The Power of Anointing

October 14, 2023

By Joan Herrmann

Fr. Victor Feltes with his aunt and godmother, Joan Herrmann, at his priestly ordination party in 2009.

When I was due to have my first lithotripsy (a non-invasive procedure using shock waves to break down my rather ginormous kidney stones) – they discovered that I had a pericardial effusion, that is, fluid around my heart.

Over several months, I had to see a cardiologist, and they monitored the effusion to see if it would go away on its own. It did not. So, I was scheduled for a pericardiocentesis, in which they use a needle to drain the fluid.

A visiting specialist in this arena was called in to do the procedure. I was in an operating room with a team of six hovering about and prepping me, and the doctor started checking out the area with an ultrasound. He asked the attendants for a history of the images of the effusion around my heart – the last one was from a week earlier, showing a large fluid buildup.

He looked at me and said, “Joan, this is your lucky day, I am sending you home – there is no fluid surrounding your heart.” Honestly, he seemed a bit annoyed and disappointed that his skills were not necessary that morning! I had to “recover” for a bit as they had already administered some meds to make me woozy… all the time wondering at this miraculous turn of events and so very relieved that I did not have a heart issue!

The most intriguing part of my story: I had attended the funeral of my Aunt Irene (my dad’s sister) just three days earlier. My godson, Father Victor, said the funeral Mass. Afterwards he asked me how I was doing, and I mentioned the procedure that was coming up. He asked for details, and then asked if he could pray over me.

It was just he and I in the church vestibule, the rest of the family and attendees had left for the funeral luncheon. He asked the church attendant who was still there for some blessed oil – and then he prayed, laid his hands on me, and anointed me. I seriously felt at peace afterward, knowing that the procedure and potential heart issue was in God’s hands. Then and there, I just let go of the anxiety. Based on the doctor’s perplexity, I know that I was a recipient of a miracle that day.

I celebrate and acknowledge September 26th, 2016 every year, when God’s providence and grace made itself known to me in a very personal and tangible way. That it was my nephew and godson who prayed over me and was the conduit to God’s saving grace and mercy – all the more profound!

Posted in Medicine, Reflection, Supernatural Phenomena | 1 Comment »

Miracles Opened his Mind

October 14, 2023

By Fr. Victor Feltes

I love Catholic conversion stories because they always have happy endings. Toby, a friendly acquaintance of mine, recently shared with me this great story of how he became Catholic. He is a 42-year-old, married father of three in Colorado who entered the Church at the Easter Vigil of 2006:

“I was fairly young when my parents stopped taking me to the Dutch Reformed church (my uncle is a pastor in one). So I had mostly no religion, but a little. In high school, I suffered terrible migraines that would make me vomit. One day, in the middle of upchucking, I prayed to ‘the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’ to make it stop and if he did I would worship him. I have not had a migraine since—not even a little one. But a lot of people claim this God as theirs, so I had to figure out how to worship him.

So, every Sunday through high school, I went by myself to the closest church, a Calvary Chapel. In college, I tried other churches to see what seemed right, but nothing did. I ruled out Islam (since they do not claim all three patriarchs) and Catholicism because of my Protestant biases. So I looked at Judaism. I did a lot of research about the existence of Jesus and was convinced to try Messianic Judaism because I was convinced he was the Messiah. However, that also seemed empty. So I gave up. I lived a hedonistic life deciding that, though I believe, I would never know how this God really wanted to be worshiped.

Now midway through graduate school, I bought saint candles simply for décor (and because they are so cheap). One day, returning from vacation, I put a stone turtle souvenir I had just bought on my desk next to it, and took a shower. Coming back the turtle was in pieces on my desk. I looked up the saint, and the first webpage I found said Saint Jude was known for was casting demons out of statues and causing them to crumble. So I lifted my bias against Catholicism and attended RCIA (classes for joining the Catholic Church) and it fit. Things made sense in a way they didn’t elsewhere.

So, it took years and multiple miracles, but here I am. The Lord had to drag me to our Faith in a way that I could investigate the claims with an open mind, and not with the biases I had built up. It required a lot of changed views, but my journey left me docile. Two miracles and learning my own discernment was terrible can do that!”

