Archive for the ‘Homily’ Category

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Blessed Life — Funeral Homily for Maria Boehm, 85

August 1, 2023

By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

On behalf of the parish community of St. Paul’s, I would like to extend our sincere condolence and sympathy to the members of Maria’s family. I would like to assure you of our continued prayers. Life has merely changed not ended. She is now with Jesus, His Blessed Mother, and all the saints to whom she was so devoted. She is now enjoying the presence of family and friends who have preceded her in death.

In the readings, we just heard from the book of Prophet Isaiah, God will destroy death forever, and the Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces. God is so merciful and generous toward his people. In the second reading, St. Paul describes the life of Christians, if we live, we live for the lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. So then, whether we live or die, we are God’s people.

In the Gospel, we have blessedness today. The Beatitudes describe as blessed, those simple followers of God that quietly, faithfully, and patiently wait, thirst and hunger for all that is good under heaven. When I spoke with Maria’s family, the overriding memory of her and the words they used when describing her life were words of simplicity, faith, and love.

Maria Boehm was born on April 7th, 1938, in Romania. During the Russian invasion, the family fled to Germany but they did not want to be communist. While her mother was working for the rich family cooking and gardening, they built a small structure in the garden and moved with her family. During this time, Maria Boehm met her first husband Kenneth who was an American serviceman and Maria married Kenneth on March 17th, 1956. They moved together to America, Maria learned English by watching soap operas. Together with her husband Kenneth, they raised four children. After the death of Kenneth, she married a long-time family friend John whose wife passed away five years prior, and helped raise his children. John and Maria together enjoyed their life by loving each other with their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

In the family gathering, Maria shared her talents as a homemaker; she loved cooking, and food was her way of sharing love with others. She took pride in her flowers, she use to collect angels, she was a devout Catholic, Maria was forever the caregiver, tending to the garden, feeding the birds, and was an Eucharist minister at St. Jude’s Catholic Church at New Auburn.

Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Maria was a gentle and simple woman with a lot of love. Maria was kind and showed no jealousy, she did not seek her own. Maria did not rejoice in unrighteousness, but she rejoiced with the truth. She bore all things quietly, believed all things sincerely, and hoped all things even death. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy, God quietly, mercifully, and gently took Maria home with him. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

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Victory Over the Sirens’ Song

August 1, 2023

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

This morning, I wish to recount two tales from Greek mythology which shed light on how we can fully live the Gospel. I want to tell you the stories of how Odysseus and his ship’s crew and Jason with his sailors each survived encounters with the mythical Sirens. The Sirens were beautiful half-woman/half-bird creatures who would sing from their island to passing ships. Their song was so alluring and entrancing that sailors would jump overboard and drown in the sea or steer their vessels into deadly shipwrecks on the rocks.

In The Odyssey, the poet Homer tells how Odysseus on his epic voyage wished to hear the Sirens’ song but also wanted to survive with his men. So Odysseus instructed his crew to tie him to the ship’s mast telling them that, no matter how much he might beg them, they were not to untie him but bind him down all the more. Then Odysseus put wax into the ear canals of all his men so they could not hear the Sirens’ song. While rowing their ship past the Sirens, Odysseus pleaded to be released, but his crew faithfully followed his previous instructions until the Sirens were left far behind them and all of them survived.

In the Greek tale of Jason and the Argonauts, Jason and his crew survived the Sirens using a different approach. Aboard their ship was a great musician named Orpheus, a master of an ancient harp called the lyre. As they passed the Sirens’ island, Orpheus plucked the strings of his instrument. And though the Sirens’ sang their evil song, Jason and all his men were so engrossed in the beauty of their friend’s music that none of them were drawn to the Sirens’ temptation.

So we see three strategies reflected in these tales: Odysseus tying himself to the mast, his men keeping wax in their ears, and Jason and his crew being captivated by something more beautiful.

Some people approach certain sins like Odysseus, asking, “How far can I entertain this temptation without falling? How much can I enjoy this sin without suffering consequences?” But having such a divided heart makes it is very hard to restrain oneself. Others, with more success, approach such sins like Odysseus’ men by giving temptation no hearing. They are not seduced by temptation because they prudently avoid its near occasions. They know where they are weak and adjust their habits accordingly. This strategy should have some place in aspects of all our lives. However, the third strategy against the allure of sin is best of all: to be led by, delighting in, and loving the holy, good, and beautiful.

Jesus says, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” The person in Christ’s parable sacrifices joyfully because he so values the treasure he has found. Jesus says, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.” A wise merchant can peacefully trade everything else for one most beautiful and desirable thing, to his great personal profit. Jesus, God, is the Pearl of Great Price. Christ’s Kingdom and life with his saints is the treasure we have found.

Let us pray: “Lord God, help me to love you more — your goodness and beauty and love — and to love all that you love as you love it.” Ask Jesus Christ to grow and deepen your love so that as you journey on your life’s voyage your faith may not be shipwrecked but be lived in fullest freedom with peaceful, loving joy.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Culture, Homily, Literature, Love, Parables, Sunday Homilies, Valuable Pearl | 1 Comment »

Spread the Good Seed

July 16, 2023

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

Jesus’s favorite way of teaching was by using stories and parables. The story makes it more approachable and leads us to discover it for ourselves. We recall stories much more than abstract things; today’s gospel narrates the familiar parable of the sower and the different kinds of soil on which the seed falls. This story encourages us to reflect on our own lives and our response to the good news of God’s loving reign. It invites each of us to ask, what kind of soil am I?

Today Jesus speaks about four types of land, path, stones, thorns, and the last is good ground. The seed fallen on the path stands for those who hear the message of the kingdom of God but do not understand it, thus the evil one comes and snatches it away. The evil one does not want the seed of the Gospel to sprout in the heart of man.

