All these evils come from within

Dear Parishioners,

This week Jesus tells us that we will be judged by what is within. He speaks to us about what really matters – our heart. He reminds us that sin and poor choices and bad actions don't come out of nowhere, they originate based on the condition of our heart.

We were made to love, we were made to be with God, who is love. We were made with free will, to be a part of the process by which God wills to bring to completion the good work He has begun in each of us. Our choices, good or bad, flow from the condition of who we are becoming, and at the same time affect who we are becoming. Our actions begin with the thought of those actions, this is a piece of what makes us human. We are a humanity redeemed by God.

God made us in His likeness and so we form ourselves in His likeness. His likeness, which is love. I form myself, with Him, to love better and therefore my actions will reflect who I am, or at least who I am becoming.

How am I doing with my part of the process? Am I forming myself to be a true lover of others? Do I avoid the types of actions Jesus warns us against, which treat others as object for my pleasure, or my gain, or my manipulation? Am I learning to see others as people loved by God and not simply as inconveniences or obstacles? Do I learn to truly care for others, to see from their point of view, as opposed to the Pharisees that took an opportunity to use the actions of the disciples to puff themselves up?

We are all in this process, and naturally, we must be in it together.

When we form ourselves, and help others to form themselves, we grow. One of the best ways I know to do this is through the ministry of the catechist. These generous people are getting closer to God by helping those whom He loves, helping them to form themselves as they were meant to be. By assisting these families, they become part of our whole family. Please consider this ministry.

And please, say an extra prayer this week for all those who will be returning to school. In a world still confused by the effects “culture,” politics, and so many other enticements away from the truth, we entrust our children, and their faculty, and all those who work in the schools, to the protection of Almighty God, through the intercession of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, St. Philip Neri, and of course, under all titles and always, our Blessed Mother.

God bless,

Fr. Holz

MILL POND REFLECTIONS

“To Whom Shall We Go…”

Greetings from Ghana!

August 2024 has been the month where everything great is happening with my family, and yes, mixed with some drama from the extended family. I am grateful to God for both the dreams come through and the drama. I am grateful to you all for your unwavering love and support in my ministry. My mom and grandma say Thank You!

It’s been great being home to celebrate my lovely grandma’s 90^th birthday and my cousin’s priestly ordination, the 4^th priest in my family. Also, this month has seen my brother-in-law and niece traveling to Hawaii for my niece’s limb surgery. In addition, on August 15, Our Blessed Mother’s feast day came with my earthly blessed mother finally being granted a visa to visit the parish. You can expect to see her by the end of this year. By the Lord has all of this been done. It is wonderful in our eyes.

On my grandma’s birthday, I asked her what she had used her 90 years of life for. Without missing a beat, she said, “serving the Lord by serving others.” This gave me a summary of her life in a way I could not describe. It also reminded me of what I am called to be and to do as a laborer in the Lord’s vineyard.

All of us have been called to service. If only we could join hands and say with the Prophet Joshua: “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” The call to serve is not without disappointments, failures, and feelings of not being rewarded or acknowledged enough.

We may be tempted to take the easier route of returning to our former way of life and no longer accompanying our Lord or, worse, not allowing Him to accompany us.

Difficult as it may be, I believe that no reason is good enough to take a vacation from our vocation to accompany our Lord more closely and to serve Him in serving others more dearly. It doesn’t get better anywhere except with Him, however long it takes.

“Do you also want to leave?” He asks of you. I hope your answer is always: “Master, to whom shall we go?”

Peace!

Fr. Collins

The one who feeds on Me will have life because of Me

Dear Parishioners,

Jesus is the bread of life, the Eucharist, and He offers Himself to us, and for us, at each and every mass. What an incredible gift! Are we prepared to receive such a wonderful gift? Are we prepared to have, and to live, the life that He freely offers to us?

We pray that we not be confused, just as they were when Jesus offered it to those first disciples. Some thought He was talking about cannibalism (!) some thought He was offering some kind of magic potion (buy my water) and some saw simply a symbol but figured it was really still bread (how sad.)

Jesus was saying to them, as He says to us, “Take ME! – Take ALL of ME!” I am offering you life, the full life that comes from Me being in your life and you being in mine. I often say in the first communion homilies that communion is not simply a one-way street. “I am here Lord so give it to me.” What we should be saying is that we recognize Him, we recognize the sacrifice He makes for us (“We offer You, Lord, this life-giving bread, this chalice of salvation”) and we join Him by our joining with, and receiving, the sacrifice offered to God Himself, thereby offering ourselves as sacrifice. Is that what I am really doing? The point is not what am I getting, it becomes what am I prepared to give? This is often my response to those who tell me they aren’t “getting anything out of mass.” The point is really “what are you prepared to give?” If I am attaching myself to His perfect sacrifice of His divine life, am I really ready to say, “I offer my imperfect sacrifice, tied to yours, to bring me to the divine life You promise to me?”

Jesus says I offer you Me, completely.

I offer you Me who is welcoming.

I offer you Me who is forgiving.

I offer you Me who is Love.

I offer you all of this but leave your free will intact. Take Me, take ALL of Me and you will know how to act, you will know what to do, you will know how to live - with Me and because of Me.

Take Me and leave anger, pride, greed, lust, anger, envy, gluttony and sloth behind.

Take Me and be who you were meant to be. That’s life, nothing less.

