There has been some local news that is indeed good news. The first is the return of my neighbor and ordination mate, Monsignor V. Paul Fitzmaurice, pastor of Saint Agnes parish in North Huntingdon, who returned this weekend from an extended time away - a much deserved R & R type sabbatical. It is good to have him home.
And then at six am this morning our time came the announcement that Monsignor Lawrence Persico, pastor of Saint James in New Alexandria and Vicar General of the Greensburg Diocese was appointed as the tenth bishop of the Diocese of Erie in northwestern Pennsylvania. He will replace Bishop Donald Trautman who retired because of age. Monsignor Persico is a few years younger than I am, and attended two of the schools that I attended including both Saint Joseph Hall, our former minor seminary in Greensburg (the first alumni to be a bishop) as well as the former Saint Pius X Seminary in Erlanger, Kentucky. Our prayers are with him as he embarks upon this new ministry.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
I'm embarrassed
My embarrassment in today's post rests in the fact that I did not preach this morning at Mass, even though I usually do. I did not feel inspired, and the scriptures from the prophet Jeremiah were about loincloths - bought, worn, hidden in the cleft of the rock and found rotted, good for nothing! I know that there is a message in the story, but on this Monday morning I was guilty of not pursuing that message. What makes matters worse is the fact that today is the feast of Saint Peter Chrysologus who lived from 380 to 450 and who was known for his preaching ... in fact the name "Chrysologus" means "golden speech". He was a gifted preacher who used every opportunity to help that mustard seed of the Gospel passage grow to full stature. So, a great big "Mea Culpa!".
I tried to redeem myself at a funeral Mass later this morning in my homily for a dear soul, Rachel Sholtes, one of our parishioners. Her life of eighty-six years saw her, like Paul, running the race and striving for the crowning glory reserved for those baptized in Christ. We do not compete with or against others, but strive to do our very best with the grace provided, and we achieve not gold, silver or bronze medals, but the eternal glory reserved for the chosen of God. May Rachel, who bears the name of one of the great women of the Hebrew Scriptures, rest in peace.
I tried to redeem myself at a funeral Mass later this morning in my homily for a dear soul, Rachel Sholtes, one of our parishioners. Her life of eighty-six years saw her, like Paul, running the race and striving for the crowning glory reserved for those baptized in Christ. We do not compete with or against others, but strive to do our very best with the grace provided, and we achieve not gold, silver or bronze medals, but the eternal glory reserved for the chosen of God. May Rachel, who bears the name of one of the great women of the Hebrew Scriptures, rest in peace.
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NPM Convention reflection
One of the wonderful experiences in attending a convention like the National Pastoral Musicians last week is the opportunity to share in prayer and song with 2,000 like minded people who have a love of the Lord, a great ability to create music and song, and a deep and abiding faith. We had many prayer experiences, one of which was Taize Prayer on Tuesday night from 10:30 to 11:30 pm. For those who have never experienced Taize Prayer, it is restful. Prayer in the spirit of the Taize Community (in France) is a meditative form of common prayer. Gathered in the presence of Christ, surrounding the cross and icons, with subdued lighting and many candles, we sing uncomplicated, repetitive songs, uncluttered by too many words, allowing the mystery of God to become tangible through the beauty of simplicity. A few words are sung over and over again, in many languages, and reinforcing the meditative quality of prayer. It involved a Scripture reading and the Lord's Prayer. Even with many hundreds of people sharing in the time of prayer, it was personal, private, and touched the heart. It made you one with Christ and one with his Body, the Church.
I first encountered Taize Prayer while on Sabbatical in the Bay Area of California back in 1996, and truly fell in love with the spirit of this form of prayer. It was good to experience it once again in Pittsburgh at the Convention.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
A reflection
I thought that I would share with you a reflection that I wrote on this weekend's Scriptures for our Diocesan Web Site - www.dioceseofgreensburg.org.
Hunger touches our lives on many levels. The most basic and obvious is the hunger that affects the human body, our need for food and nourishment. But there are a multitude of other hungers that gnaw away at our human existence.
A few weeks ago I had to have some testing done that required that I fast from midnight on. Now normally I do not have a regular schedule for meals, and rarely eat breakfast. After the evening meal and maybe a snack, I usually do not eat until lunch, and that is often later than Noon. And I generally do not get hungry. But when I cannot eat, because of fasting or whatever, I always get hungry during the night and long for something to "tide me over". I don't know why, but it happens that way.
We all know what being hungry is like, of having the stomach growl or feeling faint or just longing for something to eat. And yet I am keenly aware that those needs do not even begin to compare to the countless people at home and around the world who are literally starving to death. Hunger is devastating.