The second is that of the seed fallen among the stones, this represents the people who hear the word of God and understand it immediately, but when trials and tribulations arise, these people give up immediately.

The third is that of the seed fallen among the bushes with thorns; Jesus explains that this refers to the people who hear the word but care about the world and the temptation of riches, being choked. Finally, the seed that fell on the fertile soil represents those who hear the word, accept it, cherish it, and understand it.

The enemy of our life here is ignorance, trials, tribulations, focus on money, possessions, pleasure, comfort, and indifference. All these may lead to the seed of God’s word to wither and die, or be carried away by the winds of the world.

Jesus invites us to have good dispositions be docile to His word, grow, and bear fruit in us. Today we must ask ourselves how our heart is. Which soil does it resemble? That of the path, the rocks, the thorns? It is up to us to become good soil and bear good fruit for us and for our brothers and sisters.

Today we must examine ourselves, Am I a catholic who actively practices my faith and love of God? or am I simply someone who attends church on Sundays and just identify as a catholic without truly living out my beliefs? Do I truly understand and put into action the teaching of Jesus as found in the Gospel?

Let’s remember that for a plant to grow, it needs to be watered, cared for, and protected from bugs or diseases. To practice our faith, we must nurture it by reading scripture and continually deepen our prayer, the sacraments, and ongoing education, in order to live our faith well. As St. Jerome says ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.

At the same time, we are also sowers for people who rely on us. Do we make an effort to teach others about the faith through our prayers, actions, and words? Our words and actions have the power to do both good and harm, they can build up or cause scandal, they can inspire or discourage, can bring souls closer to Christ, or push them away. So try to be good soil and sower of the word of God to His people.

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Seed, Soil, & Fruit: Parish Transformation

July 16, 2023

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes
(As preached at St. Paul’s Parish)

Imagine if St. Paul’s Parish had turned out very differently than what we see today. Imagine if we had not only failed to reach our capital campaign pledge goal for renovating this church — imagine we had never even attempted it. Imagine unmet maintenance needs all around our campus: Our church roofs in desperate need of re-shingling. Our church attic lacking proper insulation. Our undercroft walls in clear need of refreshing. Our crumbling parking lot in need of repaving. No digital sign promoting our parish on our front lawn. Imagine there was never a new extension added between our church and the school. The gym, library, computer lab, and other rooms were never built. They would not be needed now anyway, since our school closed down years ago. All our grade school children enrolled in the secular public school.

A lack of sufficient volunteers ended our CCD/religious education program, teen youth ministries, and Vacation Bible Schools. Sunday Masses’ Children’s Liturgies never even began. Our Thrift Sale pavilion building, likewise deprived of sufficient volunteers, became used for nothing more than storage. At parish funerals, no resurrection singers in the balcony, nor ladies providing luncheons for the mourners after. No Family Life Committee meals marking each year’s marriage anniversaries and dearly departed souls. No Sojourner House evenings, no KC or PCCW events, no Fall Festival. No Eucharistic Adoration, no prayer chain, no prayer shawls, and few Communions being brought to the homebound. Not only no associate priest coming to our parish, but also no priestly vocations coming out of our parish. And many more lost things than this. Imagine all these things gone and the resulting missing goodness.

The good things we enjoy in our parish are the result of the seed Jesus speaks of in our Gospel. He is the Sower who goes out to sow, but some seed falls on hardened hearts and quickly gets gobbled up. Some seed falls on weedy hearts and gets choked by the worldly fears or earthly desires living there. Some seed falls on shallow hearts and is betrayed as soon as trials or difficulties come. But the Sower’s seed has found rich soil in some, in the hearts of those who listen to his word and understand it, bearing fruit a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold in our parish.

Now ordinary soulless soil cannot choose to change, but you can! Make a decision of your will and invite the Sower to cultivate you. Ask Jesus to help you to believe and understand him. Ask him to calm your fears and disordered desires. Ask him to deepen the personal connection between you. With Jesus Christ, you can change the sort of soil you are in order to bear more fruit with him. The Sower sows the seed in hopes it will produce much fruit, and along with it, more seed. Together with the Sower, we should scatter seed too.

Imagine a St. Paul’s Parish of tomorrow greater than we see now: Each pew of our renovated and beautified church filled on Sundays. More families worshipping here with their children. A full set of altar servers and a choir for every Sunday Mass. Our great Catholic school, enrolled to its full capacity. New parishioner initiatives and efforts to bless our community. And scores of your relatives, friends, and neighbors returning to the Church or joining her for the first time.

Is this not what the Sower of the seeds wills for our parish? He desires each of us to play a part in his mission, and our role is simple. Pray to God and offer sacrifices for these good things to come be. Pray earnestly to those around you and boldly invite them to join us. (Remember how the Sower casts the seed all around him on every ground.) And be living saints, whose lives, devotion, words, and deeds, bear good and lasting fruit for yourself and others, thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold.

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“Take My Yoke Upon You & Learn From Me”

July 9, 2023

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

When we are tested with trials and overburdened with pain and suffering, we ask, “God, Why me?” and we fail to count the innumerable blessing that we received. Arthur Robert Ashe was an American professional tennis player. He is considered the best African – American male tennis player of all time. He won three Grand Slam titles. Ashe was the first black player selected to the unites States David Cup team and the only black man ever to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the Australian Open. At the end of his life, Ashe was dying of AIDS, which he got due to infected blood received during heart surgery in 1983. From the world over, he received letters from his fans. One of them asked, ‘Why does God have to select you for such a bad disease?’ To this Arthur Ashe replied, “The world over fifty million children start learning tennis, five million of them learn to play tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5,000 reach the grand slam, fifty reach the Wimbledon, four to semi–finals, two to finals. When I was the one holding the cup, I never asked God why me. And today in pain, I should not be asking, ‘God, Why Me?’”

