Random Thoughts

     Here are some random thoughts that have been on my mind of late.

     Thanksgiving Day is now in the past.  I went home to my sister Janie's place, for a few days.  We went out to dinner on Wednesday evening with our cousin, Ted, and enjoyed a great dinner at Ruby Tuesdays followed by a Blizzard at Dairy Queen.  On Thanksgiving Day Janie and I attended Mass at Saint Therese Church at 9am.  It was the only Mass in the city of Uniontown and was a joint venture of the four parishes.  A good crowd, a great liturgy, and five priests: the two assigned to the parishes plus three of us retired guys.  Janie prepared an outstanding dinner later that day.  I returned on Friday afternoon to our priests' residence.

     The weekend involved preparing for my live radio program on our local Catholic station WAOB FM (106.7).  The station broadcasts a daily program at 8:00pm on the scriptures for the upcoming day.  The program is entitled: "Drawing life giving waters from Jacob's well" and involves the reading of four chapters of Scripture with three reflections on each reading followed by a minutes of silence between each.   It is a form of "lectio divina", and I try to do about four programs a month as my share in the mission of spreading the Good News.  Prep takes awhile … and I worked Friday eve and Saturday morn to be ready.
     I filled in at the Church of Saint Paul in Greensburg for the Sacrament of Reconciliation at 3:00pm followed by the Christ the King liturgy at 4:30pm.  The people there are very warm and welcoming, and my experience as presider was uplifting.
    After that was a quick bite to eat, and then the program at the studio in Latrobe.   A busy but fulfilling day for a retired pastor.

     The Church Year ended with the celebration of the Solemnity of Christ the King.  In my homily I spotlighted two brave individuals of the 1920's who witnessed to the Lordship and the Kingship of Jesus Christ with their lives during the Cristeros War in Mexico.  I remember hearing the inspiring story of Blessed Father Miguel Pro who faced a firing squad by bravely standing with arms outstretched in the form of a Cross and proclaiming loudly "Viva Cristo Rey!" - "Long Live Christ the King!"   He was denied a Christian burial but it was reported that 40,000 people lined the path to his place of burial, and another 20,000 were waiting at the cemetery.  The government was not happy with the attention and devotion of the faithful.
     The other individual was just canonized a Saint of the Church in 2016.  His name is Saint Jose Sanchez del Rio who was tortured and put to death at the age of 14, never giving in to denying his faith and his Lord.  He also died with words of forgiveness for his tormentors and with the words "Viva Cristo Rey!" on his lips.  His story was told in the recent movie "For Greater Glory" - about that moment in history.

     And now we are winding down this liturgical year with this thirty-fourth week in Ordinary Time, and await the First Sunday of Advent this coming Sunday.  How time flies.