The Savior is Born! Come, let us adore him, alleluia!

Merry Christmas to all of you. Let us rejoice with a joyful heart for the birth of our Savior. May we work each day to bring the love and joy of the Christ Child to everyone we meet.

Here is Pope Benedict XVI's Midnight Mass Homily. Enjoy!

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

“You are my son, this day I have begotten you” – with this passage from Psalm 2 the Church begins the liturgy of this holy night. She knows that this passage originally formed part of the coronation rite of the kings of Israel. The king, who in himself is a man like others, becomes the “Son of God” through being called and installed in his office. It is a kind of adoption by God, a decisive act by which he grants a new existence to this man, drawing him into his own being. The reading from the prophet Isaiah that we have just heard presents the same process even more clearly in a situation of hardship and danger for Israel: “To us a child is born, to us a son is given. The government will be upon his shoulder” (Is 9:6). Installation in the office of king is like a second birth. As one newly born through God’s personal choice, as a child born of God, the king embodies hope. On his shoulders the future rests. He is the bearer of the promise of peace. On that night in Bethlehem this prophetic saying came true in a way that would still have been unimaginable at the time of Isaiah. Yes indeed, now it really is a child on whose shoulders government is laid. In him the new kingship appears that God establishes in the world. This child is truly born of God. It is God’s eternal Word that unites humanity with divinity. To this child belong those titles of honour which Isaiah’s coronation song attributes to him: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Is 9:6). Yes, this king does not need counsellors drawn from the wise of this world. He bears in himself God’s wisdom and God’s counsel. In the weakness of infancy, he is the mighty God and he shows us God’s own might in contrast to the self-asserting powers of this world.

Truly, the words of Israel’s coronation rite were only ever rites of hope which looked ahead to a distant future that God would bestow. None of the kings who were greeted in this way lived up to the sublime content of these words. In all of them, those words about divine sonship, about installation into the heritage of the peoples, about making the ends of the earth their possession (Ps 2:8) were only pointers towards what was to come – as it were signposts of hope indicating a future that at that moment was still beyond comprehension. Thus the fulfilment of the prophecy, which began that night in Bethlehem, is both infinitely greater and in worldly terms smaller than the prophecy itself might lead one to imagine. It is greater in the sense that this child is truly the Son of God, truly “God from God, light from light, begotten not made, of one being with the Father”. The infinite distance between God and man is overcome. God has not only bent down, as we read in the Psalms; he has truly “come down”, he has come into the world, he has become one of us, in order to draw all of us to himself. This child is truly Emmanuel – God-with-us. His kingdom truly stretches to the ends of the earth. He has truly built islands of peace in the world-encompassing breadth of the holy Eucharist. Wherever it is celebrated, an island of peace arises, of God’s own peace. This child has ignited the light of goodness in men and has given them strength to overcome the tyranny of might. This child builds his kingdom in every generation from within, from the heart. But at the same time it is true that the “rod of his oppressor” is not yet broken, the boots of warriors continue to tramp and the “garment rolled in blood” (Is 9:4f) still remains. So part of this night is simply joy at God’s closeness. We are grateful that God gives himself into our hands as a child, begging as it were for our love, implanting his peace in our hearts. But this joy is also a prayer: Lord, make your promise come fully true. Break the rods of the oppressors. Burn the tramping boots. Let the time of the garments rolled in blood come to an end. Fulfil the prophecy that “of peace there will be no end” (Is 9:7). We thank you for your goodness, but we also ask you to show forth your power. Establish the dominion of your truth and your love in the world – the “kingdom of righteousness, love and peace”.

