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In His Boat Together

June 23, 2024

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

As evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us cross to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. Other boats were with him. Now God knew about the coming storm, yet God permitted Jesus’ disciples to experience it. Looking at the sky, they may not have wanted to board that boat; later, they definitely wanted to be out of the storm. Yet God willed them to be there at that time, to gain insight, to grow in their awe of Christ, and to deepen their relationship with him.

A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was great calm. In response to the words of Christ, the winds and waves obey. “Let there be light… Your sins are forgiven… Be healed… This is my Body.” The words of the Lord create reality.

Then Jesus asked the disciples in the boat, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?” They were awestruck at the miracle they had witnessed, and their reverence for Jesus grew. They had sailed together, and came to the other side of the sea together, and (thankfully) nobody had washed out or jumped out earlier.

This weekend, Fr. Chinnappan is celebrating his final Sunday Masses at St. Paul’s and enjoying their farewell parties, meanwhile, I have both of the Masses here at St. John’s. At a recent meeting of our Pastoral Council, they suggested I speak about a few topics regarding our beautiful Sunday worship to enhance it even more.

For instance, at the Presentation of the Gifts, the priest-celebrant says, “Pray, brothers and sisters,” or “Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.” At that point, you may have noticed some variation in how St. John’s parishioners respond. Some people stand as soon as the priest begins to speak, while others wait for the completion of his call. According to the Roman Missal from which I say the Mass and the missalettes in your pews, it is when the priest has completed his call that the people are to rise and respond: “May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good and the good of all his holy Church.” This is not what occurs at many—perhaps even most—parishes, but if we wish to worship in the best and most faithful ways, I encourage you all to rise and respond at the end of my calling. In this way, the words of the priest acting in the person of Christ more clearly manifest their effect, like the winds and waves responded to the words of the Lord.

Another topic the Pastoral Council asked about was kneeling after the reception of Holy Communion. The habit here is to remain kneeling until the priest sits down, but they wondered what the rule was. (Reportedly, some people find it painful to kneel that long.) According to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (or GIRM), which contains instructions for the celebration of Holy Mass, the faithful may sit or kneel after Communion. Without causing a disruption to others at Mass, you may thank and love the Eucharistic Lord within you using the posture which will help you adore him best.

A final reflection is about coming to Holy Mass and remaining to the end. Some people say they find Mass boring, yet Jesus is here and wants you with him in this boat. If you attend with faith and openness, you will gain insight, grow in awe of Christ who loves you, and deepen your relationship with him. Unless you have a gravely serious reason, never skip Sunday Mass nor leave before singing our final God-glorifying hymn. Skipping Mass is to miss the boat. Leaving early is to jump out on Jesus early.

And after Mass, if you were not able to fully reflect in the time of sacred silence after you received our Lord in Holy Communion, feel free to remain here with him longer. Be quiet. Be still. It’s a beautiful thing Jesus surely enjoys, for he calls us here to worship him, and gives us himself in the Eucharist so that we may be together as one.

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Faith in God – The Cure for Fear

June 23, 2024

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Deacon Dick Kostner

The Gospel story for this Sunday is one of my favorites for life carries and creates many fears. We have Jesus telling his disciples that he wishes to travel to the other side of the sea to preach to gentiles and instruct them on how they too can gain salvation and everlasting life through his teachings.

On their way across they encounter a tremendous storm with waves so high that they threat for their very life. Their friend however is taking a nap and they finally call out for him to wake up for they fear for their life. Jesus wakes up and orders the storm to end which it does and he gives to them the tool to end all fears that they will encounter during their lives and ministry. That tool is faith that he will always be with them even when fear threatens their very life.

The disciples knew that he had powers that were extraordinary but they never dreamed he had the ability to also control mother nature. A power that he would share with them if they but had faith in him. I, as well as many of you folks have witnessed the power of faith in people who have faith in God. I have witnessed people in our community that have lived out their life with a smile even though they had encountered illnesses that cannot be cured by our doctors and medical teams. We have experienced and been taught by priests of faith who had the ability to control the weather when parish events were threatened by storms that disappeared as Father Arthur was able to do. Or how he was able to erase our parish debt to the Diocese because of and through his talents and faith in God.

Fear is a tool of the devil and he uses it to try and destroy our faith and trust in the power of God. We cannot stop evil but God can. How in the world can we possibly get our Country to get along again? How in the world can we overcome those trying to destroy family within our society? How in the world can I ever live out my life with a smile when I have been told by my doctor that I am dying? How in the world can I love again when my wife or husband has left me because of divorce or death? How in the world can I continue to support my family after losing my job? How in the world can I afford to buy groceries and food for my family or pay my bills when costs of everything continue to rise? The list just continues to go on and on.

Jesus, in today’s gospel, tells his disciples, tells us, the answer to all of these human fears we encounter during our earthly lives. The answer is “we can’t!” but “God can!”

The world cannot help us but faith in Gods promise that His Holy Spirit will always be able to hear our call for help. Oh He may not answer the way we have asked for, but only God knows what we really need for help with all of the answers to the world fears we will encounter. Fears real or imagined by us are fed to us by a Power who wishes to weaken our faith in God and destroy for us everlasting life that is gifted by God to His faithful.

Jesus gifted us with his Church. The body of Christ, to walk with us and support us in a world full of fears and dangers. He gifted us with his teachings, Holy Scripture and the Gospels to give us the wisdom to trust in God who will walk with us in a fearful world. He gifted us with the Sacraments to provide us with Spiritual food to strengthen our faith and make us fearless to combat the evils and dangers we will encounter in life. He also gives to many of us a spouse or friend to help us.

