide and sustain the Church forever.  We also hold firm faith that Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the Church is a reality and that the bishops and the Pope are sustained and guided by God’s spirit in the duty of teaching and governing the Church.  God fulfills this promise even when human beings fail, no matter if the one who fails is the pope, a bishop, a priest or a lay person.  God sustains the Church in being and God is fully active in all the sacraments beyond any particular clergy or lay person.

Every one of us is invited, like Peter, to have an intimate relationship with Jesus: to love and experience Jesus’ love.  Think about the forces that were part of the ancient world.  Fear, sickness, political oppression and corruption, subterfuge, riots, violence and war, widespread poverty, pagan worship of idols and false gods topped off with demonic possession were common tensions that people had to live with.  Jesus came as a healer, a teacher of truth, peace and justice and he showed God’s genuine love for the people.  Many of us need to experience salvation on a daily basis from all the oppressive forces that are in our lives.  Like Peter, we must come in sincere faith and ask Jesus for help.  We experience deliverance in different ways: through prayer, community fellowship, Word and the sacraments mainly.  But it is only through faith that we are able see and experience God’s presence in action around us and through us.

God bless you all! +++ Fr. Peter

Peace and grace to you!

This weekend Jesus took his disciples with him on a vacation from their usual ministerial activities.  The region of Tyre and Sidon would have been a place where they would have been noticed as Jews but the people of the region would not have known anything beyond that.

I remember my Clinical Pastoral Education summer in Denver Colorado at St. Anthony Hospital.  I had been to Denver plenty of times for visiting or various activities but never for an extended stay.  The course that I was taking was specialized and focused and I was an unknown to the instructors and other students.  I had made previous arrangements to stay at a near-by parish: Our Lady of Fatima.  The Pastor, Walker Nicholas, who is now the Bishop of Sioux Falls would frequently say to me: “there is no vacation from a vocation.”

I think that is what Jesus is showing the disciples and all of us today.  No matter where we are or what we are doing, as disciples we have an order of priority that places God first and witnessing to our faith by being responsive to other people.  It isn’t just at Church on the weekends; it must be true in our homes and everywhere we go—even on vacation!

To many, Jesus’ first response to the woman seems hard, like he is rejecting her.  This isn’t the Jesus we are accustomed to so it catches us off guard.  As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Jesus is challenging the woman’s beliefs in order to bring about in her a stronger, more certain faith in him and in God’s love and care for her.

As we go about our summer break or on vacation, watch for the moments when Jesus calls us to grow deeper in our expression of faith and act as his disciples.  We can’t compartmentalize.  It all has to flow from the one inner connection we have with Jesus.

God bless you always! +++ Fr. Peter

May the grace of Christ console your hearts!

This weekend we are reminded of our need to pray through the many challenges that confront us in life.  Although God is always there to help us through them, we do not always remember or recognize God’s presence and nearness to us while we are in the midst of difficulties.

Elijah has had to face Jezebel and all the priests of Baal who oppose the one true God.  As God’s prophet, Elijah was familiar with opposition and difficulty but he had reached a point of loneliness and weariness that were so overwhelming that he asked God to end his life.  While he was lying on his mat waiting for death to come, an angel was sent to stir him to eat and then journey to the mountain to where God would speak to him.  As you already know, “going to the mountain” is a literary image used to convey that Elijah’s journey was spiritual which includes prayer.  In the midst of an overwhelming storm and violent natural forces, Elijah finds God’s presence with him in the still, small voice: in the quiet of prayer.

In the Gospel scene Jesus sends the disciples out on their own.  The wind and sea against them indicates that they are experiencing difficulties and challenges in their efforts to be disciples.  Meanwhile, Jesus takes time to pray and get face to face time with God: yes Jesus needed to pray!  Jesus walks across the water showing that union with God lifts us above torments, struggles and chaos.  As He draws near them, he is aware of their struggles.  Jesus extends to Peter the power to “walk on the water,” to rise above the chaos and confusion of the challenges but Peter loses his focus on Jesus and succumbs to sinking into human fear.  But, when Peter calls in need, Jesus saves him and raises him up!  Isn’t it amazing?  Elijah was saved by his cloak, a piece of cloth signifying his devotion to God and God’s providence, shelter and protection for him.  But we have something greater than what Elijah had: we have the name of Jesus!  We do not need anything but Jesus’ name for our salvation and when we call to him, he is with us immediately!  So when storms and tempests, challenges and difficulties arise in our lives, we call on the one who is always near and has power to save!

