Blessing of New Servers

The blessing of new servers for the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria.

Evangelize

At Pentecost when the Apostles threw open the doors of the Upper Room, the crowds gathered in Jerusalem for the festival presumed that those men were drunk from drinking new wine.  And in a certain sense they were intoxicated but with the new wine of the Kingdom of God.  They were on fire, inebriated, drunk with love, and consumed by the rapture of the Spirit of God.  They shouted out the Good News.  They boldly began their mission to evangelize, first beginning in Jerusalem and Judea, and then to the very ends of the earth.  There was a world to win for Jesus Christ, and they set about the task with joy and enthusiasm.  Would they confront challenges? Assuredly!  Would they know times of weariness and discouragement?  Of course!  Would they face persecutions?  Certainly!  Would they ever give up?  Never!  And neither should we!  But like those first Apostles, we too need to personally experience the ardor and energy of the Holy Spirit, for in per portion to God’s need for nothing, is our need for everything from God.

The Holy Spirit is the living Soul of the Church

It is always the special work of the Spirit not only to sanctify but also to unify.  Amid the bliss of that relational love, that is the essence of God, it is the Holy Spirit who forever unites the Father to the Son, and the Son to the Father.  But with endless mercy and truly incomprehensible condescension, that same Spirit in this time of grace, also unites those who bear the name of Christ to the One True Triune God.  The Holy Spirit is therefore the living Soul of the Church which is sanctified and unified as the very Body of Christ by the same Spirit. 

As the Psalmist once rhapsodized:  How good and pleasant it is, where brothers live together in unity, It is like fragrant oil running down Aaron’s beard, even to the collar of his robe.  It is like the dew of Hermon falling upon the mountains of Zion.  There the Lord has lavished blessings. 

Or as Saint Paul taught: The Body is one and has many members but all the members many though they are, are one Body. 

All of us have been given to drink of the one Spirit.  That is why the Catholic Church is rightly called holy, why the Sacraments are holy, why the Priesthood ordained for service in the person of Christ the Head is holy, and why the People of God constitute a Holy Nation, a Royal Priesthood, a People set apart.  It is the Spirit of the most Holy Trinity that lives in our hearts and makes us holy temples of His glory, and holy vessels of His grace.

Saint Michael the Archangel

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host - by the Divine Power of God - cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits, who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Living Our Faith

Click here to view our:  Living Our Faith Video

Live Stations of the Cross

We had live stations of the cross on Good Friday in front of the Cathedral.  Here are some pictures.

Blessings

In Catholic Christianity without any apologies whatsoever we intentionally bless things.  We designate and dedicate elements of the material creation, in order to effect a spiritual recreation.  The Lord Himself in His ministry of healing used what today we might call a sacramental, when He rubbed a kind of paste made of spittle and mud on the eyes of a blind man.  In the Acts of the Apostles it is recorded, that the faithful were cured, by means of hand cloths touched by the Holy Apostles.  Throughout the history of the Church, there have always been blessings for sacred images, for food and drink, for horses and farm animals, for houses and barns for bells and swords, for wells, bridges and roads.  Our Catholic Book of Blessings has hundreds and hundreds of individual blessings, to sanctify all manner of persons, places and things.  Mundane things are blessed, to daily remind us of heavenly things.  By means of these blessings a sense of the sacred, should permeate not only our liturgy, but really every aspect of our lives.  We were created by God, to live in relationship with God, to hear His voice and to savor His presence.  As the Apostle Paul once urged, whether you eat or drink or whatsoever else you do, do all for the glory of God.  Everything we say and do should be filled with the blessing, and unction of the Holy Spirit. 

ORDAINED April 6, 1974

I was ordained a priest for the Congregation of the Holy Cross on April 6, 1974 at Sacred Heart Church in Notre Dame, IN.  On this my anniversary I wish to share my favorite prayer:

O Jesus, living in Mary, come and live in Thy servants, by the spirit of Thy holiness, by the fullness of Thy power, by the perfection of Thy ways, by the truth of Thy virtues, and by the communication of Thy mysteries. Triumph over all enemies by Thy Spirit for the glory of the Father. Amen



Bishop Daniel Jenky, C.S.C. and his good friend Fr. Peter Rocca, C.S.C. at a Notre Dame Basketball game



Easter Sunday