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."

We can do this; we are already His.

God bless,

Fr. Holz

Dear Parishioners,

When we published the financial information for last year I promised more timely updates. The Parish financial year end, August 31, is upon us.

So many generous parishioners have come forward to respond to specific needs. Refrigerators, improvements to the sound system, the statue of Mary (she’s on her way!) incredible generosity to our various outreach programs, and many whose gifts which I have not included here, all of these are appreciated, and we are extremely grateful.

We are also grateful for the responses to the fundraising efforts; they are incredibly important to the parish. (The Golf Outing is approaching!)

We have seen in the past that there were efforts that began before I got here. Flat amounts in salaries and benefits (and we don’t have any employees who couldn’t be making more working in private business, but they are here for the love of the parish.) We saw decreases in the office expenses and rectory expenses. We are doing everything we can to continue these efforts. We all have lists of things we would like to see changed or improved, but at this moment we are struggling just to maintain.

As a parish we have been able to withstand these few years’ worth of deficits due to the amounts of surpluses in prior years. The fear however is that it is like removing principle from investments, there is a limited amount of time that we may continue to dip into our savings.

Unfortunately, the only certainty for the future is that many of these costs are, and will continue, increasing. The cost of insurance in the fringe benefits are and will be increasing. The cost of insurance on the property will be increasing. The costs for maintaining aging buildings and plant will be increasing.

We are currently seeking insurance reimbursement for portions of the outlays for the air conditioning repair work.

For these regular expenses we must look to our regular weekly collections. We can see that many parishioners came forward with large donations and gifts, and we thank them.

I appeal to you today, for the sake of the parish, to consider what assistance you are able to provide as our fiscal year comes to a close.

And we will be asking you to prayerfully consider the amounts given, to keep this parish, our parish, operating.

God bless all of us, and God bless our parish, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs,

Fr. Holz

Fr. Walter's Letter

“I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.” John 6:35

My dear Brothers and Sisters,

As we continue to go through the sixth chapter of St. John’s Gospel at Mass, we have been asked by the bishop to continue to reflect upon the place of the Eucharist in our lives as our nation enters into the Eucharistic Revival.  This letter will continue to help us reflect together.

I have memories from childhood (I will bet many of you do too) of processing in public with our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament on feasts like Corpus Christi in the springtime.  Such processions, with beautiful candles, incense, and rose petals, are outward signs of our faith in the presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.  They are public testimonies of our faith.  They make abundantly clear that we believe Jesus is present in the Blessed Sacrament. 

I remember going to many places with our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament in the monstrance, and seeing everyone drop to their knees as we walked by.  In some places people still have a tremendous sense of respect for our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and know in their hearts the best and only thing to do when we see our Lord in the Eucharist is to get on our knees (if we can).  It would be wonderful if we could build such a culture here.

I would like to share with you the words of a number of traditional prayers about the Blessed Sacrament.  They are very beautiful and speak of our faith in eloquent ways.  Perhaps you will find spiritual nourishment in them.

Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is accessible to every one.

O Jesus, my redeemer, O love of my soul!  How much has it cost Thee to remain with us in this Sacrament!  To be able to dwell on our altars, Thou hadst to suffer death.   To aid us by Thy presence, Thou hadst to submit to so many grievous insults in this Sacrament!  And after all these proofs of Thy love, we are so slothful; we neglect to visit Thee though we know how ardently Thou desirest our visits, and desirest them only to enrich us with Thy graces.

O dearest Lord, pardon my past ingratitude.  I am resolved henceforth to visit Thee often, and to remain as long as I can in Thy presence.  I thank Thee, I love Thee, and ask for Thy favors. It is for this Thou remainest a prisoner of love in our tabernacles.  I love Thee, O Sovereign Goodness!  I love Thee, O God of love!  I love Thee, O infinite Good!  Grant that I may forget myself and all creatures to remember only Thy love.  Let me devote the remainder of my life to Thy service.  Henceforth may my greatest pleasure be to remain in Thy presence!  Inflame my soul with Thy holy love, O Mary, my Mother, obtain for me an ardent love for the most holy Sacrament; and whenever I grow negligent, remind me of the promise I now make of paying a daily visit to Jesus in this Sacrament. Amen.

Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is ever ready to give audience to all.

My beloved Jesus, Thou dwellest on our altars to listen to the supplications of the wretched who have resource to Thee; hear the prayer of a sinner who now kneels before Thee, O Lamb of God, sacrificed on the cross, and present under the sacramental veils, remember that I have been redeemed by Thy blood.  Pardon all the sins I have committed against Thee, and assist me by Thy grace. Amen.

God bless you and I hope that you have a wonderful week.

Yours in Jesus through Mary,

Rev. Walter F. Kedjierski

“Sir, give us this bread always”

Dear Parishioners,

Why do we come to church? Do we come because that has been a family “tradition” for generations? Do we come simply to fulfill an obligation? Do we come for the music? The homily? Do we come for companionship with the other good people who are our parishioners? Do we come seeking a quick fix to a current problem? The crowd in today’s gospel is looking for a temporary fix, a sign, but a fix for their hunger.

Jesus points out that the manna in the desert, provided by God, was indeed a sign from Him, but was a temporary fix. God would always continue to provide for them, and for us, but this sign was for that time. Jesus provides us with a permanent solution. He is the bread come down from heaven. He will be the sacrifice, the permanent sacrifice, for all who would accept. Permanent, as in forever. Permanent for all who seek a relationship with God. That means us.