Posted in Christian Perfection, Reflection, Sts. Simon and Jude, Supernatural Phenomena | Leave a Comment »

God’s Invitation

October 14, 2023

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Chinnappan Pelavendran

Jesus used various parables to explain the concept of the kingdom of God. The parables show us that it is God’s will that all people be saved and He offers to humanity the gifts of salvation. The readings today, including the Gospel parable, invite us to accept God’s invitation with joyful hearts. The word of God challenges us to examine our own response to His call. God extends to us the greatest invitation we will ever receive: come to the feast, come to the banquet of eternal life. Sooner or later, each one of us has to give Him an answer. “Yes, I am coming,” or, “No, I will not come.” The choice is ours.

In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah invites us to have a glimpse of heaven. Our loving God has a plan for each one of us; the Lord of Hosts will prepare for all people a banquet of rich food. He will remove the mourning veil; He will wipe all tears from our eyes. No sadness or pain, only celebration in the heavenly banquet. Today’s Responsorial Psalm presents God as the Good Shepherd who nourishes, leads, and protects His flock. In the second reading, St. Paul advises the Philippians to have trust in the power of and goodness of a providing God, who, in Jesus, has invited us to participate in the Heavenly Banquet.

In the Gospel, we hear that the King, who is God the Father, gave a feast for his son’s wedding. Jesus is the groom wedded to the Church. The Church is the Bride of the Lamb. For this wedding, the king sent His servants, that is the prophets in the Old Testament, to invite people to the wedding but they would not come. The chosen people were not living according to the covenant. As a result, the king sent his troops, to destroy those murderers and burn their city. This could be a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem. Then the king gave an order to invite everyone whom they found on the road because those who were invited were not worthy. The chosen people rejected the invitation, but a huge number of non–Jews, the Gentiles, came to Jesus and had faith in Him.

Those absentees are not necessarily sinners; they are generally engaged in legitimate work, not sinful activity. One goes to the farm, another to his business. These are necessary and useful occupations. Sometimes what keeps us away from the joy of the kingdom is not sin but our preoccupations with the necessities of life. To be serious with our job is a good thing, but when our job keeps us away from attending the Lord’s Supper, it has become an obstacle to our faith.

To be a participant in the kingdom of God is a privilege as well as a responsibility. The responsibility is to accept the invitation and to undergo change in our lives. It is a change from self-centeredness to God-centeredness, from hatred to forgiveness, and from greediness to sharing.

The celebration of the Holy Mass is called ‘heaven on earth,’ a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. Before Communion, we hear the words; this is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the Supper of the Lamb. This is not only an invitation to receive the body and blood of Jesus in Holy Communion. It is also an invitation to the eternal wedding feast in heaven.

God wants everybody to be saved. He invites everyone to His feast. Therefore, let us always say “Yes” to His invitation, and clothe ourselves with the garment of love, so that we may worthily enter the eternal joy and glory of Heaven.

Posted in Heaven, Homily, Sunday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

It Don’t Get Any Better Than Mass

October 14, 2023

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Deacon Dick Kostner

Why should we attend Mass on Sunday? Our Scripture readings tell us why. Our First reading from Isaiah tells us that we will feast on rich food and choice wines; it goes on to say that death will be destroyed through the love of God for his children and the sacrifice of his sons earthly life, for our salvation. Our Responsorial Psalm prayers tell us that we need not fear evil because of our faith in Jesus; ‘only goodness and kindness will follow us all the days of our life.‘ Our Second Reading has St. Paul tells us that we will be well fed and living in abundance, God will fully supply whatever we need through his son Jesus. And our Gospel parable story outlines God’s desire for our attendance for the wedding feast of Jesus to His Church, and the sharing of His ministry of love with His Church, his earthly body represented by the works of his faithful followers. All this reminds me of the Old Milwaukee Beer commercial of a group of guys sitting around a campfire, enjoying each others company and sipping on a cold and delicious and proclaiming, “It don’t get any better than this!”

Our Gospel discloses to us that God is persistent in his invitation to us to join this wedding feast. It acknowledges that although everyone is welcomed some will decline the invitation for they have better things to do. Some will even ridicule the invitation as they need to tend to their business but the king does not give up and opens his invitation to the whole city but some even killed his servants who invited them. The parable story tells us at some point God will withdraw his invitation and they will no longer be admitted or allowed to participate in the wedding feast.