Fear is sometimes personal and not really prayer material. Let me lighten up a bit and display for you what I mean. One recent Friday evening Barb told me that our cuckoo clock was not showing the correct time. Inspection revealed that the hour hand was no longer working and was limp. I tried to make it work but to no avail. This clock was given as a gift to us many years ago from my son Chad and his wife Amanda. I am a time freak and I panicked for I use it to govern my life throughout the day and need it to tell me if my cat Charlie is ready for me to feed him at 5:00 am every day or if he is fooling. If I don’t hear five cuckoos, I know his clock is not working and I ignore him. In any case I panicked.

I know it is hard to find a clock repair place so I started to search the net. I found one in the Milwaukee who I emailed with my problem and asked for help. Then I found one in La Crosse and I wrote down the number planning to call them on Monday when they opened. I called on Monday and the person who could help me was gone until Tuesday morning. I put it in my calendar to call the next day. When I got home for lunch my beautiful bride told me she had the clock fixed. She had found a fix on You Tube. I had been too embarrassed to pray but God gave me a partner who knew I needed help. The next day I got an email from the Milwaukee clock guy telling me how to fix it which was exactly what Barb had learned and done. I sent the guy a thank you. I guess God sent me a second helper in case Barb failed.

Jesus tells us much through today’s Gospel. How should we handle our fears? The Answer is simple: Have faith in Jesus, asking him to take the wheel, then, take a nap.

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Fruits at St. Paul’s Parish

June 16, 2024

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

Jesus says, “this is how it is with the Kingdom of God.” Seeds of the Kingdom are scattered on the earth. Day by day, we sleep and rise like farmers while God’s seeds sprout and grow. Though we each have a role in tending these plants in our local fields, exactly how they grow remains something of a mystery to us. Yet we can pause, look around, and see what heaven and earth have worked together to cultivate. Today, I would like to review some of the good fruits and fruits in progress which God has produced around us at St. Paul’s Catholic Parish.

In addition to our daily worship, our baptisms, confessions, weddings, and anointings, there are good things happening at St. Paul’s. Our entryway has been renovated, featuring a first-floor bathroom, with new exterior doors to be installed by the end of this summer. Our beautiful vestibule provides a new space for our community. It has already hosted one funeral visitation and will host Fr. Chinnappan’s farewell parties next weekend. It is sad to see Father go. He’s been a blessing and will be missed. But we are promised a new associate priest from India arriving hopefully this summer.

Our (4K through 8th grade) Catholic School has concluded another good year, and we are predicting higher enrollment this fall. An enhanced St. Paul’s school and parish website and other marketing efforts are making our great school better known. This summer, we’re renovating school bathrooms while refreshing other spaces and implementing a new English language curriculum which utilizes phonics. We have a full set of certified teachers lined up, including for our special courses like computers, phy-ed, health, and art. Our only unfilled spot remaining is for a one-fifth-time music teacher, so if you know someone excellent, please send them our way.

You have seen the gradual growth of our Sunday morning Children’s Liturgies. It’s a joy to see our little ones scamper off for their children’s gospel, homily, and prayers and come back proudly carrying their completed crafts. We are currently seeking lay volunteers to accompany them, so talk to me if you’re willing to support this important ministry. This summer, our young people are invited to Saints Basketball Camp every Monday and Wednesday evening (beginning this week), Saturday morning youth group at 9:30 AM every Saturday, and Vacation Bible School later this August.

With two priestly ordinations from our parish in recent years and a likely diaconate ordination to come, I would not be surprised to see more vocations emerging here. Pray for more vocations to priesthood, religious life, and holy marriage and encourage the young people in your life to pursue their true calling.

The volunteers at our St. Paul’s Thrift Sale, through the donations and purchases of so many, are on pace to achieve another record-breaking year. So drop off used treasures and pick up some new treasures on Thursdays or Fridays this summer. They also always welcome new volunteers.

Our 2023-24 Diocesan Annual Appeal campaign ends at the end of this month, and we are happily going to surpass our goal. Not only will any gift exceeding our goal fully return to the parish, but we also expect to receive school tuition grants this year like the $23,000 we received last year from our diocese (which is funded by the Annual Appeal).

Looking ahead, the second part of our St. Paul’s Church renovation is slated for the summer of 2026. As we continue fulfilling our Inspired by the Spirit campaign pledges, we will have all the necessary funds by then for wall repainting, floor reflooring, pew refinishing, and kneeler repadding; for security and streaming video cameras, new lighting, a new speaker system, and more. Your generosity towards this worthy effort is appreciated and will bring these plans to reality. Your donations to this project are likely a factor in another topic which I should mention.

Parish contributions come to St. Paul’s in various ways. Some people drop envelopes or cash into our collection baskets, others mail in checks to our parish office, some people have signed up to make no-fee, ACH automatic contributions from their bank accounts, and still others make donations directly from their IRAs. But as we now approach the end of this fiscal year, our parish Finance Council has noted that our year-to-date parish contributions are 10% under their year-to-date budget target. While fulfilling our renovation’s campaign’s pledges, it’s important that we maintain our regular parish giving as well.

So if you are regularly giving $10 on Sundays, please perhaps raise this up to 11 or more. If it’s $20, to 22; if $50, to 55; or $100, to 110, and so on. And if you do not tithe, I encourage you to start. It is a tangible way to exercise your trust in God, giving him an opportunity to prove himself faithful to you. And our Lord will not be outdone in generosity.