Oftentimes at baptisms I will say that the sacrament is not simply a ritual, not simply entrée into a series of rituals, it is a way of life. We are born again. It is who we are. This week let’s examine why we each come to mass. Jesus knew the hearts of the followers without asking. Some may have come for the food, or for the “show,” or to see what they would “get out of it.” We examine why we come. 

So often I say that those disciples must have been lucky. They were invited to be in His presence. Anything else would be less. We are invited to be in His real presence in the Eucharist, how lucky we are, if we recognize it. Anything else will be less. God has offered us a permanent solution; we make it a part of who we are. We pray for each other this summer, those who are away, those who come and visit, all whose routines are different, and all of those whose routines are not so different.

God bless,

Fr. Holz 

MILLPOND REFLECTION

‘What good are these for so many?’

I grew up in a compound house with my grandparents, parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, and cousins living in the same house. At one point, I could count about 21 of us. That also meant I grew up with little. Dinner time would come, and I often asked myself, ‘What good are these for so many?’ I sometimes wondered where our next day’s meal would come from. But somehow, I always felt satisfied with what was given, and our basic needs were always provided for.
Have you ever wondered and said, ‘What good are [these] for so many?’ as you look at your limited re-sources in value and number? Or asked, what good are YOU for Christ, your family, your job, the Church, our nation?
Look first not at what you can do but what Christ can do in and with you and for you. If Christ could use five barley loaves and two fish to feed over five thousand people and have fragments leftover, what else would He be capable of accomplishing in you and with you and for you?
Gathering the leftover fragments meant keeping in mind those who were absent, those who were not as privileged as they were, those who did not have food in abundance. Sharing the leftover fragments with them might be an answer to their prayers.
My experience of having limited resources and a large family was a valuable lesson. We were challenged to share what we had with others who had less. Our blessing was a deeper faith in God, and we were rewarded with HIS bountiful blessing.
All Christ asks of you is to give Him all you are and have. First, give Him what He asks of you, and the God who multiples our efforts will transform your gifts into abundance for you. What He asks of you is your faith and trust, your patience and perseverance, and your love. What He asks of you is YOU, no matter how little you might be in your abilities and path to holiness.
Let us run in haste to carry Him off in our hearts to make Him the King of our lives, to let Him reign in us!
Fr. Collins.
^^^love is all you need^^^
Thank you for all your well-wishes on my Ordination Anniversary and Citizenship.

July 16, 2024

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This past week has been an important one for the Catholic Church in the United States.  Catholics from around the country gathered together to celebrate the 10^th National Eucharistic Congress.  A Eucharistic Congress is a moment for people to gather together for Mass, Eucharistic adoration, processions, workshops, faith sharing, and other experiences meant to build up devotion to and love for our Eucharistic Lord.  By God’s grace I am sure that there will be many blessings for our country as a result of the congress.  We all know that our nation needs God’s blessings now more than ever, and the unitive power of the Eucharist will surely help us.

The Eucharistic Congress was just one piece of an overall initiative the bishops of the United States have developed in order to promote Eucharistic Revival.  I was working for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops when the plans developed for the revival and participated in many preparation meetings.  The idea of a Eucharistic Revival developed as a result of a very sobering survey conducted by the Pew Research Center that said only 31% of people who claim to be Catholic believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.  This distressed the bishops and motivated them to hold this Eucharistic Revival. 

There was a national Eucharistic procession that went from the West to the East Coast.  A relic of the bishop of the abandoned tabernacle, Manuel Gonzalez Garcia, was acquired by the bishops and traveled the country.  There is a book about him available simply entitled Bishop of the Abandoned Tabernacle. There were workshops and study sessions developed.  Bishop Robert Barron published a very brief, accessible book entitled This is My Body: A Call to Eucharistic Revival which is available from Word on Fire press.  There was a movie released entitled “Alive” which highlighted how some young Catholics found new life through the Eucharist.  I went to see it with two other priests, and we were joined by a couple of older ladies as well as one layman who also worked for the USCCB, so it was not too popular.  All of these resources have been shared with us to help us grow in our love of the Eucharistic Lord.

During this time of Eucharistic Revival I think it is important for us to pause and ask the question, what does the Eucharist mean to me?  The Lord has instructed us not just to receive as a matter of habit but to reflect deeply upon it.  St. Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write: “He who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.” (1 Cor. 11:29).

What does the Eucharist mean to me?  Personally, I find the Eucharist to be an overwhelmingly gracious gift of our loving God.  The Eucharist is God’s invitation for us to enter into intimacy with him that stretches beyond this world and into the next.  The Eucharist connects us to the cross on which his body was given to us and enables us to offer ourselves up to the Father with Christ by the power of the Spirit for the salvation of the world.  The Eucharist is the way in which Jesus maintains his connection with us in this time and place.  The Eucharist is a call to faith. 

We are called to believe, as St. Thomas Aquinas wrote in his famous hymn Pange Lingua, that the words of Christ are more trustworthy than our senses, and when He says, “This is my Body,” what is before us is not the bread we see and taste and touch, but the Body of Christ.  The Eucharist is also a call to action.  As we are nourished and fed with a food we could never deserve, we cannot allow others to go hungry, whether physically or spiritually.  There is more I could write but it would take up pages!