All of us have problems in life. Big or small, these problems burden us and make us sad, tired, and distressed. When these problems go unsolved for a long time, we feel disappointed and become depressed. One of the most comforting words of Jesus in the gospel is, “Take my yoke… and you will find rest.” Anyone who feels tired, disappointed, abandoned, or depressed can easily be uplifted by the comforting promise of Jesus that He will give rest.

Here is the Good News. To all those who are alone and in need of someone to talk to, those who have no one to ask for help, and those who feel lost, lonely, and hopeless, worry no more. There is someone to turn to, someone who can listen to our endless complaints, a shoulder to cry on. He is Jesus who says, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for yourself. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Today’s readings give the same message in a more powerful way. In the first reading, the Prophet Zechariah consoles the Jews living in Palestine under Greek rule, promising them a meek Messianic King of peace riding on a donkey, who will give them rest and liberty. The Responsorial Psalm praises and thanks a kind and compassionate God who raises up those who are bowed down. In the second reading, St. Paul tells the Christian community in Rome about two yokes, namely, the flesh and the Spirit. He challenges them to reject the heavy yoke of flesh and to accept the light of the yoke of the Holy Spirit. In the gospel, Jesus offers rest to those “who labor and are burdened.”

We need to unload our burdens before the Lord. That may be our worries, anxieties, problems in the family, suffering, health, security, and a thousand other things. Give everything to Jesus. Our Lord will transform our lives. Try to count on your blessing, not your worries.

Posted in Gratitude, Homily, Peace, Sports, Sunday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

Fruitful Love Despite Our Flaws — The Justin Wachtendonk & Brenna Werner Wedding

July 8, 2023

By Fr. Victor Feltes

Justin and Brenna, you have chosen beautiful readings for your wedding Mass. Including your second reading, the most popular of all wedding reading options: St. Paul’s famous poetic hymn about love. In the 13th chapter of his 1st Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul teaches what love does and does not do. These words contain blessed lessons for us all. Today, I wish to highlight the rarely-considered context of those passages to help married couples and people within Christ’s Church of our day.

When we think of the early Church, we tend to picture it as a golden age. The apostles were still alive on earth preaching the Gospel, performing miracles, and founding Christian communities. Divinely inspired books were still being written for what would become the New Testament of the Bible. The Church’s membership was growing widely and rapidly, while producing great saints and martyrs. But this does not mean that everything was perfect. Far from it!

You can see this in St. Paul’s 1st Letter to the Corinthians. He writes them to address the many things that were going wrong at the Church in Corinth. For instance, Paul corrects the Corinthian Christians’ bitter internal rivalries and factionalism. He notes the external scandal caused by them suing each other in secular courts. He critiques the Corinthians’ inflated pride. He excommunicates a certain man for his unrepentant sexual sins. He condemns the Church at Corinth’s liturgical abuses (against the Real Presence of Jesus and one another) at their celebrations of the Holy Eucharist. And St. Paul cites still more controversies than these. So things in the early Church were not so idyllic as we might imagine. And that can be a great encouragement for us today!

The early Church, despite the many flaws of her members, produced good, much good, world-transforming good and the salvation of many souls, in those days and thereafter. The Church today, despite the many flaws of her members, still produces much good, world-transforming good and the salvation of many souls. His Church build upon a rock is, as Jesus says in our Gospel, “a city set on a mountain which cannot be hidden.” She remains, “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” — purifying, enlightening, enhancing, and saving.

Whatever goodness is found in Christ’s Bride, the Church, is like the worthy wife the Book of Proverbs describes in our first reading. As the pearl of great price, “her value is far beyond pearls.” “Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize. She brings him good, and not evil, all the days of her life.” She labors alongside him, “reaches out her hands to the poor,” and he will “give her a reward of her labors, and let her works praise her.” This is a great encouragement for us in his Church, but also a great encouragement for all Christian married couples here.

Justin and Brenna, you are about to enter a new covenant with Christ. In your sacramental marriage, you will encounter each other’s flaws and experience trials, as every married couple will. Do not be surprised when not everything is perfect and do not be alarmed. Maintain your peace. With a love that is patient, a love that is kind, a love that most importantly has its origin and strength in Christ, you will ‘bear all things and endure all things.’ His “love never fails.” Like his Church, which despite the imperfections of her members produces much good fruit, your marriage — if united to Christ — will never fail.

Posted in Catholic Church, Christian Perfection, Faith, Homily, Love, Marriage and Family, St. Paul, Typology, Wedding Homilies | Leave a Comment »

Marriage & the Eucharist — The Jonathan Lynch & Abigail Butek Wedding

July 5, 2023

By Fr. Victor Feltes

Johnathan and Abigail, the three readings you chose for your wedding are each about divine love. The First Letter of St. John says “in this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he has loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.” Jesus tells us in St. John’s Gospel, “As the Father loves me, so I love you. …Love one another as I love you.” And the third reading you chose (the first we heard today) comes from The Song of Songs. This Old Testament book is curious in the canon.

The Song of Songs is a collection of sometimes graphic love poetry. Though traditionally attributed to King Solomon, and so sometimes called The Song of Solomon, scholars’ estimates for the year it was written range between 1,000 and 100 BC. And most extraordinarily, the book contains no explicit references to God, or religion, or spirituality. So why is it in the Bible and a fitting source for a Catholic wedding reading?

For starters, The Song of Songs it is not an ode to fornication, for at the center of the book we find a royal wedding procession; the man and woman are husband and wife. And just as Jewish writers saw it as an allegory of God’s love, early Christian saints see it depicting Jesus Christ’s love for us, his Bride, the Church. All four Gospels, two Pauline epistles, and The Book of Revelation call Christ a bridegroom or husband, and Jesus describes himself as such. Therefore, the saints’ view of The Song of Songs is not an outrageous reading but a natural interpretation.