We all live busy lives but we must remember that our earthly life will someday end. The choice is ours to make for God will never force his kindness and love upon us. As Fr. Victor told us a few weeks ago, the Holy Mass is the place where heaven and earth meet. It is the place where we are fed and provided with the food of salvation which will allow us to live forever in the kingdom of God. We feed our bodies daily in order to experience life. We many times fail to realize that we are more than body we also possess within us the spirit of our creator. The spirit part of us also needs to be fed. It is at the celebration of the Mass that the spirit within this family is fed and nourished in order to provide for us peace of everlasting life with our Creator. It is the time and place for us to give thanks to God for all the gifts he has bestowed upon us and all he asks is that his children show appreciation for those gifts by joining him for the wedding celebration of eternal life between Jesus and his Church. I know that there are many reasons why people have abandoned the invitation from Jesus to attend Mass. It might be that you don’t like the priest; or the Mass is boring; or the homily is too long. Or there is a Packer game on.

Last week my friend Lloyd, at our That Man Is You class, gave me copy of something a Bishop had said in one of his homilies and Lloyd said, “Deacon, you need to use this in one of your homilies.” When a “Church Elder” tells me this needs to be shared I know the Spirit is at work helping me speak to his people so here it is Lloyd:

“A pastor asked an older farmer, decked out in bib overalls, to say grace for the morning breakfast: ‘Lord, I hate buttermilk,’ the farmer began. The pastor opened one eye to glance at the farmer and wondered where this was going. The farmer continued, ‘And Lord, you know I don’t much care for raw white flour.’ The pastor once again opened an eye to glance around the room and saw that he wasn’t the only one to feel uncomfortable. Then the farmer added, ‘But Lord, when you mix them all together and bake them, I do love warm fresh biscuits. So Lord, when things come up that we don’t like, when life gets hard, when we don’t understand what you’re saying to us, help us to just relax and wait until you are done mixing. It will probably be even better than biscuits, Amen.’”

Jesus gives us an open invitation to join him for the Holy Mass so please come and share his invitation with others to witness heaven and earth coming together to give give thanks and watch Jesus “do the mixing.” As the boys around the campfire proclaimed, “It don’t get any better than that!”

Posted in Homily, Mass, Sunday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

Union With The Other — The Derek Seibel & Jocelyn Zwiefelhofer Wedding

October 14, 2023

By Fr. Victor Feltes

From the beginning of creation, God has made us male and female. Male and female are a foundational difference in our human nature. Though equal in dignity, the two sexes are not the same. We do not think about it much, but it is curious that God created us with this inherent division among us. He did not have to do this. God could have created us differently. Yet this distinction, this separation between us, is what makes marriage possible.

Does marriage divide us? Does marriage separate people? What do I mean? Well, like Jesus says, the man and woman leave father and mother for each other. There is a leaving of a previous family to form a new one. And because of marriage, both bride and groom forsake all others. In saying “yes” to one other person the newlywed is saying “no” to hundreds of millions of others. Marriage is an exclusive and binding relationship that separates a man and woman from having the same relationship with all others. A blinkered person could look at men and women and only see opposition. One could deconstruct marriage and denounce it as discriminatory and divisive. But these strange perspectives would not see the fullness of reality, the beauty of what God is doing.

Derek and Jocelyn, I doubt you feel today like you are abandoning your families. Rather, you are becoming parts of each other’s families even as you form a distinct new family of your own. And I very much doubt that you, Derek and Jocelyn, are thinking today about how getting married cuts off your dating options. Instead, you are experiencing joy in becoming more perfectly one with your beloved.

As a man and a woman, God made you for each other. And the unity you can experience together is described by Jesus as two becoming one such that you “are no longer two but one flesh [one body].” Marriage unites human beings and the human family. And here is the greater wonder: all men and women are made for union with God, who is supremely Other. And holy marriage offers both an image and foretaste of the loving harmony with God in Heaven.

In receiving this Sacrament of Marriage your union becomes more than natural. By cooperating with grace you become a living icon of the marriage of Jesus Christ the Bridegroom with the Church his Bride. You can tap into the love they express and give to each other, loving beyond your human strength. “Therefore,” Jesus says, “what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” Derek and Jocelyn, and every married person here: do not disregard or fail to realize what is possible in your sacramental bond. Invite God to perfect your love, for each other, for himself, and for all.