I’d encourage you to take some time this week to do what I just did and write out in your spiritual journal what the Eucharist means to you.  The bishops have given us plenty of resources to help us with our reflections.  Doing so will surely help us to participate more attentively and meaningfully in Mass.

Faithfully yours in Jesus and Mary,

Rev. Walter F. Kedjierski

Confession as Gift

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

When I was a young, newly ordained deacon (before being ordained a priest) I was sent to do missionary work in the desolate and rural mountains of the Dominican Republic.  It was a sobering experience to encounter people who suffered from an austerity of the basic necessities of life – food and water, not to mention education.  I remember distinctly one village we visited from which a young child died of malnutrition.  Ironically, that village was filled with banana trees, but the villagers refused to eat them.  When asked why they responded that they had always been taught that the bananas were poisonous.  It was such a regrettable moment.  The answer to that mother’s trial of her son’s hunger was right over her head and she never realized it.

While many (but not all) of us here in Centerport and Northport might not suffer from physical malnutrition, I would like to suggest that there is an answer right above our heads to serious problems we are struggling with but we too neglect to take advantage of it.  As the title suggests, I am referring to the Sacrament of Confession, also known as Penance or Reconciliation ( which you can abbreviate as spiritual CPR!).  There are times many of us struggle with feelings of guilt, regret for actions done far in the past, and anxiety over mistakes we’ve made.  I think many of us have an inward, hidden desire to hear someone with authority tell us, you can start over again.  You can leave this behind and begin anew.  I believe that such hidden desires are actually the voice of God Himself, trying to prompt us to take advantage of a way in which He wishes to love us.  What a profound and theologically sound way to view the sacrament of CPR: it is a way in which God expresses His love for us.  It is His embrace as we humble ourselves before Him, not hiding like Adam and Eve did in the garden, but exposing ourselves as ourselves, warts and all, and discovering afterward that God still loves us, most especially in our woundedness.  Didn’t Jesus say, “Those who are well do not need a physician, the sick do.  I have come not to call the righteous but sinners.”?  We can view confession as Jesus embracing us in our personal sorrows and sadness over our sins.  He waits for us in the confessional with arms outstretched; how unfortunate that many of us do not jump with joy into his loving embrace. 

I believe that there is a misunderstanding of the Sacrament of CPR that keeps many people away from it.  They think to themselves, I don’t want to face this mistake I’ve made.  I don’t want to own up to it.  They ask, what will the priest think of me when I confess this?  Some might even go so far as to say, I can’t possibly overcome this sin, so why should I bring it to confession at all?  These thoughts should go under what participants in 12-step programs label as “stinkin’ thinkin’.”  We can fall into the trap of thinking, the Sacrament is all about me, what I’ve done, and what I need to do when I finish.  Such thinking neglects to acknowledge the basic theological truth that Confession is a sacrament.  Who is most active in any and all of the sacraments?  Not us, but God.  While we do admit our faults in confession, we do so with the faith that says God’s love for me endures despite the worst I could possibly do.  Instead of primarily focusing in on what we’ve done in the Sacrament, we should focus in on what God does.  He recreates us.  He removes our sins from us.  He makes us as pure and renewed as on the day we were lifted out of the Baptismal waters.  He once again opens the doors of heaven to us.  Does he do this because we did anything to deserve it?  No, in fact, it would be impossible for us ever to deserve such a gift.  Yet He does so anyway.  He does so because He loves us more than we can imagine.  Even though we might fear that we cannot resist the temptations to sin in the future, and that might very well be true if we tried on our own, nevertheless with God all things are possible.  Confession offers to us the grace, God’s help, which can enable us to forsake sin in the future.  Should we make a mistake, our Lord is waiting for us in the confessional.  All we need to do is come to Him.

One of my favorite Scripture passages is from John 8, which describes the interaction of Jesus with a woman caught in the very act of committing adultery.  While the judgmental and harsh crowd labeled her and dismissed both her dignity and humanity in their attempts to use her to discredit Jesus, Jesus treated her with love and compassion.  I can’t imagine how she must have felt when he said to her, after fearing the very loss of her life, “Neither do I condemn you.  Go, and from now on avoid this sin.”  She was given a second chance.  Jesus wants to say the same to you and to me as we go to confession.  He uses the lips of the priest to speak his gentle words, “I absolve you from your sins.”  Jesus gave the authority to forgive sins to the Church (John 20).  Let us take advantage of all that Jesus wishes to offer us, especially his CPR, so that we can experience His embrace to the full.

Have a blessed week!

Yours in Jesus through Mary,

Father Walter F. Kedjierski

MILLPOND REFLECTIONS

‘If I but touch his clothes…’

Sometimes, it just does not make sense to keep hope alive. We may have more reasons to give in to despair, doubt, and fear, than to keep hope and faith alive. The woman with hemorrhages “had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.” She had done anything and everything humanly possible, yet nothing was working. As if her physical suffering was not enough, this woman suffered emotionally and socially as well. Her condition had defined her in the law as not only someone who is unclean, but that anything she touched became unclean as well. How great her shame, how painful her suffering.

Jairus’ daughter’s situation also grew worse from “my daughter is at the point of death…” to “your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” The woman with hemorrhages having suffered for twelve years, and Jairus’ daughter being twelve years old establishes the commonality in their suffering. What was there to hope for in both situations?