Jesus says the Kingdom of God “is like a mustard seed.” Even beginning as the “smallest of all the seeds on the earth,” the mustard seed is potent in flavor and powerful in potential. It springs up and becomes the largest of plants, putting forth large branches, and the birds of the sky dwell in its shade. Let us help grow the Kingdom of God among us so that our St. Paul’s Catholic Parish may be a still greater fruitful blessing and holy home for many more. And let us pray:

St. Paul our Patron,
please intercede with the Lord
for our parish and plans’ success,
for the glory of God
and salvation of souls. Amen.

Posted in Homily, Mustard Seed, Parables, Sunday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

The Kingdom of God Will Grow From Small to Large

June 15, 2024

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a seed, which is small, and simple but once it is planted in the ground, it will grow and become huge. We may not know how, but for sure, it will happen. More than two thousand years ago, Jesus started a small community of believers in Israel. When He was arrested, crucified, and died, His disciples were scattered and confused. However, when he rose again on the third day and appeared before them, they regrouped. On Pentecost Day, they were empowered by the Holy Spirit. From then on, that tiny community became a force that is present in all countries today.

Likewise, our spiritual growth as individuals mirrors that of the growth of a community of believers. Once the seed of the teachings of Jesus is planted in our hearts, the growth process is initiated and transformation starts. It happens little by little, in stages, and as long as we nourish it through prayers and service, we will put forth “branches” and bear fruit. There are no shortcuts to spiritual growth. Much like the growth of a plant, it will be an organic process. Along the way, there will be storms and other problems but the growth process will continue. Sometimes we ask why it seems that we are not growing at all. The key is patience and perseverance.

The parable also highlights the importance of small, humble beginnings. The seed is small and insignificant, yet it has the potential to grow into something big and beautiful. This reminds us that our small acts of faith, hope, and love can have a profound impact and bear fruit in ways we may not even imagine. Furthermore, the parable suggests that growth and transformation are gradual processes. The seed does not become a plant overnight, and the kingdom of God does not suddenly appear in our lives. Rather, it grows and develops over time, as we nurture it with our faith, hope, and love.

Just as a seed planted in the ground grows and flourishes without our full understanding of how, so too does the kingdom of God grow in our hearts and lives. We may not see it, but we can trust that it is working in us, transforming us, and bearing fruit.

Let us therefore focus on the here and now. So what can we do right at the moment? We can decide to be a tree for others to come and find shade and even make a nest. We can be a bird that sings a song of praise and thanksgiving. We can be the prophet to announce the good news of love and hope. May we be inspired by Jesus’ teaching to trust in the mysterious and wonderful ways of God’s kingdom, and may we bear fruit for the glory of God. May our small acts of faith, hope, and love be like seeds that grow into a harvest of righteousness and peace. May we be patient and hopeful; trusting in God has hidden working and timing.

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We Prove our Discipleship through Obedience & Faith

June 9, 2024

10th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

God speaks to us in many ways, particularly through the Word of God. This Word is very active in our lives and helps us to grow in our closeness to God. On this Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, the Church reminds us that as humans, we all have to struggle against evil. However, the good news is that we are illuminated through the assurance of victory. It is Christ, who helps us to obtain this victory in our daily and earthly struggle against evil.

The first reading is from the story of the fall of Adam and Eve. Which reminds us of something that we inherited from them. That is Adam’s nature due to Original Sin. Also, it reminds us of the consequences of disobedience. Rather than accepting their fault, they tried to justify themselves by blaming each other. Adam blamed “the woman you (God) gave me.” Of course, he did not blame the woman alone; he also indirectly blamed God who generously and kindly gave him a partner. On the other hand, Eve blamed “the serpent that tempted me.” As it is for some of us, it was hard for them to accept their fault. Neither of them said, I am sorry, I was wrong; it was my fault, or even, please forgive me. What helps is humbly accepting one’s fault and asking for forgiveness.

Today’s gospel narrates Jesus’ encounter with his people and family. They thought he was out of his mind. They accused him of being possessed when he was liberating the possessed. They were ready to restrain him with false charges. They wished to tame his miraculous works and powerful preaching. Despite all this, He remained focused. Every true disciple of Christ is His brother, sister, mother, and a member of his victorious family. He came to save all who were ready to do the will of God. Of course, Mary his Mother is the greatest model of this for all of us. Hence, Christ did not disrespect his faithful mother. Rather, he teaches an important lesson today. That, through faith and obedience to God’s will, we all have the opportunity to become members of his victorious and happy family.

Also, Christ reminds us that it is not status but action in response to God’s call that determines who belongs to his victorious family. To become part of the victorious family of Christ is a dynamic process. It flows from a personal encounter with Christ. It also flows from faithfulness and obedience to God’s will. Hence, if we are Disciples of Christ, we must prove it through our faith and obedience to God’s will.

For us, all of this is a call to follow the Lord, no matter what our families or other religious people think about us. We are challenged to do the works of God and to recognize that the fight between good and evil is still going on in our own time. Adam and Eve enjoyed the status and comfort of God’s divine presence, but they lost it through disobedience. Through them, we equally lost our membership in the victorious family. But through obedience to God’s will, our membership of the victorious family has been restored. We must also recognize that it is God who is at work and so we can trust that we are being remade in the image of God.

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Are You Sinning Against The Holy Spirit?

June 9, 2024

10th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

Jesus says, “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” This teaching makes some people mistakenly believe they are beyond forgiveness from somehow sinning against the Holy Spirit. What then is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? It is good for us to know, lest we fall into despair.

Let’s look at the gospel context. Having heard of his miraculous healings, many people came to Jesus. The crowds were so great that Jesus and his disciples could not even eat, and Jesus soon needed to preach from a boat so as not to be crushed. Jesus was curing the sick and casting out demons, but the scribes who had come from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons!”