Posted in Homily, Jesus Christ, Marriage and Family | 1 Comment »

God Expects Fruits From Us

October 8, 2023

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

The last three weeks, our gospels have been about vineyards. Two weeks ago, we had the Parable of the Laborers in the Marketplace. The Good Employer called people to work in his vineyard throughout the day. Last week, we had the parable of the two sons who were called to work in their father’s vineyard, one said ‘No’ but went. The other said, ‘Sure’ but did not go. This week we have another vineyard story, the story of the evil tenant farmers who tried to steal the vineyard from their Master, even putting his messengers to death and finally putting his son to death.

Naturally, Jesus taught His disciples and the people about God’s mercy, compassion, love, and forgiveness. However, in today’s readings, we see something different: rejection and destruction. God loves his people. There is no doubt about it. At the same time, God expects fruits from his people.

The kingdom of God is often referred to with images from everyday life. Today’s readings use the image of the vineyard and wine to understand God’s relationship with his people. The vineyard is a familiar symbol of Israel, God’s chosen people. The Lord had done so many good things for Israel: He worked on the land, planted a vineyard, put walls around it, built a watchtower, and did other good things. He did all this in expectation of a fruitful harvest. The result was the opposite; the land produced bad fruits and wild grapes. The chosen people of Israel were brought out of slavery by the Lord to a land flowing with milk and honey. God did everything for His people and rightly expected them to produce fruits of righteousness and to be witnesses to unbelievers. But they gave him fruits of sin, iniquity, corruption, immorality, wickedness, and rebellion. Therefore, God took away his protection and let his vineyard be trampled by other nations. This prophecy was fulfilled when the Assyrians and the Babylonians conquered Israel.

Jesus uses the same image in today’s Gospel. The landowner represents God. The tenants represent the religious leaders who were given the responsibility to take care of God’s people and help them bear good fruit. See the great opportunities the vineyard owner offered to the tenants, and how they wasted the opportunities and expressed ingratitude. God does not simply punish his people immediately but patiently and mercifully waits. The servants suffered at the hands of religious leaders, and his own people killed Jesus. One might think that the death of Jesus would lead to man’s destruction. Instead, it has led to our redemption. The rejected stone becomes the cornerstone.

God has abundantly blessed this world with many gifts, especially natural and human resources. It would be wonderful if we all used God-given natural resources and our human talents as prudent and faithful stewards. While we are working, we should not forget the greed and selfishness of the tenants, which turned against the owner of the vineyard. We need to remember always that God is the absolute owner of this world and everything in it. We are only His tenants and, at the end of our lives, we are expected to give an account of our stewardship to Him.

As we are in the month of the Rosary, may today’s Gospel lesson help us make a firm resolution to reject pride and greed. As we pray the Rosary, may we imbibe the values of humility and love, and be constantly assured of the Blessed Mother’s protection and assistance as we journey toward our eternal home.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Homily, Jesus Christ, Parables, Sunday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

Three Parables About God’s Vineyard

October 8, 2023

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fr. Victor Feltes

For a third Sunday in a row, we hear Jesus telling a parable featuring a vineyard. First, there was the parable about the generous vineyard owner who hired more and more laborers throughout the day and paid them all the same amount. Then, there was the tale of a father who asked his two sons to go and work in his vineyard. Today, Jesus refashions the Prophet Isaiah’s allegory (which we heard in our first reading) into a story about a vineyard owner’s wicked tenants. In these parables, Jesus tells us what “the Kingdom of Heaven” is like.

His stories prefigure how the Gentiles would join the Jews as the people of God’s Kingdom. For example, like vineyard workers called late-in-the-workday, God calls the Gentiles long after he called the Jews, yet both are offered the same wage of salvation. The wayward, Gentile, pagan peoples were like the son in the parable who at first denies his father but later changes his mind and faithfully serves him. And the religious leaders of the Jews were like those wicked tenants who betrayed the vineyard owner, mistreated his messengers, and ultimately murdered his son. Because of this, those leaders’ roles of leadership were taken away and given to others in Christ’s Church to produce more fruit for God.