Yet, we see an incredible depth of faith and humility shown. Jairus in humility fell at Jesus’s feet and pleaded earnestly with Him. The woman with hemorrhages in humility came up behind Jesus and touched the hem of His cloak. They had found themselves so unworthy to even ask something of the Lord. In faith, Jairus believed that the TOUCH of Jesus will restore life to his daughter. The woman with hemorrhages believed that TOUCHING Jesus would turn what was humanly impossible to be possible, restoring for her the life and dignity she had lost. Her ‘unclean’ touch of Jesus made her ‘clean’ not Jesus ‘unclean.’

However bad your situation might be, it does not have the power to stop Jesus from touching you. And it should not have the power to stop you from touching Him in faith and humility through the sacraments. In the Eucharist, we get to touch Him and He touches us. Receive Him in faith and humility, and He will receive you in His mercy and love.

Add your own words to this prayer, and pray it in faith and humility… “If I but touch Him in the Eucharist….

Fr. Collins

***love is all you need***

Do you not care that we are perishing?

Dear Parishioners,

In the first reading, God responds to Job that He has been there from the beginning and is still involved. There was a plan then, there is a plan now, whether Job realizes it or not. How often do we question God’s plan in our lives? How often do we feel that Jesus is asleep in our boat? Storms going on in our lives and we may wonder where Jesus is, whether He is simply asleep while we deal with the storms.

We may wonder if He has given up on His original plan, we may wonder if He still cares. Of course He does. We need faith to believe that just as He told Job, the plan which was in effect at the beginning is still in effect. We need to remember that He is still in the boat and will bring His plan to fruition. This is not always easy when we face the storms that will enter our lives or when His plan doesn’t seem to match ours.

Bottom line, HAVE FAITH. He knows how the plan ends, we do not, HAVE FAITH. He saw the storms and knew they were coming before they started, HAVE FAITH. He knows our weaknesses and the limits of our own faith, HAVE FAITH. Our faith is solidified and strengthened by our actions. God prompts, and works through, our actions. He works on others; He works on us. We do not separate what we believe from what we do, it is the face of who we are. 

We are wary whenever someone tries to tell us that our faith is for Church, but that we should subject any other areas of our life to other spheres of influence. We are wary when people try to limit our faith, or the expression of it, by passing regulations contrary to it. We are wary when people try to limit the Pope’s - OUR Pope’s - expression of faith to something over which others believe they should have other people’s approval. We have faith in Jesus. We pray to Him for ourselves, for our families, for our parish, for our country and for the world.

God Bless,

Fr. Holz 

Parables, parables, parables

Dear Parishioners,

We know that the point of Jesus’ incarnation is that He be one with us, as He invites us to be one with Him. We hear that reflected in the way He teaches, always focused on the people, focused on the relationship. He wants everyone involved - EVERYONE. And therefore, He makes His teachings accessible to His flock. He wants them to understand, He wants us to understand, regardless of our individual learning or capabilities.

Can’t understand a deep theological point on the existence of evil? Well, imagine a field of wheat and weeds. You know what that is like. Are you having a problem with the role of the scriptural in your life? He tells them, you know what a mustard tree looks like; remember the size of that seed. Nurture that and let it grow. Not sure of a specific technical aspect of church teaching? Let the faith that you have be like the yeast that impacts all aspects. Not sure about a specific liturgical nuance? Imagine a great wedding feast.

There are reasons for so many of the aspects which we may, at one point in our lives or another, not understand. But the truth is that none of them supersede our relationship with Him. A true relationship based on who He really is.

The point is that Jesus invites us all into the Kingdom. Not only those who may know the specific language or technicalities, He invites ALL. We, His disciples, make sure that we do the same. It is not up to us to proclaim someone uninvited because of a difference of opinion or style. This is what the arguments with the Pharisees were often about. We are not Pharisees.

We don’t want to miss the forest for the trees. We don’t come to watch others worship, as we remain outside of the group. We don’t come to Mass to critique or find fault with others; others who are in fact part of us!

We come together as a people because that is who we are.

We are in this together.

God Bless,

Fr. Holz

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY

This Sunday we celebrate those who have had the role of father in our own lives. Biological fathers, grandfathers, godfathers, indeed all those who have fulfilled that role. We acknowledge their contribution to making us into the persons we were meant to be. We pray for their modelling of the courage required to be people of faith, and for their endurance to continue that modelling in the face of so many obstacles – even when those obstacles are us! We say an extra prayer this week for them, in gratitude for what they have done, what they continue to do, and in gratitude to God for them.

A House Divided

Dear Parishioners,

In this week’s Gospel reading, Jesus is accused of driving out demons by being one of them, as if using some sort of demonic power. He starts out by showing that the argument itself makes no sense. Demons fighting demons? Satan expelling his own? If that were truly the case, we would have no reason to fear because Satan’s house is about to fall. So the argument itself falls flat on its face.

But that is not all. Jesus goes on to tell them of the deeper, even more dangerous area they are travelling into. They are in fact denying the power of God at work in Jesus. They are denying the Holy Spirit at work in Jesus’ works. When one denies the action of the Holy Spirit, they deny God…and they are lost.

If we don’t see the work of God in the action of the Mass, we may be lost. If we don’t accept that God is acting in the confessional, we may be lost. If we don’t see His presence in the sacrament of Baptism, we may be lost.