Jesus dismantles their accusations as nonsense. “How can Satan drive out Satan,” he asks. “If I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people [your exorcists] drive them out?” Then, since they had said “he has an unclean spirit,” Jesus declares, “Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”

St. Athanasius observes that when the scribes and Pharisees credit “the works of God to the Devil… they have judged God to be the Devil, and the true God to have nothing more in His works than the evil spirits. … When the Savior manifested the works of the Father, raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, and other such deeds, they said that these were the works of Beelzebub. They might as well say,” Athanasius concludes, “that the world was created by Beelzebub.”

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is so deadly because it professes goodness and its Source to be evil. And if I declare Goodness “evil” how will I come to be reconciled to God? St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that “the sin against the Holy Ghost is said to be unpardonable by reason of its nature, in so far as it removes those things which are a means towards the pardon of sins.” A blasphemer against the Holy Spirit is blinding himself to the Light, yet St. Augustine encourages us “we should despair of no man, so long as Our Lord’s patience brings him back to repentance.”

It is spiritually deadly to denounce goodness as “evil.” Christians, however, profess faith in God as good and in Jesus Christ as our Savior. This makes a Christian unlikely to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. The dangerous error which we Christians are more likely to commit is in calling sinful evils “good.” Even while Christians claim Christ as Savior they sometimes deny his Lordship.

Jesus’ enemies did not want what he preached to be true. What he taught was challenging each of them to change. So they sought reasons to reject what he was teaching. Still today, we can rationalize sinfulness too, devising excuses to do what we want, refusing to repent, sometimes even reaching the point of celebrating shameful deeds as our pride. Willfully remaining in sin is a very serious thing so Jesus—who loves us—calls us to conversion.

In the gospels, we often see Jesus being gentle with sinners but hard on hypocrites. The Pharisees criticized him for being “a friend of sinners.” Jesus, in turn, denounced the Pharisees, saying, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’” So what is the difference between mere sinners and hypocrites?

Hypocrisy is more than just failing to live up to your professed morals, as all of us have done. The Greek word for “hypocrite” meant “actor” or “stage performer.” Hypocrites are farther off the narrow path than struggling sinners because hypocrites are only pretending to care about sin while ignoring the sins they have.

How can I distinguish whether I am a hypocrite versus a sinner striving to be faithful? One good sign is whether or not I am going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. If I am complacent with my sins, if I have given up on spiritual growth, if I am refusing to convert for Christ, I won’t go to Confession. Adam hid after he sinned in the Garden of Eden. When the Lord called to him and asked “Where are you,” God was not ignorant of behind which trees the man was hiding. He calls out to us too, hoping we will come out to him.

What if you’re unaware of your sins? Then review a good, thorough examination of conscience to enlighten you. Are you well aware of your sins? Then come to Christ with a contrite heart to start a new beginning in the confessional. I hope that you will choose to meet our Lord Jesus there, for the only sinners he cannot forgive are those who refuse to repent.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Feast Day Homilies, Holy Spirit, Homily, Repentance, Sunday Homilies | 3 Comments »

We Become What We Eat

June 3, 2024

Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ – Corpus Christi
By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

The Eucharist is the greatest sacrament of the Catholic Church. In the Eucharist, Christ is present for the assembly, in his words but above all, in the bread and wine transformed into his Body and Blood for his people. During his life on earth, Jesus expressed his love, especially for those who were rejected and unloved in society, he shared meals with them. For the Jew, shared meals were signs of acceptance and friendship. They invite only friends and important people, but not sinners and tax collectors. Jesus was challenging their tradition, eating with sinners, and making friends with those who had no friends. He was showing them respect and love, and drawing them into the family of God.

In the Old Testament, God worked great wonders for his people. He brought them together, led them through the desert, fed them with bread from heaven, freed them from slavery, and guided them through vast and dangerous lands. In the New Testament God brought us together through Jesus Christ. Jesus taught us how to walk in the light, and freed us from sin and its stain. Through Jesus Our Father feeds us, and the food we eat will give us life forever. He is the Father’s gift to us. Jesus told us that he and the Father are one, and if we see him, we see the Father.

When we celebrate the Eucharist, we are celebrating a meal to which all are invited and made to feel at home. God loves us so much that he wants to be with us and wants us to be with him. When we love someone, we want to be with him or her always. God desires to be with us in the most complete way possible. God became physically present in the person of Christ, the true God and true Man. The presence of God in the form of bread and wine is made available to us on the altar at Mass and preserved there for our nourishment and worship. Jesus gave us his Body and Blood so that he might live in us and become life for the world.

This is what happens in the Eucharist. God not only speaks his words to us. He enters into us. He takes possession of our hearts, minds, and bodies. He becomes one with us. He wants to make us one with him. Eating the Body of Christ and drinking his blood is the greatest moment of intimacy that can exist between God and us.

We become the body of Christ when we receive Christ in the Eucharist. From here, we start our mission, through our bodies, we carry Christ to others. It is our tongues which now speak the Good News to those longing to hear it. It is our feet now that Christ uses to walk the extra mile with people and seek out those who have gone astray in life and lost their way.

The Eucharist ends with a sending on Mission: “Go in Peace to love and serve the Lord.” We have to carry the Eucharist into the world. Just as the Lord has become our food, giving himself completely to us, so, too, we must give of ourselves for the sake of the world. We must become sources of nourishment for the world, as Christ has become a source of nourishment for us. Let us today approach the Eucharist with a more lively faith in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and we shall experience therein God’s saving power and transforming love.

Posted in Feast Day Homilies, Homily, Sunday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

What did Jesus Sing at the Last Supper?