Gospel parables are profound, inspired stories which contain more than one true meaning. Jesus’ vineyard parables not only describe what the Kingdom of God is like for groups of peoples but for individual persons as well. For instance, Jesus’ Parable of the Generous Landowner teaches us that it is not too late for a sinner to repent, answer God’s call and serve him now, while it is still day. His Parable of the Two Sons teaches us that doing the right thing is better than merely saying the right thing. Faithful obedience to our Father God means actually following through. And today’s Parable of the Wicked Tenants teaches us that even those who labor or have authority in God’s vineyard must act justly towards God and his servants. Blessed are those who respond to the Lord, profiting of the precious opportunity he has made possible for us.

Jesus’ parables foreshadow peoples entering God’s Kingdom from all lands. Today, we can see this realized in his Church. Look at us, Americans in Wisconsin, with a pastor of German ancestry ministering alongside a priest from India, and all of us worshipping the God of Israel together. Jesus Christ, the stone rejected by the builders, has become the cornerstone of a new Temple made of living stones, people from every land. By the Lord has this been done and it is wonderful in our eyes.

The Prophet Isaiah once proclaimed a song of his friend concerning his vineyard: “A vineyard on a fertile hillside. He spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines (to make it fruitful); within it he built a watchtower (to protect it), and hewed out a wine press (to delight in its fruits).” Isaiah’s friend was the Lord God, whose vineyard was Old Israel, which contained the cherished plant of his people. Jesus Christ’s Church, his Bride, is the New Israel; not defined by soil or blood but open to all people. God protects her, makes her fruitful, and delights in her. He delights in us and makes us one. This is Jesus Christ’s desire for every person in our world. May the whole world come to know Christ in his Church and know the peace of God.

Posted in Catholic Church, Generous Landlord, Homily, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, Parables, Sunday Homilies, Two Sons | Leave a Comment »

The Obedience of the Third Son

October 3, 2023

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

A friend of mine was a social worker for twenty long years. All of a sudden, he became a funeral director. I wanted to know why he changed his mind by leaving a good job and becoming a funeral director. He said he spent ten years trying to change John, but he is still an alcoholic. He spent three years trying to solve Charles and Susan’s marriage problems, but they ended up getting a divorce. Later, he tried to turn one of his friends from drugs, but he is still an addict. Now, at the funeral home, when he straightens them out, they stay straight!

We feel happy when someone obeys us, but at the same time, we do not want to obey anybody. Often we forget obedience is a virtue. The parable of Jesus this Sunday is about the two sons and their obedience. The first son said “No,” but later he changed his mind; he did the father’s will. The second son said “Yes,” but later he did nothing. The meaning of this parable is clear; the Jewish leaders were people who said they would obey God but then did not. The tax collectors, sinners, and prostitutes said “No” to God, but after listening to the teaching of Jesus, changed their lives. This is what the prophet Ezekiel pointed out in the first reading, “But if the wicked turn from the wickedness they did and do what is right and just, they shall save their lives, since they turned away from all the sins they committed, they shall live, they shall not die.” (Ezekiel 18:27–28)

After listening to this parable you may have a question; which of them should we follow? I cannot say that one is better than the other, the two sons caused pain and sorrow to their father. The one caused pain at the beginning and the other one at the end. Neither of the two sons brings joy to the father. The answer comes from today’s second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we follow neither the first son nor the second son. Rather, we follow the third son, the one who said “Yes” and obeyed His heavenly Father even unto death. He is Jesus Christ.

Jesus is our model for obedience to the Father’s will. Jesus obeyed His Father completely, emptying himself, taking the form of a slave, by accepting death on the cross. Because of this obedience of Jesus, God the Father exalted Jesus above every name, at the name of Jesus the knees of heaven and earth will bend, and every tongue will confess Jesus is the Lord. Jesus our Lord and Master achieved victory by humbling himself to His Father.

Today we all must examine ourselves, and evaluate how faithful we are to the promises we made. When we were baptized, the priest asked us in the name of Christ, “Do you renounce Satan? And all his works? And all his empty show? Do you believe in God the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth? Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered death, and was buried, rose again from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of the Father? Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection of the body? And life everlasting?” For all these, we said, “I do!”

As a priest, I have to examine myself and see how faithful I am to the Lord, and to the promises I made to Him during my ordination. Those who are married, how faithful are you to your spouse and to the Lord, and to the promises you made to them in the presence of God? Let us listen to the voice of God in every moment of our life, and obey it.