Johnathan and Abigail, you have fittingly chosen to enter marriage today in a wedding Mass. Though getting married in a simple Catholic ceremony is an option, being married at a Holy Mass is best. Like the titles “King of Kings” or “Lord of Lords,” the title of The Song of Songs proclaims it as the most excellent or greatest of songs. In the same way, the Holy Mass may be called the meal of meals, our prayer of prayers, the sacrifice of sacrifices, the covenant of covenants. “Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.”

Today, I wish to highlight for you a few parallels found in the sacraments of marriage and the Eucharist. First, both sacraments establish covenants. The covenantal nature of the Eucharist is made clear at the Last Supper when Jesus offers us his Blood in the chalice. “Take this, all of you, and drink from it,” this is “the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you…” Marriage is likewise a covenantal union between bridegroom and bride.

Second, both marriage and the Eucharist are effected by words and action. With the priest’s words of consecration, you have the Real Presence of Jesus on the altar at Mass. With your exchange of vows, you will be married before God’s altar. But that is not the consummation of these sacraments. If neither priest nor people consumed Communion after the consecration, an aspect of the sacrament would remain unfulfilled. Both of these holy sacraments are effected by words and action.

Third, these covenantal unions are ongoingly renewed. Much is made of the day of First Communion and one’s wedding day. These firsts are worthy of celebration, but they are just the beginnings. Through the mutual gifting of one’s whole self to the other, these sacraments are renewed through repetition. Jesus tells us at every Mass, “Take this… this is my Body,” and we are called to offer our whole selves to him in return. Many Catholic couples have placed a crucifix above their headboard reflecting the sacrificial self-giving each spouse is called to. These two sacraments reflect and reveal each other; husband and wife, Christ and his Church. “Love one another as I love you… Do this in memory of me.”

Before receiving Jesus in the Eucharist, we proclaim: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof…” Jonathan, Abigail, and all married spouses, maintain your reverence towards each other. Like approaching Jesus in the Eucharist, do not take each other for granted.

Before receiving him in the Eucharist, we also declare to Jesus: “Only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” Jonathan and Abigail, realize the power of your words for each other. They can wound and they can heal; you too can strengthen and transform each other through the power of your words.

And finally, Jonathan and Abigail, always remain close to Jesus and do his will. He tells us, “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” As the Song of Song tells us, “As stern as death is [his] love, relentless as the nether-world is [his] devotion; its flames are a blazing [divine] fire. Deep waters cannot quench [his] love, nor floods sweep it away.” Remain in his mighty love and your love will fruitfully endure.

Posted in Homily, Love, Marriage and Family, Mass, Real Presence, Wedding Homilies | Leave a Comment »

Great Rewards From Small Deeds

July 2, 2023

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

The Old Testament Prophet Elisha was the immediate successor to the Prophet Elijah, ministering as a traveling prophet and wonderworker in the 800’s BC. One day, he came to a town of northern Israel called Shunem in which lived a “woman of influence.” Other Bible translations of this same text describe her as “prominent, influential, and wealthy”—“a great lady.” Curiously, she along with her husband go unnamed in the text. Perhaps, as with “the beloved disciple” in the Gospel of John, this is intended by providence to encourage us to envision ourselves in her place.

This great lady urges the prophet to dine with her. He accepts, and thereafter, whenever passing through that town, he would visit to eat there. So she says to her husband, “I know that Elisha is a holy man of God. Since he visits us often, let’s arrange a little room on the roof and furnish it for him with a bed, table, chair, and lamp, so that when he comes to us he can stay there.” Her husband apparently agreed, because sometime later Elisha lodges in that new room overnight. They may have been simple accommodations but Elisha really appreciated them.

While staying there, Elisha asks his servant to call the woman. Once she stands before him Elisha asks his servant to say to her (apparently in her own language): “You have troubled yourself greatly for us; what can we do for you? Can we say a good word for you to the king or to the commander of the army?’” She replies, “I am living among my own people.” By this response, she is expressing that she lives contently and secure, far removed from the royal court and its concerns. Her needs are satisfied. She has not shown Elisha hospitality to win favors from him. She receives him because he is a prophet. She receives him because he is a righteous man. She serves him because she knows he is a holy man of God.

Later Elisha asks, “Can something be done for her?” His servant, with great confidence in the prophet, replies, “Yes! She has no son, and her husband is getting on in years.” So Elisha has her called again and once she stands at the door, Elisha promises, “This time next year, you will be fondling a baby son.” She replies, “My lord, you are a man of God; do not deceive your servant.” Yet, the woman would conceive, and by that time the following year she had joyfully given birth to a son as promised. From God, she receives the prophet’s great reward.

Jesus says, “Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.” And what of goodness shown toward those of lesser stature? “Whoever gives but a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because the little one is my disciple—amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”

Sometimes, Catholics look at our great saints and imagine we must do extraordinary things to be holy and greatly blessed. Thinking that such great deeds are beyond them, they despair of ever becoming saints themselves. In the late 1800’s, young St. Therese of Lisieux felt that way too, but then she found her “Little Way” to holiness. Her little way to great holiness was to do many little things for the right reason, with the right heart, that is, with great love.

In her highly recommended autobiography “Story of a Soul”, she writes:

“Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.” “You know well enough that our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.” “Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing.” “To pick up a pin for love can convert a soul.”