There are also hungers for truth, and justice, for peace and understanding, for wisdom and compassion. And then there is the ultimate hunger for God. These hungers gnaw away at us and keep us from being fully human and truly God-like.
Our scriptures this weekend speak of the desire to satisfy our hungers, to seek out and to find the source of satisfaction for our needs. We are told to trust - not in ourselves or in others alone - but in a loving God who desires that we be whole, that we be nourished, that we be satisfied. As the Psalm says: "The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs." He will take what we have and will multiply it so that we will be secure and so that we can be a source of blessing for others. He can work miracles with just a little, as long as there is trust in him and a willingness to not only possess but also to share.
I have often said that the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes was to me not a Hollywood experience of bread and fish multiplying in the baskets, but rather that as the Lord blessed the generous gift of the boy who offered what he had for the good of all, it prompted many backpacks and lunch bags that had remained closed to others, to now be opened and shared in love and compassion. There was enough there already, but because of our self concern and maybe selfishness, there were people who were hungry. If we strive to live in a manner worthy of the call we have received, as Paul says in Ephesians, then our hungers and the hungers that touch the world, will be met. It begins, though, with the satisfaction of our hunger for God and for that relationship with him that raises us up and gives us the courage to build a better world.
Lord, you satisfy the hungry heart ... come give to us, O precious Lord, the bread of life to live.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION FOR THE 17TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Hunger touches our lives on many levels. The most basic and obvious is the hunger that affects the human body, our need for food and nourishment. But there are a multitude of other hungers that gnaw away at our human existence.
A few weeks ago I had to have some testing done that required that I fast from midnight on. Now normally I do not have a regular schedule for meals, and rarely eat breakfast. After the evening meal and maybe a snack, I usually do not eat until lunch, and that is often later than Noon. And I generally do not get hungry. But when I cannot eat, because of fasting or whatever, I always get hungry during the night and long for something to "tide me over". I don't know why, but it happens that way.
We all know what being hungry is like, of having the stomach growl or feeling faint or just longing for something to eat. And yet I am keenly aware that those needs do not even begin to compare to the countless people at home and around the world who are literally starving to death. Hunger is devastating.
There are also hungers for truth, and justice, for peace and understanding, for wisdom and compassion. And then there is the ultimate hunger for God. These hungers gnaw away at us and keep us from being fully human and truly God-like.
Our scriptures this weekend speak of the desire to satisfy our hungers, to seek out and to find the source of satisfaction for our needs. We are told to trust - not in ourselves or in others alone - but in a loving God who desires that we be whole, that we be nourished, that we be satisfied. As the Psalm says: "The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs." He will take what we have and will multiply it so that we will be secure and so that we can be a source of blessing for others. He can work miracles with just a little, as long as there is trust in him and a willingness to not only possess but also to share.
I have often said that the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes was to me not a Hollywood experience of bread and fish multiplying in the baskets, but rather that as the Lord blessed the generous gift of the boy who offered what he had for the good of all, it prompted many backpacks and lunch bags that had remained closed to others, to now be opened and shared in love and compassion. There was enough there already, but because of our self concern and maybe selfishness, there were people who were hungry. If we strive to live in a manner worthy of the call we have received, as Paul says in Ephesians, then our hungers and the hungers that touch the world, will be met. It begins, though, with the satisfaction of our hunger for God and for that relationship with him that raises us up and gives us the courage to build a better world.
Lord, you satisfy the hungry heart ... come give to us, O precious Lord, the bread of life to live.
Seeing the sights
One of the great opportunities of the NPM Convention is to see the host city in a variety of ways. Pittsburgh is a beautiful city, filled with diversity, history and culture. The David L. Lawrence Convention Center is in the heart of downtown, along the Allegheny River. It, along with the adjoining Westin Convention Center Hotel, served as the primary venue locations. Other events were scheduled at St. Mary of Mercy in the heart of the city (used for daily Mass), Epiphany Catholic Church in uptown (for concerts and workshops), the First English Evangelical Lutheran Church, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (both in the heart of the city), and St. Paul Cathedral in the Oakland section (over 100 years old, newly restored and housing a famous 1962 Beckerath organ) - all great churches with great organs. Another option on Monday morning was a tour and visit of four historic houses of worship in the city: Heinz Memorial Chapel on the University of Pittsburgh built in 1933; Rodef Shalom Temple in Oakland, built in 1901 and having the largest 1907 Kimball organ still in use; the Gothic East Liberty Presbyterian Church which occupies a city block and has one of the largest Aeolian-Skinner organs in the world; and Saint Stanislaus Kostka Church in the Strip District built by Polish immigrants in 1891 ( my classmate, Father Harry Nichols, serves as pastor).