June 1, 2024

Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ – Corpus Christi
By Fr. Victor Feltes

The Last Supper was a Passover meal. Jesus says so when he instructs two of his disciples, “Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him. Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there.”

The disciples found the upper room following the sign of a water jar. At the start of Jesus’ public ministry in Cana there were six stone water jars. As his ministry comes to its climax, there is a seventh water jar. The number seven symbolizes “fullness” or “completeness” in the Bible, like the sum of seven days is the completion of one full week. At the wedding feast of Cana, Jesus changes water into wine. At the Last Supper, Jesus changes bread and wine into himself.

“While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, [and] said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many….’ “Then,” St. Mark writes in his gospel, “after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” St. Matthew recounts the same detail: “Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”

This presents a mystery: what hymn did they sing at the Last Supper? Would you be curious to know what lyrics Jesus was singing on the eve of his Passion? Since the Last Supper was a Passover meal, we have a well-founded answer to that a question. For thousands of years, the Jewish people have traditionally sung Psalms 113 through 118 at the ritual Seder meal for Passover. So Psalms 113 through 118 were very likely psalms which Jesus prayed at the Last Supper.

This Sunday’s responsorial psalm consists of passages from one of these, Psalm 116. Contemplate Jesus saying these words:

“How shall I make a return to the Lord
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the Lord.

Precious in the eyes of the Lord
is the death of his faithful ones.
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.

To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the Lord.
My vows to the Lord I will pay
in the presence of all his people.”

Jesus is the Son of Mary, “the handmaid of the Lord.” He offers up the cup of salvation which contains the gift himself, a gift offered up to God the Father and offered up for us. The Jewish rabbis taught that all temple sacrifices would end with the coming of the Messiah or Christ except one: the thanksgiving sacrifice. In Greek, the word “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving.” Today across the nations, from the rising of the sun to its setting, the Holy Mass is Christ’s enduring thanksgiving sacrifice.

St. Luke notes how at the Last Supper, “when the hour came, [Jesus] took his place at table with the apostles and said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you…’” Jesus spoke this to the apostles yet he speaks these words to us as well. The Last Supper, the Cross, the Holy Mass are all mystically joined as Christ’s one great sacrifice for all. Jesus Christ is really present, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, in his Holy Eucharist, and he eagerly desires to share this Passover feast with you.

Posted in Feast Day Homilies, Homily, Jesus Christ, Last Supper, Real Presence, Sunday Homilies | 1 Comment »

The Most Holy Trinity

May 26, 2024

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

Today we celebrate one of the greatest mysteries of our Christian faith, the Holy Trinity. This celebration reminds us that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are working together. No amount of philosophical debate or scientific research can fully explain it. We must see a mystery only with the “eyes of faith.” Celebrating this great feast, we ponder what it means for us that God is “Trinity.” in the Bible God reveals himself as a relational, loving, and compassionate God. He reveals himself to his people through his servant Moses, proclaiming his name and his essential qualities: “The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.”

God is our Father, a loving and compassionate Father; he is the creator and giver of all life. All the good comes from him and through him. In him, through him, and with him all things exist. He is the one who cares, the one who waits for the Prodigal son to return and forgives completely and immediately. He is the father of truth, the Father of love, and compassion, and the Father of justice.

God communicates his love not in an abstract way, but in Jesus. His saving love is made most evident in the sacrificial Death of Jesus on the Cross. Jesus did not come into the world to condemn us but to save us. God the Son as a human being we can see, hear, and touch. Jesus Identified himself with the weak and the ordinary people. Though he is God, he emptied himself took human nature, and lived with us, so that he might open for us the way to true and unending life.

God created the plan of salvation, Jesus put the plan into action, and the Holy Spirit implements it in our daily lives. The Holy Spirit is the invisible force that allows us to accept Christ and what he did for us. The Holy Spirit allows us to walk with God along the straight and narrow path in our new relationship. The Holy Spirit reminds us of what Jesus did on earth. The Holy Spirit is infinite and indefinite. It can be everywhere and with everyone all of the time.

Since our baptism, we share in the love and relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in a very special way. We were baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Through our baptism, God adopted us as his sons and daughters. Therefore, we are caught up in the love between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Let us respect others and ourselves because we are created in the image and likeness of God. Let us have the firm conviction that the Trinitarian God abides in us, that He is the Source of our hope, courage, and strength, and that He is our final destination. Let us practice the Trinitarian relationship of love and unity in the family relationships of father, mother, and children because by baptism we become children of God and members of God’s Trinitarian family.

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Three Pillars

May 26, 2024

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
By Fr. Victor Feltes

Sacred Scripture proclaims, “God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created (us); male and female he created (us).” And our Catholic Faith teaches the divine image is present in every human person. The image of God also shines forth in the communion of human persons, communion in the likeness of the union of the Trinity’s Divine Persons among themselves. We are finite and sinful while God is infinite and perfect, yet we reflect his image and likeness in many ways: as individuals, as families, and as the Church of Jesus Christ.

Each one of us, made in God’s image, “possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone.” Like God, we can know things, choose freely, and love. Like God, we can fashion things beyond ourselves, we can enter into relationship with others and reign over Creation. One psalmist in the Book of Psalms asks God: “What is man that you are mindful of him, and a son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him little less than a god, crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him rule over the works of your hands, [and] put all things at his feet.” These words proclaim the glory of human persons, but also foretell the coming of Christ, who called himself “the Son of man.” Jesus Christ reveals to us that which was veiled yet always true before: God is not the solitary oneness of a single person but a unified oneness in three eternal Persons. This revelation of the Trinity opens our eyes to how the image of God is reflected among us not only individually but communally, such as in a family and as in the Church.