“Mary gave birth to her first-born son” (Lk 2:7). In this sentence Saint Luke recounts quite soberly the great event to which the prophecies from Israel’s history had pointed. Luke calls the child the “first-born”. In the language which developed within the sacred Scripture of the Old Covenant, “first-born” does not mean the first of a series of children. The word “first-born” is a title of honour, quite independently of whether other brothers and sisters follow or not. So Israel is designated by God in the Book of Exodus (4:22) as “my first-born Son”, and this expresses Israel’s election, its singular dignity, the particular love of God the Father. The early Church knew that in Jesus this saying had acquired a new depth, that the promises made to Israel were summed up in him. Thus the Letter to the Hebrews calls Jesus “the first-born”, simply in order to designate him as the Son sent into the world by God (cf. 1:5-7) after the ground had been prepared by Old Testament prophecy. The first-born belongs to God in a special way – and therefore he had to be handed over to God in a special way – as in many religions – and he had to be ransomed through a vicarious sacrifice, as Saint Luke recounts in the episode of the Presentation in the Temple. The first-born belongs to God in a special way, and is as it were destined for sacrifice. In Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross this destiny of the first-born is fulfilled in a unique way. In his person he brings humanity before God and unites man with God in such a way that God becomes all in all. Saint Paul amplified and deepened the idea of Jesus as first-born in the Letters to the Colossians and to the Ephesians: Jesus, we read in these letters, is the first-born of all creation – the true prototype of man, according to which God formed the human creature. Man can be the image of God because Jesus is both God and man, the true image of God and of man. Furthermore, as these letters tell us, he is the first-born from the dead. In the resurrection he has broken down the wall of death for all of us. He has opened up to man the dimension of eternal life in fellowship with God. Finally, it is said to us that he is the first-born of many brothers. Yes indeed, now he really is the first of a series of brothers and sisters: the first, that is, who opens up for us the possibility of communing with God. He creates true brotherhood – not the kind defiled by sin as in the case of Cain and Abel, or Romulus and Remus, but the new brotherhood in which we are God’s own family. This new family of God begins at the moment when Mary wraps her first-born in swaddling clothes and lays him in a manger. Let us pray to him: Lord Jesus, who wanted to be born as the first of many brothers and sisters, grant us the grace of true brotherhood. Help us to become like you. Help us to recognize your face in others who need our assistance, in those who are suffering or forsaken, in all people, and help us to live together with you as brothers and sisters, so as to become one family, your family.

At the end of the Christmas Gospel, we are told that a great heavenly host of angels praised God and said: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!” (Lk 2:14). The Church has extended this song of praise, which the angels sang in response to the event of the holy night, into a hymn of joy at God’s glory – “we praise you for your glory”. We praise you for the beauty, for the greatness, for the goodness of God, which becomes visible to us this night. The appearing of beauty, of the beautiful, makes us happy without our having to ask what use it can serve. God’s glory, from which all beauty derives, causes us to break out in astonishment and joy. Anyone who catches a glimpse of God experiences joy, and on this night we see something of his light. But the angels’ message on that holy night also spoke of men: “Peace among men with whom he is pleased”. The Latin translation of the angels’ song that we use in the liturgy, taken from Saint Jerome, is slightly different: “peace to men of good will”. The expression “men of good will” has become an important part of the Church’s vocabulary in recent decades. But which is the correct translation? We must read both texts together; only in this way do we truly understand the angels’ song. It would be a false interpretation to see this exclusively as the action of God, as if he had not called man to a free response of love. But it would be equally mistaken to adopt a moralizing interpretation as if man were so to speak able to redeem himself by his good will. Both elements belong together: grace and freedom, God’s prior love for us, without which we could not love him, and the response that he awaits from us, the response that he asks for so palpably through the birth of his son. We cannot divide up into independent entities the interplay of grace and freedom, or the interplay of call and response. The two are inseparably woven together. So this part of the angels’ message is both promise and call at the same time. God has anticipated us with the gift of his Son. God anticipates us again and again in unexpected ways. He does not cease to search for us, to raise us up as often as we might need. He does not abandon the lost sheep in the wilderness into which it had strayed. God does not allow himself to be confounded by our sin. Again and again he begins afresh with us. But he is still waiting for us to join him in love. He loves us, so that we too may become people who love, so that there may be peace on earth.

Saint Luke does not say that the angels sang. He states quite soberly: the heavenly host praised God and said: “Glory to God in the highest” (Lk 2:13f.). But men have always known that the speech of angels is different from human speech, and that above all on this night of joyful proclamation it was in song that they extolled God’s heavenly glory. So this angelic song has been recognized from the earliest days as music proceeding from God, indeed, as an invitation to join in the singing with hearts filled with joy at the fact that we are loved by God. Cantare amantis est, says Saint Augustine: singing belongs to one who loves. Thus, down the centuries, the angels’ song has again and again become a song of love and joy, a song of those who love. At this hour, full of thankfulness, we join in the singing of all the centuries, singing that unites heaven and earth, angels and men. Yes, indeed, we praise you for your glory. We praise you for your love. Grant that we may join with you in love more and more and thus become people of peace. Amen. © Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20101224_christmas_en.html

A work in Progress

As I journey through life, I cannot help but constantly be reminded of the fact that I am on a pilgrimage. Everything around me seems to propel me forward toward the final end which is Communion with God. Every encounter, every charitable act, every prayer, every noticed breath is for God to do with whatever He wishes. I question the wisdom of Seneca when he said that "It is not that we have so little time, but that we have wasted so much of it." When I read this quote I am forced to ask if everything I do, that is not sin, is ordered toward God, then can it really be a waste of time?