Like the great lady of Shunem and St. Therese of Lisieux, realize and remember that doing many little things for the right reason, with the right heart, out of love, will surely not lose its reward.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Homily, Love, O.T. Figures, Saintly People, St. Therese of Lisieux, Sunday Homilies | 3 Comments »

The New Manna

June 11, 2023

Solemnity of Corpus Christi
By Fr. Victor Feltes

In the Old Testament, God freed his people with the Prophet Moses. The Hebrews in Egypt were slaves to Pharaoh since birth, but God’s mighty works through Moses liberated them. Though he had led them through the waters of the Red Sea their journey was not yet completed. They were still in the arid desert and God wished to lead them into his Promised Land, “a land of milk and honey” he had promised to their ancestors. God had already blessed his people, yet he wished to give them his even fuller blessings there.

How were the Hebrew people sustained for forty years in the desolate Sinai desert? What did they eat to survive? Every day, God made fine flakes appear on the ground around their camp. These flakes were “white, and tasted like wafers made with honey.” Upon seeing them the people asked, “What is this?” (in Hebrew, “Manna?”) Moses told them, “It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.” Without that manna they would have starved to death. God’s people ate this bread until they entered the Promised Land.

Here we see things and events of the Old Testament foreshadowing events and things of the New. In the New Testament, God liberates his people with Christ Jesus his Son. We all were slaves to sin, Satan, and hopeless death, but God’s mighty works through Jesus Christ freed us. He has led us through the waters of baptism; however, our journey is not yet completed. We possess renewed life in this fallen world but God wishes to lead us into his Promised Land of Heaven. God has already blessed us, yet he wishes to give us his even fuller blessings there.

So how are we to endure as we walk through the present desert of this world? Every day, in churches like this one, God offers us the Bread that has come down from Heaven. Jesus says, “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.” He gives us himself in the Eucharist. People see the Blessed Sacrament and wonder, “What is this?” It is the New Manna; the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.

In addition to Sacred Scripture, the Early Church Fathers attest to this. These theologians living in the first centuries of the Church teach and document what the earliest Christians believed about Jesus Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist. For instance, shortly after 100 AD, St. Ignatius of Antioch said, “The Eucharist is the Flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ.” Around 150 AD, St. Justin Martyr taught, “The Eucharist… is both the Flesh and the Blood of that incarnated Jesus.” St. Augustine of Hippo wrote in the early 400’s that, “Christ was carried in his own hands when, referring to his own body, he said, ‘This is my body.’ For he carried that body in his hands.” And there are many other examples of such teaching from that era.

This is what Christ’s one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church has always believed and taught, and God has affirmed its truth here and there by Eucharistic miracles throughout the centuries. In the Old Testament, God’s people ate the manna until they entered the Promised Land. Had they not regularly eaten of it, they would have died from starvation. This reflects how important faithfully receiving and promoting the Holy Eucharist must be for you and me.

Never neglect Sunday Mass. To skip Mass from Saturday evening through Sunday night (without a grave reason for doing so) is to prioritize something else above of Jesus, spurning the Lord who commands us to keep his day holy. Let Jesus Christ be first in your life through faithfully worshipping and receiving him at Mass. And opportunities to worship and receive our Lord at Mass are not limited to the weekends.

If your schedule permits, I welcome and invite you to try weekday Mass, celebrated at St. Paul’s on Monday through Friday at 7:15 AM and mornings at St. John’s on Mondays, Thursdays, and First Fridays. Weekday Mass is only a half-hour long, it features a homily, and is among the best devotions for drawing closer to Jesus.

Are any of your friends or relatives interested in our Catholic Faith? Invite them to come with you to Mass or bring them to that other great way to encounter our Eucharistic Lord: Eucharistic Adoration.

What greater treasure do we have than Jesus, truly present in the Eucharist? Let us treasure him as we ought and introduce this treasure to others. Strengthened by his food, our Lord would bring us all together into his Promised Land of Heaven.

Posted in Catholic Church, Devotions, Exodus, Feast Day Homilies, Homily, Mass, Moses, Real Presence, Salvation History, Sunday Homilies, Typology | 1 Comment »

God is a Loving Communion of Persons

June 4, 2023

Trinity Sunday
By Fr. Victor Feltes

A Muslim man once accused me of what he called an “unforgivable sin.” My supposed offense was espousing a core truth of our faith, the foundation of all reality: Trinitarianism — that God is one being in three persons. (That man’s charge struck me as a rather poor conversion strategy. I mean, if proclaiming the Trinity were really an unforgivable sin, why would I bother converting to Islam?) I was dialoguing on that occasion with generally friendly and thoughtful Muslims, Jews, and Unitarians in a website’s comments section, responding to something a man who believes in God but rejects the Trinity had posted. This is what he wrote:

“The Jews had no idea of the Trinity. Their faith was centred in the Shema: a unitary monotheistic confession. Jesus clearly affirmed that very same unitary monotheism in Mark 12:29″ where Jesus says, “Hear, O Israel! The LORD our God, the LORD is one!” This fellow concluded by chiding, “How is it that Christians today have abandoned their rabbi on this point?”

Both that online poster and Jesus Christ referenced the Shema, which faithful Jews would recite every morning and evening. “Shema” is the Hebrew word meaning “hear” or “listen,” and the Shema prayer quotes Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Does this oneness proclaimed by God’s Word refute our Trinitarian Christian Faith? Should we reject our belief in the Trinity because Jews in the Old Testament did not profess it? No, and here’s why.

This famous scripture verse declaring, “the Lord is one,” uses the Hebrew word “echad” for “one.” Now echad can mean singularity, solitary oneness, but this same word sometimes points to a unified oneness. For instance, when Genesis recounts the creation of the two sexes it says, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two shall become one (echad) flesh.” Later in Genesis, in the story of the Tower of Babel, God laments, “If now, while they are one (echad) people and all have the same language, they have started to do this, nothing they presume to do will be out of their reach.” God, by selecting the word “echad” to proclaim “the Lord is one,” inspired a passage with providential flexibility. Echad allows for the unified oneness of the Persons of the Trinity without requiring that interpretation from the Jewish generations who came before Christ.