In the beginning, when God created the first human person, he saw that it was not good for the man to be in utter solitude. So, perhaps because it was the bone closest to his heart and core, God brought forth the woman from the man’s rib, ‘bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh.’ This is a reflection of God where, “God from God, Light from Light,” the Son is eternally begotten of the Father. God the Father lovingly gives all that he is to the Son and God the Son gives himself back as a total gift to the Father. And from this mutual self-gifting love, the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds. This is likewise reflected in marriage, where a husband and wife gift their whole selves to each other and a third distinct person can proceed.

Jesus Christ the Bridegroom founds the Church as his Bride, unites us in her and makes us fruitful, yet even though he makes us one he does not make us all the same. There are more than a billion Catholics spread across the earth. We have different strengths, cultures, and treasures, “different gifts according to the grace given to each of us.” No one of us mere creatures completely manifests the infinite goodness of God. But united together as his holy Church, our diversity of goods more fully reflects God’s glory.

God has created mankind in his image; in the image of God he has created us. So reverence each and every human person he has made, honor the holiness and fruitfulness of marriage, and celebrate the plethora of goodness present in the Church. For all of these are God’s creations, pillars of Christian civilization, and each one reflects the glory of our Triune God.

Posted in Adam and Eve, Catholic Church, Creation, Feast Day Homilies, Holy Trinity, Homily, Marriage and Family, Sunday Homilies | 1 Comment »

Holy Spirit Unites Us

May 18, 2024

Pentecost Sunday
By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

Pentecost was a game changer. Just look at the behavior of the disciples before and after Pentecost. Before the descent of the Holy Spirit, the early Christians were timid and afraid. After the coming of the Advocate, they were fearless even to death. Before the death of Jesus, He said, “When the Counselor comes, whom I shall send you from the Father, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me; and you also bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” (John 15:26-27) After the reception of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the disciples fearlessly bore witness to Jesus despite the cost.

Pentecost is an ongoing celebration of the gift of God’s Spirit, who is always with us, inseparable from believers. The fire that was ignited in the hearts of the disciples gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem continues to enflame in the hearts of all who have been gathered together here today. The Church is our upper room where we come together in communion of faith and love. The disciples gathered behind closed doors because they were uncertain about the future and were too frightened to publicly proclaim the risen Lord. Without a doubt, we have a lot in common with the first disciples.

Let us look at the Apostles, some of them were fishermen, simple people accustomed to living by the work of their hands, but there were also others, like Matthew, who was an educated tax collector. They were from different backgrounds and different social contexts, and they were from different names like Hebrew and Greek. In terms of character, some were meek and others were strong and excitable. They all had different ideas and emotions. They were all different. Jesus did not change them. He felt their difference and now he unites them by anointing them with the Holy Spirit. The union comes from the anointing at the Pentecost; the Apostles understand the unifying power of the Spirit. They see it with their own eyes when everyone, though speaking in different languages, comes together as one people, the people of God.

Let us focus on ourselves, and what it is that unites us, what is the basis of our unity? We too have our differences, for example, opinions, choices, and sensibilities. What unites us are our beliefs and morality. But there is much more, our principle of unity is the Holy Spirit. He reminds us that first of all, we are God’s beloved children, all the same, in this and all the differences. The Spirit comes to us, in our differences and difficulties, to tell us that we have one Lord Jesus and one Father and that for this reason, we are brothers and sisters.

Like the disciples after Pentecost, it is our job to bear witness to the Gospel. In humility, when we cooperate, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit will come alive and assist us in carrying out this mission. May God the Holy Spirit inspire every one of you until the day you hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21)

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Welcoming the Holy Spirit

May 18, 2024

Pentecost Sunday
By Fr. Victor Feltes

On Pentecost, about one hundred and twenty people, including the Blessed Virgin Mary and the apostles were together in the upper room. There on this day, the third Person of the Trinity “appeared to them as tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them,” and “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” Yet this was not actually the first time Mary or the apostles had encountered the Spirit.

In response to Mary’s fiat, to her saying “Let it be done to me according to your word” at the Annunciation, the Holy Spirit descended to conceive the Christ Child within her. And we hear in today’s gospel how on Easter Sunday evening Jesus visited the apostles in the upper room, exhaled on them, and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” So Mary and the apostles had each received the Holy Spirit before, sort of like us on this Pentecost Sunday.

We received the Holy Spirit at our baptisms, and received him again at our confirmations, and we can always encounter him anew. Since the Holy Spirit is an infinite Divine Person we can always receive more from him. So how can we receive the Spirit and his gifts more abundantly? Here are three ways:

First, ask for the Holy Spirit and his gifts in prayer. Prior to Pentecost, Jesus’ disciples had been praying for nine days—the Church’s first novena. They prayed to receive the promised Gift of the Father of which Jesus had spoken, to be “clothed with power from on high.” The disciples’ Pentecost joy and courage, the manifested miracle of speaking many languages, and that day’s three thousand conversions won were all fruits of the Holy Spirit in answer to their prayers.

A second way to welcome the Holy Spirit is to prepare a place for him. At Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit descended upon him in the likeness of a dove. Offer the Holy Spirit a hospitable place to land with you. If we are combative towards a dove or simply being too noisy, the bird will not approach us or stick around for long. So renounce all hostility towards God and cultivate peace within your house that his peace may rest on you. In other words, renounce your sins and go confession, and focus more on quieting your soul and dedicating time to daily prayer.