Maybe what Seneca means is that we are spending too much time in sin and thus are wasting a lot of our life by not choosing to follow God with our whole heart, mind, and soul. I'd like to think the contrary and follow those who have said ages ago that we as human beings are ordered to the good and through the Grace of God choose the good over the evil. But being realistic, I'm keenly aware of my broken nature and after a brief reflection on my own life, the wisdom that Senica speaks suddenly becomes more wise then I had originally expected.

As I reflect on today's readings, I couldn't help be be moved to reflect on the precious gift of time. The urgency with which we should be working towards holiness should be a priority above all other priorities.

Let us pray today that our own lives may be a constant reminder that we know not the hour and we must fervently work each day with joy in our hearts and a humility that opens us up to the Grace God continually pours forth into the world.

Ministry of Acolyte

Last weekend four of my brother seminarians received the Ministery of Acolyte from Archbishop Jerome Listecki. It was a very joyful occasion to know that four of my brothers are continuing on in the process of formation to share in the Priesthood of Jesus Christ.

The acolyte has things to do at the liturgy, assisting the priest and deacon: "it is his duty therefore to attend to the service of the altar and to assist the deacon and the priest in liturgical celebrations, especially in the celebration of Mass". He needs to ensure that everything has been properly prepared, helps the deacon to prepare the altar for the Liturgy of the Eucharist. and may assist in the distribution of Holy Communion when there are not enough priests and deacons.

The acolyte also has things to do in the community and all of them flow from his service of the Eucharist. So he may take communion to the sick and housebound, he is an appropriate person to prepare altar servers and others who assist in the liturgies, not just showing them what to do but helping them to understand the significance of what they are doing. He may also, in the absence of a priest or deacon, expose the Blessed Sacrament for adoration.

The Church encourages acolytes to deepen their devotion to the Eucharist and to acquire an ever more profound understanding of it. The acolyte is to be 'in the temple an example to all by his serious and respectful comportment'. His service of the sacramental Body and Blood of Christ ought to stimulate in him 'a sincere love for the mystical body of Christ, or the people of God, especially the weak and the sick'.

For seminarians, being instituted as an acolyte is a step towards ordination (God willing). It enables them to take a more active role in the sacramental and pastoral service of the community.

St. Charles Borromeo

As we celebrate the feast of St. Charles Borromeo, let us pray for catechists and seminarians, both of whom have been entrusted to St. Charles Borromeo's patronage.

Charles was the son of Count Gilbert Borromeo and Margaret Medici, sister of Pope Pius IV. He was born at the family castle of Arona on Lake Maggiore, Italy, on 2 October 1538. He received the clerical tonsure when he was twelve and was sent to the Benedictine abbey of SS. Gratian and Felinus at Arona for his education.

In 1559 his uncle was elected Pope Pius IV and the following year, named him his Secretary of State and created him a cardinal and administrator of the see of Milan. He served as Pius' legate on numerous diplomatic missions and in 1562, was instrumental in having Pius reconvene the Council of Trent, which had been suspended in 1552. Charles played a leading role in guiding and in fashioning the decrees of the third and last group of sessions. He refused the headship of the Borromeo family on the death of Count Frederick Borromeo, was ordained a priest in 1563, and was consecrated bishop of Milan the same year. Before being allowed to take possession of his see, he oversaw the catechism, missal, and breviary called for by the Council of Trent. When he finally did arrive at Milan (which had been without a resident bishop for eighty years) in 1556, he instituted radical reforms despite great opposition, with such effectiveness that it became a model see. He put into effect measures to improve the morals and manners of the clergy and laity, raised the effectiveness of the diocesan operation, established seminaries for the education of the clergy, founded a Confraternity of Christian Doctrine for the religious instruction of children and encouraged the Jesuits in his see. He increased the systems to the poor and the needy, was most generous in his help to the English college at Douai, and during his bishopric held eleven diocesan synods and six provincial councils. He founded a society of secular priests, Oblates of St. Ambrose (now Oblates of St. Charles) in 1578, and was active in preaching, resisting the inroads of Protestantism, and bringing back lapsed Catholics to the Church. He encountered opposition from many sources in his efforts to reform people and institutions.