In the Bible, we see God gradually leading humanity along from darkness to light, from error to truth. For example, from unchecked blood vendettas, to “an eye for an eye” taught in the Mosaic Laws, to the Gospel teaching of loving our enemies. Or from polygamy, to monogamy, to sacramental marriage. Or in this case, from polytheism (belief in many gods), to monotheism (belief in one God), to Trinitarianism (our belief in one God in three divine Persons).

We see God’s progressive revelation occurring at the Burning Bush, where Moses must ask God to clarify for him, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what do I tell them?” The Lord replies, “I AM (the God) WHO AM.” That the Lord was not just another god among many pagan gods — that the Lord is, in fact, the only God — was a revelation God’s people were taught and accepted over time.

So who reveals to us that God is a Trinity; that the one divine being is three distinct Persons? This is revealed to us through Jesus Christ himself. Jesus claims authority to forgive sins, declares himself Lord of the Sabbath, demands an absolute and total commitment to himself, and presents himself as the one way of salvation. He accepts peoples’ worship, which would be idolatrous if he were not divine. And Jesus says “the Father and I are one” and “whoever has seen me has seen the Father,” yet he speaks to God his Father as another Person.

You and I are single-person beings, so we would naturally assume a personal God would be a singular-person like us. But through Jesus Christ we discover that God as a solitary one would be less perfect, less complete, less great than our God is. Our triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is a loving communion of Persons. God the Father entirely gifts himself to his Son. God the Son entirely gifts himself back to his Father. And God the Holy Spirit proceeds from this eternal, self-gifting exchange. Indeed, as St. John writes, “God is love,” and we are made in and called to the image and likeness of God.

What does this teach us for our lives? The Holy Trinity teaches us our personal perfection will not come in isolation. God the Son calls us to be God’s children with himself, while God the Holy Spirit calls us to be animated with himself, while God the Father calls us to offer all things to himself, so that he — the source of all good things — may give us all good things in return. Loving personal relationships are the meaning of life. Our lives come from a loving communion of persons, and we are called to a loving communion of persons, the Trinity and their Church. We will only become Christian saints through self-gifting and receiving in the oneness of a holy, loving communion of persons.

Posted in Feast Day Homilies, Holy Trinity, Homily, Moses, Sunday Homilies | 1 Comment »

The Holy Spirit Outpoured

May 28, 2023

Vigil of Pentecost
By Fr. Victor Feltes

All plants and animals depend upon water to live. Water comes down to us freely from the sky. Though its appearance may vary (as rain, or hail, or snow, or dew) once it rests upon the earth it produces many different effects throughout creation. Water, while ever remaining itself, adapts to the need of every creature that receives it, growing apples on an apple tree, creating sweet sap in a maple tree, or generating many-kernelled cobs on a cornstalk. In this way, water is similar to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit descends as a free gift from heaven. He comes in different appearances (as fire, as a dove, as wind, or invisibly) while always remaining his same divine self. He is the Lord, the giver of life, and in each person who receives him through Christ he produces fruits through gifts which he imparts as he pleases.

On the last and greatest day of a Jewish feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. As Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from within him who believes in me!” John’s Gospel tells us “he said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive,” adding, “There was, of course, no Spirit yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.” How are we to understand this verse which says, ‘There was no Spirit yet’?

Is it teaching that the Holy Spirit did not yet exist? No, the third Person of the Trinity is co-eternal with the Father and the Son. There was never a time when he was not.

Is the passage saying the Holy Spirit was not yet present and active in the world? No, Luke’s Gospel describes several actions of the Holy Spirit on earth long before Easter or Pentecost. He overshadowed Mary at Jesus’ conception and inspired Elizabeth at the Visitation. He enlightened Simeon and Anna to recognize the Christ Child at the Presentation in the Temple, and our Nicene Creed proclaims that he has spoken through the Old Testament prophets.

Is Pentecost of note because that is when the apostles received the Holy Spirit for the first time? No, for John’s Gospel records how Jesus appeared in the Upper Room on Easter Sunday evening and breathed on them saying, “Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Seeing as how they had already received the Holy Spirit on Easter, what is special and new about the descent of the Holy Spirit fifty days later on Pentecost such that previous eras can be likened to there be “no Spirit yet“?

We remember and celebrate Pentecost because it is a broader and more manifest outpouring of the Holy Spirit than ever before. The Acts of the Apostles recounts how “there was a group of about 120 persons in the one place,” and “when the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. … Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.”

He does not descend and rest upon a few of them, but on all of them, and the power he manifests through them is not subtle nor secret. They fearlessly go into the streets proclaiming Jesus Christ in languages they do not even know. The Holy Spirit would no longer to be an occasional, temporary visitor for a special select few, but the enduring animating Spirit of the Body of Christ, the Church in the world.

Surely, the Holy Spirit would like to do more among us, but we must be open to receiving more from him. How can we receive more of his gifts and inspirations? First, we should desire them, and ask for them, and praise and thank him for all the graces we have already received. Next, we should resolve to be open to him, choose to be available for him, and decide to be generous with him, trusting that God is good and wills our greatest good. Finally, we should practice daily prayer, pursue silence and peace in this noisy and anxious world, and be attentive to the subtle movements in our minds and hearts which are the Holy Spirit’s quiet words and gentle nudges. If we ask, are open, and then listen to him, we will receive more of the Holy Spirit’s good gifts and inspirations.

“Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats,” as the Prophet Isaiah wrote, so the Holy Spirit would come to us like water from heaven anew, more powerfully fruitful throughout our world today.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Homily, Pentecost, Salvation History, Sunday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

Ascension: a Bittersweet Christian Mystery

May 21, 2023

Feast of the Ascension
By Fr. Victor Feltes

The bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven feels like a bittersweet Christian mystery. Before ascending, Jesus said, “I am going to the one who sent me… But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts. But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” Though Christ is no longer openly, visibly walking the earth today, he assures us, “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” At this time of year, during the Easter season, when celebrating Jesus going up and the Holy Spirit coming down, with so many young people graduating from one life into another, and I am reminded of the most difficult homily I ever preached.

I have heard it said that when a young person goes off to college or off into the world their experience is very different than their family’s. For the one who goes, the change begins an adventure. They learn and experience new, amazing things. They meet great people and make new friends, while still loving and caring about their family. They are happy and excited to be starting a new life, while their loved ones left behind understandably take this transition much harder.

For a daughter who goes off, her life becomes more full, but her family at home feels a new emptiness. She’s not in her room. She’s not in her seat at the table. Her voice and laughter are not heard like before. Of course, her family can still speak to her long-distance, and she’s still well-aware of what’s going on at home, but her departure creates a separation, and that’s difficult. Loving families could even wish their loves ones would never ever leave. But imagine how much those loved ones would miss out on if they never journeyed forth?

Bridget Achenbach, 1995-2015

I first shared these reflections in 2015, at the funeral of a nineteen-year-old, first-year college student I knew named Bridget. Eight years ago, following the Sunday Mass of Pentecost, Bridget was driving to a friend’s graduation party. Her car hydroplaned on an old, country highway and she died in a violent crash.

Some people today, when faced with this world’s temptations, despite their Christian upbringing choose to leave our Lord and go their own way. Bridget, with her beauty, smarts, and popularity was free to choose that too, but instead she grew from good to better. During her freshman year at the University of Wisconsin in La Crosse, through the campus’s Catholic Newman Center, she participated in Bible studies, attended a five-day Catholic youth conference in Tennessee, and pilgrimaged to the March for Life.

On the bus ride of that last trip she shared with friends how Jesus was transforming her life and said she felt closer to him than ever before. At times during that final year when she was home from college, I would not only see Bridget receive Our Lord in the Eucharist at Sunday Mass but sometimes at weekday morning Masses as well before she would leave for her job as a pool lifeguard. The Lord was calling her to be closer to him, just as Jesus calls us all.

At her funeral eight years ago, I noted that Jesus never does evil. He is goodness and love incarnate, “in him there is no darkness at all.” But we also know the Lord refrained from intervening even with some subtle miracle to prevent Bridget’s car accident and death. Why would God allow such a charismatic young woman to die on Pentecost?

Consider how the Blessed Virgin Mary was an invaluable presence among the first Christians. Yet, once she had completed the course of her earthly life and was taken up into Heaven, Mary could assist more powerfully than before. Now, in glory, Mary can hear and intercede on behalf of many, many millions of people while loving each of us uniquely. Like Mary, the spiritual mother of all Christians, I believe Bridget was ready to graduate from this life to the next.

A final exam awaits you. You do not know its exact day or its hour, but it awaits us all. Are you ready for it? None of us know if we will still be here next year. Jesus hopes that with his help you will graduate to where he has gone before us. In Christian maturity, St. Paul writes that “we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord.” This present world is not our true home. May the bitterness and scandal of death and parting not cause you to overlook the sweetness of heaven. And may you always choose to follow Jesus closely in this life so that you may one day follow him above.

Posted in Ascension, Christian Perfection, Heaven, Homily, Last Things, Sunday Homilies | 1 Comment »

A Mother’s Love — Memorial Mass Homily for Georgetta Thibeau, 94

May 15, 2023

By Fr. Victor Feltes

Georgetta was born here in Bloomer in 1928. She grew up in this parish, attending our St. Paul’s School. Her funeral Mass was offered in Racine after she passed away this January. And following this morning’s Mass, her remains will be laid to rest in our South Catholic Cemetery.

In the gospel for today, Jesus says, “Love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” So I asked Georgetta’s daughter, Sue, whether her mother had laid down her life for her friends. She replied, “No,” — her mother laid down her life for her family.

Georgetta raised her six children all by herself in Racine for most of their youth. Her two boys and four girls knew it was not easy for her and helped out as they could. In an era with much less government support, Georgetta worked night shifts to provide for her family. But she lovingly provided them more than just food and shelter. She also gave them the example of her Catholic Faith.

Georgetta, it is said, was never without a rosary in her hands, day or night. Whenever she came across a rosary she would pick it up and place it into her prayer rotation. But there was one rosary in particular about which she gave her children special instructions. On more than one occasion, she told them to take the rosary she kept on her headboard and place it into the urn (this urn) with her ashes when she died. Why? “Because that one glows in the dark.”

The Holy Rosary and our Blessed Mother Mary were always near to her heart. And the Blessed Mother she loved leads me to a final reflection. Jesus Christ perfected his mother in love to love like himself. Jesus said, “Love one another as I love you.” Who besides the Lord has loved with a greater love than her? Jesus said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Yet this presents a puzzle, since the Virgin Mary never died a martyr’s bloody death.

From Mother Mary we discover that a person can lay down one’s life with the greatest love as a loving offering for others even without dying a red martyrdom. And these others (these “friends” one loves and lays down one’s life for) can be one’s own sons and daughters, since Mary is our spiritual mother and we are her dearly beloved sons and daughters. Mother Mary learned how to love like Jesus loves us, and Georgetta learned how to love like Mary loves us. That is why, even in death, Georgetta remains in the light.

