Deep Water

You have to love Peter. He was the Apostle that Jesus left in charge. “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church.” He was the first Pope, charged with spreading the Gospel to the ends of the earth after Jesus' death and resurrection.

But, he could be a loose canon. On the night of Jesus betrayal, he took out his knife and cut off the soldier's ear. Jesus didn't have enough trouble that night, he had to take time to heal the poor guy's ear.

Now, here he is in today's Gospel. Jesus has appeared and told the Apostles to throw out their nets for a catch, after they've been fishing all night and caught nothing, a situation that I can relate to. They're 100 yards from shore, the length of a foot ball field. John doesn't tell us how deep the water was, but they caught 153 large fish, so it must have been pretty deep, too deep for Peter to wade ashore. He had to swim the 100 yards.

Meanwhile, the other Apostles, the ones Jesus didn't leave in charge, turned the boat around and headed back.

The Gospel doesn't say who got back first. You have to think that Peter would have had to be a heck of a swimmer to get there ahead of five guys in a boat. It says that when the apostles climbed out of the boat, they saw a fire with fish on it and bread and that Jesus sent Peter to get some more fish. So, if Peter didn't get there first, he got there shortly after the others.

This is the third time Jesus has appeared to the Apostles since his resurrection. He fixed them dinner and ate with them to show that He was truly resurrected, and not just a spirit or a ghost. After all, ghosts don't eat.

But, to get back to Peter. He sets an interesting example for all of us. At times, like in the first reading, he can be a brilliant speaker, very pursuasive. As we know, he was successful in his mission or we wouldn't be here today. But he was an exhuberant son of a gun.

It makes me wonder, what would we do if we saw Jesus standing on the shore. Would we be the reasonable ones, turning the boat around and paddling, warm and dry, to the place where He stood? Or would we be like Peter, so excited, so anxious to be in the Lord's presence, that we'd jump into water over our heads and swim for it? I think we all get in over our heads many times. Are we willing to do it for Jesus? It's something to think about.

Easter Vigil 2006

Rejoice , heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels! REJOICE all creation around God's throne!
JESUS CHRIST our king is risen!
Sound the trumpets of salvation!

The Exultet. The Easter Proclamation. The beginning of every Easter Vigil mass. Besides being six and a half minutes of sheer paninc for a lot of deacons, what does it mean? Why is it such an important part of this evening's mass?

There's a Greek word, “kerygma”. It's the root of the word “charismatic.” According to Webster, It means “the apostolic proclamation of salvation through Jesus Christ. Kerygma. It's a neat word. If there's ever a time for kerygma, it has to be tonight.

We ARE saved through Jesus Christ and tonight is the night when we commemorate that act of salvation in a very special way.

For Christ has ransomed us with his blood, and paid for us the price of Adam's sin to our eternal Father.

Did you hear that? Our price is paid! We've been rescued from original sin. It's like a gift card to heaven!

This is the night when Christians everywhere, washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement, are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

Christians everywhere! That's you; and that's me; and that's Christians all over the world. We've been washed clean of sin and FREED from all defilement. Can there be any better news??!!

This is the night when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave!

The power of this holy night dispels all evil, washes guilt away, restores lost innocence and brings mourners joy.

Could it possibly be any better than that? Could anyone have done any more for us than Christ did on Good Friday. He gave up His life to save ours. Greater love has no man than to lay down His life for His friends.

I'm afraid that sometimes, those of us who have been given the privelege and the responsibility of preaching the Gospel may get complacent and not give you kerygma. We may not do a complete job of proclaiming salvation through Jesus Christ. If we did a sufficient job of delivering the message, there would never be an empty seat in church.


Our job, when we come to this ambo, is to talk to you about the way today's readings apply to your life. Some readings make that very easy. Some make it very hard. I think Fr. Gary and Mike would agree with me that we couldn't do it without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But the faculty to preach is an awesome gift. For me, it forces me to look for God all the time. You see things. I see potential homilies.

For example, Jan and I were having breakfast the other morning and I asked her why she thought Jesus made His resurrection known first, to women? Why not men? It was a rhetorical question because I already knew the answer. He knew that women like to gossip and the news would spread faster through the three women.