He died at Milan on the night of 3-4 November 1584, and was canonized in 1610. He was one of the towering figures of the Catholic Reformation, a patron of learning and the arts, and though he achieved a position of great power, he used it with humility, personal sanctity, and unselfishness to reform the Church of the evils and abuses so prevalent among the clergy and the nobles of the times.

7th Grade Reflections

Yesterday, I had an opportunity to go into the 7th grade class at my teaching parish and spend some time talking with the kids about their faith life. My opening question to them was "why are we here". I didn't mean why we are at school, or in Muskego but rather I challenged them to think on a much larger scale. Here are there responses which I find incredibly inspiring, insightful, and some of them are really very funny. Please enjoy the wit of these budding theologians.

Why are we here?

Below is a compilation of answers to this question from 7^th Grade students at St. Leonard’s School in Muskego, Wisconsin

- To love one another and help others out. Take care of the needy, and be respectful to each other. Love ourselves and always look at the good not the bad of your life. Be God’s servant, do what he originally put us here for. Honor His laws and do what he asks to be done.

- We are here because we have a journey ahead of us called life. God gave us talents, and inspirations to live like we are dying. We have a duty to be the best we can be. We are here to spread news, take care of our world, and to use our unique creativity to make a difference.

- We are here to do God’s will.

- We are here because God wanted to create something in his own image.

- Because God put us on this earth to be His children. We are called to serve others and respect, care, love, and bring peace on Earth. Sometimes it’s hard to do that, but we gotta try, right?

- To carry out God’s mission and live on what he created.

- We are here because Jesus loves me and everyone differently. He gives us all unique talents. We are here because he wants us to live our life different from one another and just be our self.

- We are here to help people with their problems, to bring joy to others, and to teach others about a subject that they are not very strong on.

- We are here because . . . God made us. He wanted to create something beautiful – and He did.

- To serve God and His people.

- To change our world!!

- This is where I was born. My mom lived here so did my dad. I’m here because they’re here. God loves us so we’re here. God set us where we belong. We’re here because of God.

- I think we are here to see if we are ready to go in God’s Kingdom, to spread the good word about God and Jesus. God is Good!

- We are here to carry out our own destiny and to show the world what we can do.

- To take a chance on a long-shot distance. God gave us a purpose in life and the opportunity is where we are right now, which is why we should take advantage of that. The people that surround us right now are going to help us in life.

- We are here to fulfill God’s promise in life. We are here to help one another and be good friends. We are here to be brothers and sisters to each other. WE are here to love one another and make each other happy. We are here to respect one another. We are here to be grateful for what God has given us. We are here to respect God’s creation and love what he did for us.

- To carry out God’s plan. To make God happy so God wouldn’t be lonely.

- We are here because god is. God put us here and made us exactly who we are. We are here as God’s creation and because this is where he put us and this is where he wants us.

- We are here because God created us.

- I think we are here because God wanted to show his deep love for us by putting us here on earth to respect each other.

- We’re here because God was lonely so he made us.

- I think we are here to follow God’s works and be like him. WE are here to make this world a better place. We should love one another and respect each other because we are all people of God.

- We are here because God (maybe) got lonely and we were his pets like some of us have pets.

- Were here because God gave us a purpose to take care of the world.

- We are here to love each other and God. We are here because of God.

- There are a lot of scientific reasons, but I hate that earth science stuff! We’re here because God put us here, not because energy from the sun stuff. God put every little blade of grass on this earth. That blade of grass may only be for my dog to pee on but it’s a reason.

- We are here to spread happiness and joy to others.

- Because God loved us and wanted us to go to our parent and follow his plan for us to live.

2010 Ordination HD.mp4

The Journey with Jesus

Teresa of Avila (1515–1582)

Christ Has No Body

Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks Compassion on this world, Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good, Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, Yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Born in Spain, Teresa entered a Carmelite convent when she was eighteen, and later earned a reputation as a mystic, reformer, and writer who experienced divine visions. She founded a convent, and wrote the book The Way of Perfection for her nuns. Other important books by her include her Autobiography and The Interior Castle.