God bless you always! +++ Fr. Peter

Peace and Grace to you!

This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration. In the first reading the prophet Daniel’s vision describes an experience of being present with God in heaven.  The language and imagery he uses conveys the Holy Trinity.  The Ancient One, the surging stream of fire and the Son of Man we all recognize as ways of referring to the Father, the Holy Spirit and Jesus the Son of God and Son of Man.  On the event of the Transfiguration, the disciples described Jesus as transfigured: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.  They would later recognize this event as a fulfillment of Daniel’s vision and a confirmation of Jesus’ identity as the written account in the Second Letter of Peter shows.   There is also hard evidence of Jesus’ splendor shining through his humanity in the Shroud of Turin.  Scientific analysis describes the imprint on the burial cloths of Jesus as not stains from natural elements such as blood or aloes and spices but rather from a brilliant flash of light.  Like a photographic negative.

The message in the Gospel is clear and simple:  This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, listen to him.  This statement and experience resonates with the event of Jesus’ baptism.  We all know that this two-fold revelation is God’s way of emphasizing the importance of believing who Jesus is, receiving his instructions, and putting what he teaches into practice.  Those who are baptized are also reminded of their own identity as God’s beloved Children.  Through Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, God has gifted us with a share in his own divine life and we are his message to the world as Jesus was.  It is expected that we always be mindful of this great gift and do our best to show God’s presence shining through our lives.  We are also reminded that, although this miracle of glory is hidden from our sight now, when we come to heaven, we will shine with this same Glory and splendor of Jesus.

May God bless you always! +++ Fr. Peter

Peace and grace to you!

The readings this weekend lead us to reflect on our life of prayer with the Lord.  In the first reading we get an insider’s view of Solomon’s heart and deepest desires as he prays to God.  Solomon was praised for his wisdom during his lifetime and through the centuries, so we know that God granted his desire.  When we read his prayer, we understand why—he isn’t asking for something selfish.  Solomon understands that he needs God’s help more than anything else to serve as a leader and so he asks for wisdom to serve God in his office as leader.  St. Paul’s wisdom is shown through his spiritual insight “that all things work for the good of those who love God.”  No matter what it is: trial or ease, hunger or feast, persecution or peace, sickness or health, wealth or poverty, in all these things the one who loves God grows closer to him.  In the Gospel, Jesus explains that the kingdom of heaven is the greatest wealth and treasure that anyone could ever have.  Jesus is telling us that there are a lot of things in the world that demand our attention and capture our interest but the most important and lasting thing of all consists in our lively, personal relationship with God.

One of the principal ways that we experience God’s abiding presence within us is through prayer.  Like you, I have had to work very hard to develop a discipline and routine of prayer.  Prayer is easy when there is the sweetness of spiritual consolation.  But prayer is much more difficult during the arid periods and when we are too busy or when we don’t feel like it or when we don’t think that God cares or hears us, or we’re too tired, or whatever.  Through all these changing emotional climates, thoughts and conditions, prayer must continue even if it seems of no use or accomplishment.  Our faithful practice of prayer leads us into remembering that God is always present and actively assisting us!  There are many types of prayers and devotions that people feel drawn to.  The Rosary, The Liturgy of the Hours, periodicals like the Magnificat or Give us this Day.  Lectio Divina is spending quality time in God’s Word each day and the weekday Mass readings are always a rich source of spiritual nourishment.  Choose what works for you.  God bless you always! +++ Fr. Peter

May the peace and grace of Christ be with you!