But, she said “no”. The reason He chose the women was because if He had made himself known to men, they would have forgotten to tell anybody. She was right, of course. She's always right. Maybe not such a good homily story after all. Maybe some other time.

In preparing a homily, sometimes we forget to look at the big picture. Whatever the day's readings are about, they all come down to one thing. Kerygma. You and I and every believer is saved through Jesus Christ's resurrection! No matter what else we talk about, that's the real message.

God knows, and so do you, that I can stand up here and ramble on for hours about something, but in the final analysis, it's all about one thing. Our Heavenly Father, the Creator of the Universe, the All Powerful, Ever-living God loves you and me enough to send His only Son to die for our sins. And, because He did, we have the opportunity to spend eternity in His presence, in paradise.

We began this Easter Vigil mass in darkness, the darkness of sin and death. We lit the Easter candle, and shared the light with one another, lighting the entire church from just that one flame.

The Easter Proclamation concluded with Mike asking God to Accept this Easter candle, a flame divided but undimmed, a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God. Let it mingle with the lights of heaven and continue bravely burning to dispel the darkness of this night.

And, finally, May the Morning Star, which never sets find this flame still burning. Jesus Christ is that morning star. He came back from the dead and shed his peaceful light on all mankind.

Kerygma!

On behalf of Fr. Gary, Deacon Mike Coppage and all the parish staff, I'd like to be the first to wish all of you a very Happy and Blessed Easter. Thank you for coming this evening and avoiding the long lines and crowds of Easter morning. Without all of you, proclaiming salvation by your presence, we'd all feel pretty silly up here.

A lot of things go into a liturgy like this; some that you see and a lot that you don't. Special thanks to Sister Mary Ann and the members of our choir. They've been practicing literally for months to prepare the music for this evening, adding to the kerygma.

Thanks to Greg Meyer and the RAVE youth group for all of their assistance in making things go so well this evening.

Our proclamation of the Gospel, our kerygma is much more than words and music. Thanks to Jeanne Kohnen for all her hard work in preparing the Easter flowers. She and her two helpers, Laura Schoen and my wife Jan were up here until almost midnight last night.

As we go through the liturgical seasons, the church decorations change from gold to green to purple back to gold and then back to green. If you were here last night, you know that we were all in purple. Tonight we're in gold. That doesn't just happen. Thanks to Jack Treiber, Tim Schoen and Michael Meier for their help in making the change. Special thanks to Jack for holding the ladder while I hung the banners on the side.

Thanks to our Angel Dusters who keep our worship space clean and tidy throughout the year. And thanks to all those who take care of our flowers and trees and the grounds around the church. We have a beautiful church inside and out. Kerygma!

I apologize if I missed anyone, but please know that everyone's help is appreciated and contributes to our kerygma.

Oh, and a special thanks to our patron, St. Bernadette, whose feast day is today. This parish has been blessed in many ways over the years thanks to her intercession. May she continue to intercede for us.
St. Bernadette...Pray for us.
Jesus Christ is risen!
Sound the trumpets of salvation!

Holy Thursday, 2006

Here in this country we have a custom of allowing a condemned man to choose his last meal. Even the most heinous serial killer gets to pick out what he gets to eat and presumably to enjoy it as much as he can considering what’s about to happen to him.

Tonight we remember Jesus’ last meal on earth. He’s a condemned man in spite of the fact that He’s done nothing wrong; in spite of the fact that He’s the son of God.

Even though it was over 2,000 years ago, we know what He had for dinner that night. He had lamb. He had unleavened bread. He had bitter herbs, He may have had a roasted egg and something called charoset made with apples and honey. There would have also been 4 cups of wine, although Jesus wouldn’t finish all four. The meal was the night of the Passover sedar

Last night, millions of Jews all over the world had this same meal. It's much more than just physical nourishment. Each food item has historical and spiritual significance to the Jewish people and there is a lot of ceremony that goes along with it. It's certainly the most important meal of the year for the Jewish people, so it would have also been the most important meal of the year for Jesus and his Apostles.

. The Jewish Passover meal is basically the same today as it was in Jesus time. The Passover meal and the condemned man’s last meal were one and the same.