The change in the coat-of-arms

Old Coat-of-Arms used on September 26, 2010

New Coat-of-Arms used on October 10, 2010

Many have already noted an interesting change made the other day in the Pope's coat-of-arms (left), without any official announcement.

In keeping with the tradition which goes back to Pope Paul VI and expecially Pope John Paul I, who wished to downplay the "regal" aspects of the Petrine office and emphasize instead the "episcopal" aspect of the role of the Bishop of Rome, Benedict began his pontificate with a coat-of-arms which did not include the triple crown, the papal tiara, but rather displayed the bishop's mitre.

On Sunday, the cloth unfurled under his window in the Apostolic Palace as he prayed the Angelus contained the tiara.

The actual crown itself, the Papal Tiara, also known as the Triple Tiara, the Triregnum or the Triregno, is the three-tiered papal crown worn by Popes from Pope Clement V up to and including Pope Paul VI, who was crowned in 1963.

The crown has not been worn by any of Pope Paul's successors, but it has not been abolished and it remains the symbol of the papacy and the Holy See, featured in the coat-of-arms of the Vatican and on many papal coats-of-arms.

Aggiornamento

Today is a good day to pray for the Church as we continue to grow in our understanding of the world-changing direction the Church took on this day in 1962 when Pope John XXIII opened the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council. Below is the prayer that Pope John XXIII opened the Council with.

God grant that your labors and your work,
toward which the eyes of all peoples
and the hopes of the entire world are turned,
may abundantly fulfill the aspirations of all.
Almighty God!
In Thee we place all our confidence, not trusting in our own strength.
Look down benignly upon these pastors of Thy Church.
May the light of Thy supernal grace aid us
in taking decisions and in making laws.
Graciously hear the prayers which we pour forth to Thee
in unanimity of faith, of voice and of mind.
O Mary, Help of Christians, Help of Bishops,
of whose love we have recently had particular proof
in thy temple of Loreto,
where we venerated the mystery of the Incarnation,
dispose all things for a happy and propitious outcome and,
with thy spouse, St. Joseph, the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul,
St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist,
intercede for us to God.
To Jesus Christ, our most amiable Redeemer,
immortal King of peoples and of times,
be love, power and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

On his deathbed, John XXIII said:

It is not that the gospel has changed; it is that we have begun to understand it better. Those who have lived as long as I have…were enabled to compare different cultures and traditions, and know that the moment has come to discern the signs of the times, to seize the opportunity and to look far ahead.

Pope John XXIII died on June 3, 1963. Pope Paul VI continued the work of the council until its closing in 1966. Click here to read excerpts from John XXIII's opening address at Vatican II and some key dates from this historic council.

CPE, The Experience

Spending my summer in Rockford Illinois was not on my top ten list of things to do during the summer. For good or for ill, that is precisely where my summer clinical pastoral experience has brought me. For the past seven weeks I have been serving as a hospital chaplain at Rockford Memorial Hospital (RMH). My time at RMH has been full of great learning opportunities and exciting ministry experiences. The Lord has blessed me with many wonderful encounters of His grace in the people that I have the privilege to serve at some of the most difficult times in their lives.

In seven weeks, I have experienced a wide array of emotionally charged events that have challenged me in my own faith journey and have called me to trust more in the guidance of our Lord Jesus Christ. From comforting a grieving mother who recently lost her child to praying The Daily Office next to the bed of a dying 78 year old priest; the experiences that I have had thus far are life changing.

You never really know how you will react in a crisis situation until you are in it. I have learned that a ministry of silent presence, genuine quiet love, a look of compassion, and a willingness to give of yourself and walk the painful journey with those who are suffering is the best way to bring the love of Christ into a situation that often is beyond words anyway.

With seven weeks behind me I have already experienced a lifetime of emotions. I have seen miracles happen every day in the hospital and often times these miracles go overlooked by most. It is in the little victories of God's Presence among the sick where you will find the most grace and the outpouring of miracles. Looking ahead at the five weeks I have yet to encounter, I know that with the help of our Lord I will continue to try, as broken as I am, to help those who are at a point in their life where they are searching for meaning in a tragic situation. I will strive to continue to bring the loving presence of God into the countless lives that God is placing in front of me during my time at RMH. And finally, yet first and foremost, is my own journey and struggle for personal holiness where I pray I will continue to work on being shaped into the person that Christ is calling me to be.

Independence Day

A special thanks to all the men and women in the armed forces. Let us all remember those who have served and those who continue to sacrifice to protect our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.