The other optional excursion was a Tuesday evening Gateway Clipper Riverboat Dinner Cruise. After a rainstorm in the early afternoon, the Majestic paddle wheeler picked us up at the dock at the Convention Center and took us on a two and a half hour cruise of the three rivers of Pittsburgh, with a delicious buffet dinner and a chance to see the sights, including the sell out crowd at PNC Park for the Pirate baseball game. It was great meeting new people and listening to the comments regarding the beauty of Pittsburgh.
The other optional excursion was a Tuesday evening Gateway Clipper Riverboat Dinner Cruise. After a rainstorm in the early afternoon, the Majestic paddle wheeler picked us up at the dock at the Convention Center and took us on a two and a half hour cruise of the three rivers of Pittsburgh, with a delicious buffet dinner and a chance to see the sights, including the sell out crowd at PNC Park for the Pirate baseball game. It was great meeting new people and listening to the comments regarding the beauty of Pittsburgh.
Friday, July 27, 2012
"Renew the face of the earth"
I just returned from attending the 35th Annual Convention of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians held this year at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. The theme of this year's Convention is mentioned above - "Renew the face of the earth" - and commemorates the opening of the Second Vatican Council in Rome fifty years ago this coming October 11th. Pope Benedict XVI has called for a special Year of Faith to honor the beginning of that historic Council. At the convention we not only remembered the Council's accomplishments and teachings, but we celebrated God's continued call to renewal of the Church and her liturgy, and to listen to God's Word and renew our mission to the world. It was a great week.
The National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM) is an association of nearly 7,500 musicians, clergy, liturgists, educators and worship leaders in the United States that seeks to foster the art of liturgical music. There are 66 active diocesan chapters in 26 states in the U.S. and the District of Columbia. For your further information, their web site is www.npm.org. The annual convention invites the participation and growth in ministry to all who serve the liturgy in song. It reflects a diversity of cultures, ages, ministries, musical roles and styles of music. It is an opportunity for publishers and artists and composers to showcase their new works, and for the rest of us to be renewed and inspired.
The convention formally opened on Monday afternoon and concluded this Friday afternoon with a commissioning service. I'll share in the next few posts some of my observations and experiences, but suffice it to say the Pittsburgh contingent and their many helpers (many from our Greensburg Diocese) did an outstanding job this year. Our thanks to them all. I was particularly moved by many of the prayer experiences. But it is good to be home!
The National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM) is an association of nearly 7,500 musicians, clergy, liturgists, educators and worship leaders in the United States that seeks to foster the art of liturgical music. There are 66 active diocesan chapters in 26 states in the U.S. and the District of Columbia. For your further information, their web site is www.npm.org. The annual convention invites the participation and growth in ministry to all who serve the liturgy in song. It reflects a diversity of cultures, ages, ministries, musical roles and styles of music. It is an opportunity for publishers and artists and composers to showcase their new works, and for the rest of us to be renewed and inspired.
The convention formally opened on Monday afternoon and concluded this Friday afternoon with a commissioning service. I'll share in the next few posts some of my observations and experiences, but suffice it to say the Pittsburgh contingent and their many helpers (many from our Greensburg Diocese) did an outstanding job this year. Our thanks to them all. I was particularly moved by many of the prayer experiences. But it is good to be home!
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Missing in action
For those wondering where I am, I am at the National Pastoral Musician Convention in Pittsburgh and do not have access to my computer. I'll fill you in on the convention when I return this weekend. So far it is truly inspiring and the singing and worship uplifting.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
An unbelievable update
After posting a moment ago, I went looking through some of last year's posts. I came across one that I found interesting: on June 22, 2011, just thirteen months ago today, I published my 100th post, and at that time I had 2,767 page views. I was honored and overwhelmed.
Imagine my delight in comparing that day with today - with this being the 437th posting and pageviews as of a few moments ago totalling 18,129! Talk about the unexpected! My deep gratitude to those who check us out on occasion, and my profound gratitude to the regulars who check up on my journey thoughts. I truly enjoy the ministry. God bless you!
Imagine my delight in comparing that day with today - with this being the 437th posting and pageviews as of a few moments ago totalling 18,129! Talk about the unexpected! My deep gratitude to those who check us out on occasion, and my profound gratitude to the regulars who check up on my journey thoughts. I truly enjoy the ministry. God bless you!
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