So, how did He spend this last meal time with his Apostles? He got up in the middle of the meal and washed their feet! He washed their feet! Remember, this wasn’t like we reenacted this evening. The apostles didn’t wear shoes and socks. They wore sandals. There were no sidewalks. People walked the same paths that the animals walked. It was hot. It couldn’t have been pleasant, but He got up in the middle of the meal and washed their feet.

Jesus and the apostles had been together for three years. He could have washed their feet at any time. He could have done it after the wedding feast at Cana. He could have done it after he fed the multitudes. He could have done it at one of the many times when He and the Apostles were around the water. But, no; He waited until his last night on earth, in the middle of His last meal to do it.

He could have told them to wash one another’s feet. He could have told them a foot-washing parable. Instead, He did it himself, right in the middle of dinner. Remember, He’s just instituted the Eucharist, and in the process, created the priesthood. Most of us would say that was His most important earthly act. But, instead of sitting at the table, giving His followers instructions on what to do following His death, He washed their feet!!

He washed twenty-four dusty, sweaty, foul-smelling feet. He even washed the feet of the one who would betray Him. In just a little while Judas would turn him over to be killed after having his feet washed by the one he would betray, by the Son of God.

He didn’t even finish the meal. He gave them the ultimate example of what it means to be a follower of Christ. He tells all of us, by His actions, to wash one another’s feet. He doesn’t want us to wait until it’s convenient. He doesn’t want us to wait until after dinner. He doesn’t want us to do it next week, or next month, or even tomorrow. He wants us to do it NOW!

God loves each one of us enough to send His Son to die for our sins. Jesus loves enough to pay the ultimate price, a horrible, painful death. How do we pay Him back? What do you give the man who REALLY has everything? He told us, or rather He showed us on that Passover evening.

He knew that He was about to leave this world and return to His heavenly home. Rather than leave us alone, He left us the gift of His Body and Blood in the Eucharist so that He would always be with us.

He also gave us the great gift of the priesthood, men ordained to carry out the consecration of the bread and wine.

By washing the Apostles feet, He left us His gift of love. He showed us what it means to be His follower. That's why He chose to wash the Apostles feet on His last night on earth.

Just as He's in our very bodies through the gift of His Body and Blood as food and drink, He's with us in the spirit of love and service that He modeled for us in the washing of the feet. He's with us in the presence of His ordained ministers. By combining the three, He showed us their relative importance. Receive His Body and Blood from His priest then go out and serve one another.

You just can't separate them. You can't have one without the other two.

It’s too bad that so few Catholics actually attend mass on Holy Thursday. This night is really the Reader’s Digest version of everything that we believe. He left us His Body and Blood. He left us His priesthood. And, He showed us how to treat one another.

“You call me teacher and master and rightly so, for indeed I am.
If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet.
I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

May you have a peaceful and blessed Easter!

Will You Eat the Doughnut?

I received the following story from Deacon Pat Flynn from Phoenix. I plan to use it in a homily at some future time, but considering that we're in the Easter Triduum, it's too good not to pass along today.
_________________________________________________________________________________

There was a certain professor of religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States. Dr. Christianson taught a required course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course regardless of his or her major.



Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the Gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing more than required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously.

This year Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going on to Seminary. Steve was popular, well liked and an imposing physical specimen. He was the starting center on the school football team and the best student in the class.



One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. "How many push-ups can you do?" Steve said,

"I do about 200 every night."



"200? That's pretty good, Steve," Dr. Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?"



"I don't know," Steve replied, "I've never done 300 at a time."



"Do you think you could?" again asked the professor.



"Well, I could try," said Steve.



"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it," said Dr. Christianson.



Steve said, "Well... I think I can... yeah, I can do it."



Dr. Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind."



Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. Now these weren't the normal kind of donuts, these were the big fancy kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited that it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class.



Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia would you like one of these donuts?" Cynthia said, "Yes, please."



Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you please do ten push-ups so that Cynthia may have a donut?" "Sure." Steve jumped down from the desk, did ten quick push-ups, and then returned to his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.



Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe do you want a donut?"



Joe said, "Yes."



The professor asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?"

Steve did ten push-ups and Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle. Steve did ten push-ups for each person before they received a donut.



Dr. Christianson continued down the second aisle until he came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good of physical condition as Steve. Scott was popular and never lacking female companionship. When the professor asked, "Scott would you like a donut?"



Scott's reply was, "Yes, if I can do my own push-ups."