A third way to be touched and changed by the Holy Spirit is to expect and watch for his influence. The Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost in the likeness of fire. Fire transforms everything it touches. It causes other objects to radiate heat like itself, to shine like itself, to become fire like itself. If you ask for the Holy Spirit and his gifts and you are open to his influence, watch with eager expectation for him to inspire, empower, and transform you.

Back in my college days, one afternoon I was lying on my bed praying rather apologetically to the Holy Spirit. I said, ‘Holy Spirit, you’re like the most neglected Person of the Trinity. You’re just as much God as the Father or the Son but we direct much more prayer and worship to them than you. And when we do pray to you it’s because we want something, but you’re not just some divine vending machine. I’m sorry.’ Then I heard in my mind these words: “I am gift.” Now whenever you possibly receive a heavenly message, it is wise to check its truth in light of true Catholic teaching, since God will not contradict himself. So I considered that statement seemingly from the Holy Spirit: “I am gift.”

From all eternity, God the Father gives all that he is to his Son and the Son gives himself back as a total gift to the Father. And from this mutual exchange of self-gifting love, the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds. The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit to earth as a gift to sanctify and transform us so that we may participate in the life of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit rejoices to be gifted. He is gift. And when we ask for his gifts we are inviting his presence—for how could his gifts be manifested someplace where he is not? So from this I concluded the Holy Spirit does not begrudge us asking him for his great and holy gifts.

On this Pentecost Sunday, what gifts do you desire of the Holy Spirit? Pray for his powerful presence, like Mary and the apostles did. Turn away from sin and cultivate quiet peace, offering a welcoming place for the Holy Spirit to land. And watch with eager expectation for the transforming effects of the Spirit’s fiery influence.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Feast Day Homilies, Holy Spirit, Homily, Pentecost, Sunday Homilies | 1 Comment »

The Graduation Party of the Holy Family

May 12, 2024

The Feast of the Ascension
By Deacon Dick Kostner

You have heard me say many times that “Family” is God’s plan for our salvation and the key to heaven. It is through family that we receive mentorship and instruction from Jesus on how to live a life bringing us happiness in this life and the key to heaven for all eternity. As I reflected upon the Ascension of Jesus into heaven I realized that this act of Jesus was his way of telling his disciples and us that we are ready to begin our “ascension” into God’s Kingdom. It’s time for us to celebrate our readiness to begin to share the good news with others of the Gospel message that Jesus tells us will bring us to fulfillment and life with him in heaven.

It is through family that we learn that we are called to care for others more than caring for ourselves. It is through family that we humans are gifted with the ability to co-create with God in bringing about new life. It is through family that we learn to share our gifts of faith and time to help others overcome life struggles. Today we also celebrate Mother’s Day. A time when we thank our mothers for not only giving us life, but also for their gift to us of giving up their desire for time for themselves for the welfare and happiness of their children. Jesus himself refers to them when he calls his Church and Mary our mother and his followers as his brothers and sisters.

Our readings today have Jesus telling his disciples and us that we are ready to begin our ascension into heaven. He has given us his teachings and sacraments. He has instilled in us his gift of wisdom. He has adopted us as his brothers and sisters though our baptism into His Holy Family and today he tells his followers that its time for us to begin our solo takeoff to our ascension into heaven. He gives us the power to bring others into the Holy Family. The power to drive out demons and speak many languages. The power to heal the hurts of others, and to lay hands on the sick to overcome their illnesses. He promises to send his very spirit to aid us when we are uncertain or afraid. Bottom line is that today is our Graduation our license to go out into this crazy world and to love others as Jesus has loved us. We are called into service. Our compensation for this will be out of this world.

Let me share with you my “out of this world experience” I recently was gifted with, as a Deacon and as an attorney. In February Barb and I decided to take a few days off and go with some friends to Arizona. We were to fly out of Eau Claire on a early Sunday morning flight. We arrived before daylight and were directed to get our boarding passes from one of three airport attendants. We got in line with 190 other people when all at once one of the airport attendants eyeballed me and pointed out to the other attendants, “Look, that guy is my Deacon!” Everyone turned around to look at me and then she said with a smile, “ That guy is the Deacon at my Church.” One of the other attendants said to me “she needs a Deacon, I could tell you some pretty nasty stories about her.” I told him that it sounds like she needs to go to confession but that Deacons are not allowed to forgive sins but I would be willing to hear her sins but I would require a fee for only the priests do that for free. Everyone laughed and we moved on. I felt like a rock star. Jesus had given me a thumbs up for my ministry as a Deacon. But my story continues.

All 190 of us boarded the plane and I was given the isle seat on the left side of the plane and Barb had the isle seat on the right side of the plane. We were seated at the rear of the plane where the bathrooms were located. About an hour into the flight I noticed a woman walking towards me from the front of the plane. As she got closer I recognized that she was one my clients from the Sand Creek area who had just lost her husband about a year earlier and whose funeral I had attended. I had done their legal work for over 30 years. As she got closer to me she looked twice at me and then recognized who I was. She yelled out, “Dick”, and threw her arms around me and gave me a big hug. Everyone around us looked at me including Barb. After she left Barb asked me ,“Who was that?” my response was, “oh, just a client.” God gave me another thumbs up for my vocation of being a deacon whose service area extends far beyond the walls of a church altar.

I was flying high and truly humbled and the last time I felt that happy was when I had found out that I had passed the Bar exam. God gives to the Holy Family out of this world “thank yous” when he is proud of his Family Ministers. It is time folks to start our ascension into heaven knowing that it might be scary, and thinking that we are not ready, but the time clock keeps ticking, but I promise you that you will feel great when others thank you for giving of your time and ministry so that they too can experience the joy of their “out of this world” ascension experience of ascending up the stairs to heaven. And to all the Mothers of our Parish both living and deceased and on behalf of all of us here at St. Paul’s, I wish to thank you and may God bless you for your sacrifices and your mentorship of love! Happy Mother’s Day!