Last weekend we heard the Parable of the Sower.  This weekend we get a set of three parables: the Weeds and the Wheat, the Mustard Seed and the Yeast for Leaven.  As you know, these are popular titles used for the purpose of easy reference but the stories themselves are multifaceted.

Of the three parables we have had, the one that strikes me most is the story of the Wheat and the Weeds.  I guess it’s because when I visualize it, I see the wheatfields of Western Kansas and my friend Melvin’s farm along Prairie Dog Creek with the terraced hills covered with wheat.  I walked those fields with Melvin and my dog, Dirty Girty, hunting pheasants.  Pheasants like to live in the weeds but their lives depend on the wheat as their food.

Part of the reason I am struck by the Weeds and the Wheat is because we often think of good and bad as polar opposites that are mutually exclusive—and that’s reasonably true.  After all, even the workers in the story want to go out and remove the weeds from the wheat but Jesus stops them.  Why?  Take a closer look at our surroundings like the world we live in, our country, our state, the political parties, our town, our own family, and finally ourselves, if we are intellectually honest, we must admit that almost everything has a mix of some good and bad to varying degrees and we have to learn to do our best in the midst of it all.  Building God’s kingdom requires time and patience.  Change takes time.  It has a rhythm all its own and God is at work with each and every human heart coaxing a secret transformation, like the yeast in the flour or the growth of the tiny mustard seed.  God is patient and lenient with all of us.  God doesn’t impose with force or use violence.  St. Peter aptly reminds us that God’s patience is directed toward the salvation of each soul.  Some of us struggle with more weeds in our lives than others but we all want to bear good fruit.  We need to give and receive forgiveness; we need mercy to experience God’s saving love.  It is here in the Church and the sacraments that God’s word, God’s holy seed, can grow, ripen, blossom and change us for the better.  It happens a little at a time.  Isn’t it wonderful to know that God is patiently helping us grow each day?

God bless you all! +++ Fr. Peter

Peace and grace to all!

This weekend we have what is popularly referred to as the Parable of the Sower.  When we hear Jesus’ parables, he gives us opportunities to view things from different perspectives.  If we were to focus only on the Sower, we would overlook some of the other important components included in the story like the seed itself or the soil and its different qualities as well as the thorns and the birds.  We know that the seed is representative of the Word of God because that’s how Jesus describes it.  The Parable of the Seed might be a better title for the story than Parable of the Sower.   Each time I hear the first reading and the declaration that God’s Word shall accomplish what it was intended for, I remember what Mother Cabrini once said to her Sisters: “you too are the Word of God, spoken only once, strive to accomplish what God wills in your life and you will not return to the Father empty.”  I shouldn’t put quotations around that phrase because I know it isn’t verbatim but I think it fairly represents Mother Cabrini’s mind on the matter.

I recognize her statement as a great assertion of faith.  One dimension that Mother Cabrini’s statement adds to the parable is the fact that each one of us comes forth from God as a type of seed.  And as a seed, each one of us needs certain conditions from the environment to nurture us and help us become what God desires for us.  Not everyone has the same chances in life.  Some of us have rough and rocky family conditions while some of us have smooth and balanced situations.  Some of us have uphill challenges arising from physical or medical conditions due to genetics or by accident.  Whether we live on the slope or on the plain, in the gravel or the rich bottom land, one thing is certain: we all need help from each other and from God.  That’s why Jesus came!

This summer we will have Vacation Bible School!  I love having our children here.  Kids are fun to watch and interact with!  But VBS is even more special because they learn about God and the teachers and helpers sow the seeds of faith and nourish it by being together while doing songs and activities.  It’s times like this when I think about the incomparable value of faith and grace from God in the lives of our young people.  They are going out into the world as seeds sown by the community of St. Edward.  They will encounter all types of soil conditions and experience times of hardship and failure as well as peace and success.  Through it all, the ONE thing that they have that will never die and will always bear fruit, if they use it, is the faith they’ve been nurtured with here among us.

God bless you all! +++ Fr. Peter

Peace and grace to you!