Posted in Blessed Virgin Mary, Christian Perfection, Funeral Homilies, Homily, Love, Motherhood, Rosary, Weekday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

God Is With His People

May 13, 2023

6th Sunday of Easter
By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

We are approaching the end of the Easter season. Next Sunday, we will celebrate the Ascension of the Lord into heaven. At today’s point in Easter time, Jesus is about to leave the world and return to His Father, as he promises to send the Holy Spirit to his disciples. He tells them that he will not leave them orphaned but his Spirit will be with the church and his people till the end of time.

Today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles was a historical event in the church. Deacon Philip was on a mission to Samaritans, who were non-Jewish. While he was preaching to them, they accepted Jesus as their promised Messiah and received the Holy Spirit in their lives through the laying of the hands of Peter and John. The laying of hands is used in the church even today at baptism, confirmation, and ordination.

Today’s Gospel is once again in the context of the Last Supper. Jesus is preparing His disciples for his coming suffering and death but also for his resurrection and Ascension. Jesus promises them that even after his ascension he will remain with them in a very different way from now. He tells them clearly that he is the way, truth, and life. Jesus promises His Holy Spirit, the “Advocate”. The Advocate will come upon the Apostles and continue the work of Jesus.

“Advocate” means an intercessor, defender, and witness for the accused, best friend, comforter in distress, counselor, and Helper. The Advocate is always by our side to instruct and correct us when we make mistakes. The Advocate encourages and motivates us when we fall down, and fights for our rights when judges are unfair.

God is with us neither judging us nor rejecting us but patiently waiting and calling us to change. God is with us in our suffering. When sickness and death surround us, God is with us affirming us and calling us to patience and to courage. There is a beautiful line in today’s second reading. It says, “Always be prepared to give your defense to anyone who wants an explanation of the hope that is within you.” Always be ready to explain why we are people of hope. We are people of hope because God is with us. God is with us now and always. God is with us forever. We are not alone. In good times and in bad, God’s presence will always be with us. No matter how hard life is, He will stay with us and will never leave us. God, the Holy Spirit, is always our Advocate.

Pay special attention to the Holy Spirit who is present in your thoughts, words, and deeds. Give thanks for all the gifts you have received. Ask the Holy Spirit to take over your life, and allow Him to fill you with His gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self–control.

Posted in Chrisitian Virtues, Christian Perfection, Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Homily, Sunday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

Proclaim What Christ Has Done For You

May 13, 2023

6th Sunday of Easter
By Fr. Victor Feltes

In today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard how Philip went to Samaria and proclaimed Christ to them. “With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.” Who was doing these signs? The natural sense of this scripture passage refers to Philip, whom the crowds saw and heard and believed. But in a supernatural sense it was the Christ being proclaimed to them who was performing these signs through and with Philip. In our gospel, Jesus tells us, “I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.” Jesus would have others behold and hear of his great works in you and me.

The psalmist in today’s psalm says, “Hear now… while I declare what he (the Lord) has done for me. Blessed be God who refused me not my prayer or his kindness!” It is good to declare and share what God has done for you. St. Peter teaches all Christians in today’s second reading to “always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.” What are your life’s best God stories? What is the Lord doing with and for you recently? I have two personal examples to share, one old and one current.

When I was about thirteen years old, I remember being in the living room of my house thinking about life and death, when nature called. While heading to the bathroom on the other side of the house, I got stopped in my tracks at the architectural crossroads of our home. It would be a crossroads moment of my life. In my imagination, I stood before Jesus’ judgement seat. He sat upon a white throne atop a white stone cube and the background behind him was all blackness. Jesus did not look at me angrily, but he seemed frustrated and disappointed. And he asked me, “Why didn’t you live your life like I wanted you to live it?”

I did not know whether these ideas were coming from God or my own imagination, but either way I knew that I would not be a man of integrity if I just kicked this question down the road for the rest of my life. While still needing to use the bathroom, I felt a sense of urgency to face this valid question. I stood there thinking, ‘How would I answer this question in my own defense?’ I replied, ‘Well Lord, I wasn’t even sure that you were really, really real. How could you expect me to dedicate my life to you while being so uncertain? I wouldn’t stand out on an extending cliff-ledge if I wasn’t sure that it could hold up my weight. And what if I were commit my entire life to you and die and you’re not real — what would I have?’

Once I had presented my best case, Jesus immediately replied, “Did you ever really try to find out (if I was real)? Did you even read my book?” That last line made me laugh a bit even as it convicted me. I realized that if I were really looking for the truth I would be searching for answers more seriously than I was. After that I started reading the Bible and praying every night and began earnestly learning more about our Catholic Faith.

When I eventually read the Book of Revelation at the end of the Bible, I found there a description of the Last Judgment. St. John wrote: “I saw a large white throne and the one who was sitting on it. The earth and the sky fled from his presence and there was no place for them. I saw the dead, the great and the lowly, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened. Then another scroll was opened, the Book of Life. The dead were judged according to their deeds, by what was written in the scrolls.” A large white throne shrouded in darkness while the dead stand before him to be judged according to their deeds matches what I saw in my vision – a vision that has led to me standing here to tell you this story today.

And our Lord is still actively doing things among us today. Currently, according to our latest figures, St. Paul’s has well-surpassed $500,000 in pledges for our capital campaign, and things throughout this renovation effort have been going so providentially that I have a peaceful confidence that the Lord is helping us succeed.

What great things has the Lord done in your life? How has he been working with you recently? He is in you and you are in him. Know your stories and have the minimal courage to share with others what the Lord has done for you. Praying for the conversion of souls is important, but bearing witness to them is important too. Sharing your stories, sharing the reasons for your Christian hope, will be more effective than nagging or silence. Do not hide what God has done for you under bushel baskets. Instead, share your highlights with others.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Homily, Last Judgment, Last Things, Repentance, Sunday Homilies, Supernatural Phenomena | 1 Comment »

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