So often these days it seems that some people don’t see or believe in the action of God in our lives. If we come to mass to simply be entertained or inspired in human terms, we may miss the action of God. How sad is that! God work, occurring right in front of us, and we may miss it. We NEED to recognize the action of God in our lives. We cannot fulfill ourselves.

Jesus invites us to recognize Him, and His works, for who He truly is, and what they really are, God work in our lives. When we do, we will truly be His disciples. “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

He says to them, and to us, “Be my family, recognize Me for Who I am.”

We do that. We are His.

God bless,

Fr. Holz

In the family…

While we are all aware that Mass is not simply entertainment, we are also aware that liturgy done well will inspire us to get closer to God. Mrs. Deirdre Kupka has inspired an entire generation of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs congregations. As she begins her journey into retirement, we wish her well with gratitude beyond words.

We are blessed that the same genes will be continuing the traditions and sounds we have been lucky enough to become accustomed to. Mrs. Rebecca Kupka Overton has agreed to take the reins of the position she has seen up close for her whole life.

We are blessed!!!

Corpus Christi—The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Dear Parishioners,

This week we celebrate the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ; we celebrate the Eucharist. We celebrate this in fact each week; we celebrate it at each and every sacrifice of the Mass. We celebrate the fact that God gave us this gift of Himself. He gave us Himself that He would be with us, and we accept, so that we could be like Him.

We consider the words at Mass as the offerings are accepted “fruit of the earth and work of human hands.” This isn’t simply grain that grew but includes human input. The work of human hands. God can make human work holy. “Fruit of the vine and work of human hands.” Not simply grapes, but the work of humans to make the gifts of God into our gifts. God uses us as we call upon Him.

Work of human hands as we accept the gifts. Work of human hands as God uses the priest as the instrument of His consecration. Work of human hands as we exit the church, with Him dwelling within us and fulfill the mission that each of us has been called to. We get to be a part of God-work in this world with our human hands, with our human voices, with our human kindness.

At each Mass we get to offer Jesus to God on our behalf. (“We offer You Lord, this life-giving bread, this saving Chalice”) This sacrifice now belongs to God. Then we receive, we take Him into ourselves. Now what belongs to God? We do! By saying amen, I recognize that it is truly Jesus in the Eucharist. By saying amen, I recognize that He made this sacrifice of Himself for us. By saying amen, I recognize that I have taken His offering into me and that now, I am being offered. We say a lot when we say amen and receive. Is this reflected in my prayer, my body language, my humility, my not judging others (even online!)?

Jesus offers Himself as communion with us. We offer ourselves in communion with Him. In our reception of communion, we outright proclaim that we are in communion with each other. I cannot be in communion with Him if I am not in communion with those He is in communion with.

It was a custom in the church that there would be a procession of the Blessed Sacrament on Corpus Christi. There is still a procession. WE are that procession. As we leave church this week, and every week, let us remember whom we carry with us, let us remember that we have just offered ourselves to Him who offered Himself for us. I know that we can do this. We are in this together. We will simply not allow an individual, or a news story, or prior evils, or even current evils to come between us. And we remain in communion with each other by our communion with Him. This is not undone by space or distance. Through Him we remain in communion with each other.

God bless,

Fr. Holz

Fr. Walter Kedjerski

The good news is that Bishop Barres has graciously assigned another priest to our parishes. We are incredibly grateful to him for that! Rev. Walter F. Kedjierski, Ph.D. whose current title is Executive Director, Secretariat of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (Another incredibly smart priest!) The even better news is that we get to keep our current incredibly smart priest, Fr. Collins (at least for now!) The good news for me personally is that I get to stay, as Pastor for these parishes, which have moved so quickly and so deeply into my heart.

Financial Statements

When I first arrived, I said that I would be publishing the financial information for each parish -as I have always done. Unfortunately, various circumstances (personal and personnel) have delayed the process and publication. The finance committee has met and discussed our financial position. Even though for this particular year they will be late, I plan to give you the information within the next few weeks.

Holy Trinity Sunday

Dear Parishioners,

When considering the Holy Trinity, the first word that must come to mind is mystery. This may be especially true for this former accountant. Three is not the same as one, one is not the same as three (although I may have had clients that would have preferred that I could show the difference on their tax returns!) A mystery is something that we simply could not figure out on our own, we need to be told.

The Trinity was revealed to us by God himself in the bible. Jesus tells us over and over again that He was “sent” by the Father, not that He is another form or way of being of the Father, they are two persons. However, He also tells us that “all that the Father has is mine, and all that I have is His.” Simple things or possessions wouldn’t make sense, “all” encompassed wills and power, love, and forgiveness. Two but one.

Jesus also tells us that when He returns to the Father they will send “ANOTHER” advocate. Not that at that stage He is returning in a different form, but another. Now we have three. The advocate will remind us of what Jesus said, not change or add to it. Jesus tells us that what the Father revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures won’t change by a letter, or even part of a letter. Three persons, one message, three persons one God. Yes, still a mystery, but revealed to us by God.

God Bless,

Fr. Holz

Return of Outdoor Masses

Since I arrived, I have heard the arguments for and against the outside masses. Our Easter mass at dawn drew a significant congregation and so we will resume these masses. To begin we will be having them on the first and third Sundays of the month (weather permitting.) The next mass will be on Memorial Day weekend and the final will be on Labor Day. The masses will be posted on the website and announced each week. I will see you at 8:00 whether inside or out! 