Dr. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them."



Scott said, "Then I don't want one"



The professor shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have the donut he doesn't want?"



With perfect obedience Steve started to do the push-ups.



Scott yelled, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!"



Dr. Christianson said sternly, "Look, this is my class, these are my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." He put a donut on Scott's desk.



Now by this time, Steve had begun to perspire and was starting to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to get up and down. As Dr. Christianson started down the third row, many students were beginning to get a little angry.



Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?" Jenny's answer was a firm, "No!"



Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?" Steve did ten...Jenny got a donut.



By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say "No" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve also had to put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each donut. There was a pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face and his arms were beginning to turn red because of the physical effort being put forth.



Because Dr. Christianson could no longer bear to watch Steve's hard work go for all these uneaten donuts, he asked Robert, the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push-up to make sure he did all ten in each set.

As the professor started down the fourth row, he noticed some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. He did a quick count and saw that there were now thirty-four students in the room. He started to worry that Steve would not be able to make it. He went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of the row, Steve was really having a hard time. It was taking a lot more time to complete each set.



Just then, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room. He was about to enter when at once all of the students yelled, "NO!! Don't come in!!"



Jason didn't know what was going on.



Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come."



Professor Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten push-ups for him?"



"Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut."



Dr. Christianson said, "Okay Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?"



Not even knowing what was going on, Jason said, "Yes, I'll have a donut."



"Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?"



Steve did ten very slow and labored push-ups. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.



Dr. Christianson finished the fourth row and started on the visitors seated by the radiators. Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was profusely dripping off of his face and there was no sound except his heavy breathing. By this time, there was not a dry eye in the room.



The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very well-liked. Dr. Christianson went to Linda and asked if she wanted a donut.



Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you."



The professor quietly asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?" Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda.



Then Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?"



Susan, with tears streaming down her face pleaded, "Dr.Christianson, why can't I help him?"



Dr. Christianson, with tears of his own, explained, "No, Steve has to do it alone. I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone here has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not.



When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve is the only student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered up inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice when a player messes up, he has to do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to the party unless he paid the price by doing your push-ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes.



Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?"



As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.



Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said, "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, plead to the Father, 'into Thy hands I commend my spirit.' With the understanding that He had accomplished all that was required of Him, He yielded up His life for us. And like some of those in this room, many leave the gift on the desk, uneaten."



Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile.



"Well done good and faithful servant," said the professor, adding, "Not all sermons are preached in words."



Turning to the class the professor said, "My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God spared not His only begotten son, but gave him up for us and for the whole world, now and forever. Whether we choose to accept His gift to us, the price for our sins has been paid. Wouldn't it be foolish and wouldn't it be ungrateful just to leave it lying on the desk?"

It's a Wonderful Life: It's your life : Blog Business World

Being in business, and having a business blog, there are several business blogs that I follow on a regular basis. One is Blog Business World by Wayne Hurlbert of Winnipeg. Yesterday he wrote on the movie "It's a Wonderful Life." The message, that we've all touched many lives that we're not even aware of isn't new. But, the fact that it appears on a business blog is very unusual.

Kudos to Wayne for not being afraid to include a message of values on his business blog.

The Cafeteria Is Closed: Priestly Sex Abuse: The Facts

I've been saying for a long time that the Church hasn't been doing nothing in regards to the sexual abuse crisis. On his "Cafeteria is Closed" blog, Gerald Augustinus provides some excellent statistics from the 2006 USCCB report and the 2006 John Jay report showing that the crisis peaked in the 70's and early 80's and has been declining steadily ever since. There are some other interesting statistics as well.

It's a good read and good information to have if you're as sick as I am of people bashing the Church over something that happened thirty years ago.

The Cafeteria Is Closed: Priestly Sex Abuse: The Facts

I've been saying for a long time that the Church hasn't been doing nothing in regards to the sexual abuse crisis. On his "Cafeteria is Closed" blog, Gerald Augustinus provides some The Cafeteria Is Closed: Priestly Sex Abuse: The Facts">excellent statistics from the 2006 USCCB report and the 2006 John Jay report showing that the crisis peaked in the 70's and early 80's and has been declining steadily ever since. There are some other interesting statistics as well.

It's a good read and good information to have if you're as sick as I am of people bashing the Church over something that happened thirty years ago.