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The Ascension of Our Lord

May 12, 2024

Feast of the Ascension
By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

Today, we are celebrating the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord. Jesus, after his resurrection, spent forty days with his disciples instructing them and encouraging them as they prepared for the mission. The Ascension of Jesus into Heaven completed his earthly work of our redemption. Jesus proved two things. First, he proved that he was the promised Messiah. Secondly, he proved that through him who overcame death, persons who persevere in their living faith in Jesus, also overcome death and inherit the Kingdom of God.

In today’s First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles Luke explains how for forty days, Jesus had appeared to his disciples after his resurrection, presenting himself to them and convincing them that he was alive. During this time, he explained to them the Scriptures and spoke about the Kingdom of God. He ate and drank with them and spent his time with them strengthening them in their ministry. He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem until they had been baptized with the Holy Spirit promised by the Father. Through his actions, Jesus was opening the eyes of his disciples about his mission. Some of them, even at this time, did not fully understand him and asked for the day of the political restoration of Israel. With immense patience, he told them that this restoration is in the eternal plan of the Father. Jesus then told the disciples that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them and they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

In the second reading of today, Paul reminds the Ephesians of the marvelous generosity and goodness of God who had made them Christians and sharers-to-be in the glory of Christ, who was the eternal glory of God. St. Paul prayed that God would enlighten their minds to try to understand and appreciate the marvelous things God had done for them through the incarnation, death, resurrection, and finally the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The feast of the Ascension is not to commemorate a departure but the celebration of the living and lasting presence of Jesus in the church. Jesus tells the disciples of the present situation as he gives the command to “make disciples” of people everywhere. He now introduces them to his mission as he passes on his authority to his disciples. Pentecost will be the confirmation of this. They now have the power to reconcile sinful persons with God and with the community and to decide who is not yet ready for reconciliation and full participation in the community’s life. Hence there are four aspects to this mission which Jesus gives in today’s Gospel: to evangelize, that is, to communicate the life and vision of Jesus, to continue the healing mission of Jesus both physical and spiritual, to experience the power of the Holy Spirit, and experience the presence of Jesus.

Jesus’ Ascension marks the end of his physical presence on earth, but it also marks the beginning of his spiritual presence in our lives. Just as Jesus was taken up into heaven, so too we will be taken up to be with him one day. The Ascension reminds us that our ultimate citizenship is in heaven, and we are called to live as pilgrims on earth, longing for our true home. The Ascension also reminds us of the importance of prayer and the need to continually seek God’s presence in our lives.

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Jesus Is Always Your Friend

May 5, 2024

6th Sunday of Easter
By Fr. Victor Feltes

At the Last Supper, Jesus told his apostles, “I have called you friends…” He calls them friends and he does not lie; what Jesus speaks is true. And then he tells them, “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” But what if we, or they, do not do what Christ commands? Does the Lord remain a friend towards us even when we are not being a friend towards him?

It appears Judas Iscariot was not at the table with the other apostles when Jesus spoke those words. Sometime after Jesus had kneeled down and washed their feet, Judas went out into the night to arrange for his betrayal. The passages we hear at Mass from St. John’s Gospel today are set two chapters after that. Jesus foresaw that Judas would freely choose to betray him, and God would go on to work great good from that betrayal, but these facts make the grave sin of Judas no less wrong. Later that night, in the dim light of the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas singled-out his rabbi for the arresting soldiers through a greeting and a kiss. Revealingly, St. Matthew records Jesus’ reply to Judas: “Friend, do what you have come for.” Even as Judas was betraying him, Jesus calls him “Friend.”

Jesus declares “no one has greater love than this, than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” And that is what Jesus did for us and the whole world. St. Paul writes in his Letter to the Romans how this proves the Lord’s love for us: “Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” St. John agrees in our second reading that “in this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.”

Like the Good Samaritan towards the robbers’ victim, Jesus Christ loved us before we had done anything to merit his love. But one might ask, “Does his love for us remain the same now?” Yes, for the Letter to the Hebrews says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” If we wander, he is like the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son waiting and longing for our return. Like a mother hen, he yearns to gather us together under wing. And whenever our Good Shepherd can carry home one lost sheep to his fold, he rejoices greatly with all of Heaven. In light of this divine love for us, how should we respond?

Jesus told his disciples to “remain in my love. … If you love me, you will keep my commandments. … If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love…” So first, we must to recognize and receive the incredible love he always has for us. Then, remaining in that love, we love him in return. This mutual love inspires how we act towards him and other people. And through living this beautiful way of life we remain in his love. Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Jesus teaches the greatest commandments are for us to love God with our whole selves and love our neighbors as ourselves. “This I command you: love one another. … As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.”

The Church Father St. Jerome records how when St. John the Evangelist lived at Ephesus that apostle became unable to walk due to extreme old age. His disciples carried him in their arms with difficulty into the church. He could not muster the breath to preach many words. He would simply say to the congregation, week after week, “Little children, love one another.” Over time, his hearers became annoyed from hearing the same message over and over. They asked, “Master, why do you always repeat the same exhortation?” John answered, “Because it is the Lord’s command, and if this be done all is done.” As St. John wrote his New Testament letter: “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God [and] God is love.”

Jesus Christ is always a loving friend toward you, so be his faithfully loving friend in return, and a true friend toward all others, willing their greatest good.

Posted in Homily, Jesus Christ, St. John the Evangelist, Sunday Homilies | 1 Comment »

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