PENTECOST

Dear Parishioners,

This week we celebrate the feast of Pentecost. The feast when the Holy Spirit came down among the apostles giving them the courage to proclaim their faith in Jesus to the rest of the world. The Holy Spirit continues among us.

The apostles were in hiding due to their fear. Possibly fear of what their fate would be at the hands of those who had Jesus crucified. They may have thought “If this is what they have done to our leader what is in store for us?” But I sometimes wonder if the bigger fear was “We actually believed that Jesus was God among us and now they have killed Him. Something is not right. Could we have been mistaken about Him?” There is a real fear. I thought I knew God. Was I wrong?

Have we ever felt that fear? What if all of this is simply pie in the sky platitudes to make us feel good, or Jesus was a good man and teacher, but God? Jesus Himself comes to be with them. The Holy Spirit is sent to burn away the fear and to remind them and give them courage. Their doubt is eased, and they are strengthened in the knowledge that Jesus is God, and that God loves us enough to be one with us.

That strength provides the courage to live their lives in accordance with His word - not simply to be nice or to be fair - but to live in accordance with His plan, which He revealed for our sake. They left the upper room changed, and prepared to show the world that they were changed. They were prepared for ministry. As they left the upper room, they communicated with all who were assembled. The reading from Acts tells us that they spoke, and all understood. It seems that we too can transcend language, that we may communicate God’s love, by our actions, by what we do.

When speaking with the children about non-verbal communication, I often use the example that if I look out the window and see one person on the ground and another standing over them, I can usually tell if they just pushed them down or are helping the other up—communication beyond language. What are we communicating, even as we leave church? Does my driving in the parking lot communicate God-work? Am I communicating God-love within me while in line at the diner? Or at the sports field with the children?

Others will recognize God’s love as it is present in us through our ministry. Here in our parish, we have so many different ministries from which to choose, in order that we too use the spiritual gifts each one of us has received. We need only break out of our upper rooms and allow those gifts to flourish. The variety of ministries ensures a place for each of us, and we get to serve each other! What a gift, for those whom we serve as well as for those who are served.

So, looking for a deeper relationship with God? Find a ministry. The ministry of consolation, catechists, liturgical ministries (Extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, lector or altar server), music, various parish social ministry opportunities - where do your gifts lie? There are many other opportunities available which I haven’t listed but will fulfill nonetheless.

Each week we pray that we will be “ready to greet Him when He comes again.” God Himself is with us, to help us to be ready. The Holy Spirit helps us to “pray as we ought.” Our first prayer might be that we do not relegate His presence within us as if to put Him away on a shelf. A Confirmation day that was special, but the effects not lasting if we ignore Him. God’s actions in our lives should affect our lives. OUR LIVES.  We come to Church and we pray. We pray because that is who we are called to be. We pray because that is who we are. We pray.

Today is Pentecost, both the celebration of the first AND the continuing to this day, this Pentecost.

God bless,

Fr. Holz

As You sent me into the world, so I send them into the world

Dear Parishioners,

As Jesus blesses His disciples, He continues His claim on them “They do not belong to this world.” But they are in this world, I do not take them out, rather, I give them a mission.

Jesus consecrates His disciples to continue His work, God-work. They have been with Him and now they bring the message, as He did, to the rest of the world. So too with us. We come to Mass, we are in touch with Him, we are filled by Him, we are consecrated by Him, but the point is that we then take His message out into the world.

We bring that fullness to fruition by the building of the Kingdom of God. We don’t receive the message simply for ourselves and then hide it under a bushel basket. We receive and then we become the light for others. We do that in this world. We do that in a world that desperately needs to hear and experience God’s love and understand His plan. The world needs us to proclaim the good news, even if it is not accepted. That is why Jesus left His disciples in the world, that is why we are in this world; the fulfillment of His plan, the continuation of God-work.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

For many of us, one of the first people to point out the way to Jesus, who shows us the Father, was our mother. On this day we celebrate and honor our mothers, and all those who in some way played the role of mother for each of us. This is your day.

We celebrate you.

We honor you.

We thank you.

Catholic Ministries Appeal – One aspect of who we are, of how we show our love of neighbor, of how we affect the world, is through the Catholic Ministries Appeal. The Catholic Ministries Appeal is one vehicle that allows us to help provide to those programs and those parishes that need help. Unfortunately, those parishes dealing with the most need are also those who have the least to provide for those in need. We are blessed to have a well-organized, well-run parish social ministry. Part of our contribution to the CMA assists other parishes who simply do not have what we do.

Believe me, I have heard all the arguments against giving. But I do know that parishes who achieve their goals receive rebates. I do know that the programs listed in the brochures actually do benefit. That is why I continue to personally donate each year. I don’t need rumors or innuendos (or even my own greed which can come in disguise) becoming my bushel basket.

Whether you decide to donate or not, I simply ask you to pray over that decision.

Fr. Holz

It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you

And appointed you to go and bear fruit that will last

Dear Parishioners,

Once again Jesus calls us to bear fruit that will last, to bear His fruit. We do not do this alone, His love will, through us, bear His fruit. What type of fruit is being generated by my life? Do I bear the fruit of Jesus, am I one of His branches, am I producing His fruit in my life, fruit that will last?