I think the readings this weekend direct us to clearly identify the inner tension that all of us experience between our desire for spiritual fulfillment and the things of earth that are necessary for the body and the things of earth in general like the house or place where we live etc.  Although we must make use of things of earth, our hope and primary focus is not on them.  St. Paul makes the distinction between people of the Spirit and people of the flesh.  St. Francis of Assissi is a great teacher when it comes to the body and the spirit.  He says the body is like a mule that is constantly on the move to satisfy its appetites—it is never satisfied.  It monotonously moves from one thing to another!  Obviously it is necessary for us to put a bridle and bit on the mule to control it, lest it lead a person into sin and spiritual destruction.  Great imagery here—we all have the same animal appetites to deal with and we all know they need to be properly directed.  They can weigh us down!  But a greater burden comes when we forget to focus on God and the personal help that we have in Jesus.

This weekend Jesus invites us once again to come to him and ask for help—with whatever it is we are concerned about.  Pray Psalm 91.  Nothing is too great or too small.  Jesus loves!  Jesus is the one who gives rest to the weary and revives the drooping in spirit.  Come and rest in the open arms of the Lord’s providence and mercy.  It truly is easy and light!  May God continue to bless you! +++ Fr. Peter

Peace and grace to you!

The Prophet Elisha wants to return-gift the couple that have been generous and kind to him.  The gift that he gives is his intercessory prayer on their behalf for the blessing of a baby boy.  Because Elisha is a prophet completely devoted to God, his prayer for them will be granted!  Jesus speaks to his apostles (those who are sent) about setting within themselves the priority of loving and serving God above all.  Because God is generous and kind, even small acts of charity done to others out of reverence for God will be rewarded with a blessing.

We live with an inner tension in heart and mind between things of heaven and things of earth.  It is important to remember that these are not mutually exclusive.  St. Paul said that we must make use of the things of this world yet not let ourselves be so engrossed in them that we become solely focused on them.  Juxtaposed to that understanding we hear St. Teresa of Avila’s comment “don’t be so heavenly that you’re no earthly good.”

Jesus reminds us to maintain our balance between heaven and earth and make God our top priority.  As we can see with Elisha, God provides for those who devote themselves to serving him completely in surprising ways.  Those who are generous toward God’s servants with their earthly wealth will receive surprising blessings too!

One thing stands out: God cannot be outdone in generosity or in surprises!  Is there a way that you can use something of what you have to return-gift God?  Blessings be yours always! +++ Fr. Peter

Peace be with you!

The readings this weekend remind us that every single person will experience adversity in Life.  Those who devote themselves to serving God are not exempt from the challenges and struggles that come in life either.  In fact, they can expect to meet great opposition!  So what’s the use?  Why should someone choose to follow Christ and have a more difficult path than to let go and serve themselves?  Simple.  Followers of Jesus have a source of hope in their faith that God is aware of their hardship and their virtue will be met with an eternal reward!  AND, it is precisely in the experience of struggle that disciples find an intimate companionship with Jesus when they give their best effort in imitation of him and in this is a secret joy that only those in it can know.

Difficulties and challenges we all accept as a matter of course in life but what do we do when we are treated with insolent disrespect and/or hostility from bullies or even mortal enemies?

Jeremiah gives us a good insight of how we are to behave and where we can go psychologically, emotionally and spiritually when we have that experience.  After identifying the actions of his malefactors, Jeremiah uses his faith and turns to God in hope!  He says: “But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.”

The Psalmist in Psalm 69 (probably David) identifies himself as a humble servant who loves God above all things and does not stoop to retribution, cursing or hatred but entrusts everything to God believing that God will come to his aid.  In Mathew’s Gospel Jesus teaches us divine wisdom, which is radically different than natural inclinations or the “world view.”  Jesus says, don’t be afraid.  “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”  Jesus reminds us that the truth will come to light in the end and justice will be done; it isn’t about paybacks.

The message we are given can guide us to peace and reconciliation in our nation—if we all listen to it.  We can put these principles to use in our personal lives through what we say and do. God bless and protect you always! +++ Fr. Peter