We know what type of fruit His type is. His fruit is forgiveness. How often do we hear Him say “Your sins are forgiven?” We see Him forgiving even those responsible for His crucifixion, “Father forgive them.” How much of the fruit of forgiveness is seen in my actions?

His fruit is communion, unity. “That they may be one as we are one” and the ultimate OUR

Father. Not my father, or His Father, or Jesus’ Father, OUR Father. Jesus’ fruit is unity. Does my life leave more unity in its wake? Or division?

 His fruit is peace. We are each around, or in the midst of, conflict in our lives. We are each in the midst of a pandemic, not only a pandemic of disease, but also a pandemic of frustration, of anger and of indignance. Does my involvement bring about the fruit of peace? Do I help opposing camps reconcile? Or do I provide more ammunition?

And we know how to do this. “Love one another as I love you.” An increase in love will necessarily bring about an increase in peace. Let us try to engender just a little more peace, through love, in each of our families this week. Reexamine our day at the end of it to see what type of fruit was produced. We try in our parish family to increase acceptance, increase unity, increase peace and increase love.

From family, to parish, to community, to the world. Peace, which is the fruit of love, must begin somewhere. We know this. Let it begin with us. After all, by remaining with love, we remain with Jesus. The world is desperately in need of recognizing His love, shown by our love. It is a big task, but He will be with our love as we remain in Him.

God bless,

Fr. Holz

MILL POND REFLECTIONS

The Church…Grew in Numbers (Acts 9:31) The last verse of our first reading today walks us into the Church of the early Christians as Christ’s resurrect ion was preached to them. What do we find as we take up our seats in this Church? “The Church…was at peace…being built up…walked in the fear of the Lord…grew in numbers” (Acts 9:31). What do you find as you walk into the Church today? What do you find as you walk into your home, the domestic church, today?

It’s been five weeks of celebrating Easter joy and preaching Christ’s resurrection. This we do every Sunday as well. Where are the numbers we saw on Easter Sunday? How can we best contribute to peace, building up, walking in the fear of the Lord, and growing numbers in the Church and our families?

This semester, the course I am teaching at St. John’s University is Perspectives on the Church. This past week, I had the students do group presentations on their issues with the Church and its relationship with current culture. One group presented on the issue of low Church attendance. It was fascinating to hear their comments on this issue as their age group tends to be the most difficult to retain in the Church.

One student shared that Church can be boring and that he saw a family member in Church dozing off while standing during Mass. Another shared that she has no issues with the Church but had issues with a couple of people with whom she went to Church. Those people’s lifestyles pushed her away from them and consequently further away from the Church. A third emphasized the need for more communal activities outside of Mass to foster a sense of belonging in the Church.

Let us all join in not as spectators but as active, conscious, and full participants to make the Church the best we wish to see it be. You can join in as a lector, Eucharistic Minister, Consolation Minister, Usher, Altar Server, and a member of the different societies in the Church. The Church is the Lord’s gift to all of us, the People of God. Through the Church, Christ, the true vine, shares His divine life with us as we receive the sacraments. He nourishes and prunes us so we may bear the fruits we wish to find in the Church.

Let us remain in Him and allow Him to remain in us. A single branch on a vine may not be as strong as a branch surrounded by many other branches attached to the same vine. Let us, by the fruits we bear as we love not in word or speech but in deed and truth, invite more branches to attach themselves to the true vine, the Risen Christ.

Peace!

Fr. Collins

…love is all you need… 

Good Shepherd Sunday

Dear Parishioners,

In this week’s gospel reading Jesus describes Himself as the good shepherd, the One who will give his all for the sake of the flock. The hired hand gives only according to his pay, or as far as he believes the flock deserves. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, gives according to His love for the sheep. The flock is His focus.

This weekend we often focus on vocations to the priesthood. We know that Jesus told St. Peter to tend His lambs and feed His sheep. Everyone in this parish knows that we can use more priests for this particular role of shepherding. Everyone has an idea of the qualities they believe are necessary for a good priest. It can’t be possible that everyone doesn’t know at least one other person with the qualities to be a good priest. ASK THEM!

Obviously, the priesthood is not the only extension of the role of shepherd. We are each given some portion of His flock whom our lives will impact. What are we to do? Follow in Jesus footsteps, lead them, love them.

When I look at the people in my life, do I see members of His flock who are in some way entrusted to me? Do I give of myself based on my love of them? Or do I hold back based on what I believe others deserve?

Do others receive my help, or attention, or prayers, based on my expectation of the warm and fuzzy feeling (the hired hands pay?) or is it rather based on them, and my love of God and of neighbor?

In our parish many of us exercise our shepherding roles in our families and in our parish. Some assist in the liturgical roles, some in the corporal works roles, some in the spiritual roles. We ask this week, whom do I consider His flock entrusted to me? How am I doing following His shepherding example? He gave all, what am I giving?

God bless,

Fr. Holz

Diocesan Bankruptcy – Many of you have read that this past week the Diocese has moved to remove itself from the protection of the bankruptcy courts. If accepted, this means that cases may move ahead against the Diocese and in some cases against individual parishes. We, and our lawyers, are monitoring the developments closely. We know that everything in the Church, and oftentimes in the court systems, takes its own time and there is no need for additional worry right now. I will keep you informed as each step moves along the way. We pray for peace and healing for all those affected by these circumstances. We pray for the peace that Jesus promised all of us.