Posted in Homily, Jesus Christ, Sunday Homilies, Two Sons | Leave a Comment »

Christ Our Light — Funeral Homily for Todd Zwiefelhofer, 51

October 3, 2023

By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, I would like to express my sympathy to Todd’s family members, siblings, friends, and near and dear ones. The tall white candle we have today, the Paschal Candle, stands beside the casket at every funeral mass. The candle was first lit at Easter. Five grains of incense are inserted into it symbolizing the five wounds of Jesus. The two wounds in His hands, the two wounds in His legs, and the wound in His side. It is very symbolic that this candle stands beside the coffin during every funeral Mass. It is almost as if Jesus is standing beside the coffin looking up at His Father and pleading on behalf of Todd, saying, “Look, I bore these wounds in my body for the salvation of Todd. I suffered, I died, and I rose again for him. Forgive him Father and take him to paradise.”

Todd was born on September 17, 1972, in Bloomer to Leon J. and Kathleen Zwiefelhofer, the baby of the family. He was educated and graduated from Bloomer High School in 1991. Todd married Amy Michaelis at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Bloomer.

Todd was naturally a sports person. He loved the Wisconsin teams in this order, Badgers, Brewers, and Packers. During the matches, he used to change his uniform according to the team playing to show his solidarity with the team. Todd was proud to be a 100% German. He loved to make dumplings and sauerkraut.

Today’s readings help us to understand God’s love and compassion. In the first reading, we heard that “blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.” From now on, let them find rest from their labors. Our loving Father gives them rest from their labors, God will take care of them they need not work for their livelihood. In the responsorial psalm, we see the comforting picture of our Lord Jesus, the shepherd and King, who offers abundant life to his people. The Psalm reminds us of the care and protection of our good shepherd. In times of suffering, we may lose much, but we gain much more of Jesus. Our Good Shepherd will guide us, and protect us, we need not fear because He is near to us. He will lead us to everlasting life. In the second reading, our Lord calls our hearts to focus on Him, since our citizenship is in heaven. He invites us to fix our eyes on eternal life, His kingdom.

Jesus said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Though Jesus was forsaken, He fulfilled His mission and revealed his identity. When he died on the cross, He opened the way to God’s presence to all people. The Father forsakes Jesus in order to save His people. The cross is the birthplace of faith. If you want faith look at the cross. God the Father put all our sins on Jesus. Look what the Son did for us, He took all our sins and died on the cross. Jesus was abandoned so that we could be accepted. Our sins are many, but God’s mercy is more. Todd died in the hands of God, and now he is enjoying the company of angels and saints in heaven because Jesus died on the cross for everyone.

In the Paschal Candle above the five grains of incense, we see the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet, Alpha, and Omega. Jesus is the beginning and end of our life. Jesus is the beginning and end of Todd’s life and He is the beginning and end of all our lives too. Our Lord Jesus gives meaning to our life, especially in times of suffering.

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The Parable of Two Sons, Jesus Christ & Us

September 30, 2023

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

The father in Jesus’ parable has two sons. He tells the first, “Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.” That son refuses but later changes his mind and goes. The father comes to the other son and gives the same command. That son replies, “Yes, sir,” but does not go. When Jesus asks the chief priests and elders which son did the father’s will, they answer, “The first.” Were those Jewish leaders correct? Yes and no.

Yes, it is true that it is better to do the right thing than to merely say the right thing. Nevertheless, it is a father’s will that all his children would do both, obeying in word and deed. In Jesus’ parable, neither son did the father’s will perfectly. Jesus Christ, on the other hand, is perfectly faithful to our Father. “However many are the promises of God,” the Letter to the Hebrews tells us, “their ‘Yes’ is in him.”

Jesus enters our world saying, “Behold, I come to do your will, O God.” Though he was in the form of God, he emptied himself and humbly took the form of a servant, assuming our human nature to his Divine Person. He was perfectly obedient to the point of death, even a death by crucifixion. Through Jesus’ obedient, faithful, loving response to his Father’s will, God has exulted him highest among us. We too have said yes to God’s will and given him our word, but we have not been obedient to that same degree.

Many here have vowed before God, ‘I, take you, to be my spouse. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.’ I pledged a similar self-gift on my deaconate and priestly ordination days. And any Catholics who are not in either of these sacramental vocations promise and pledge a gift of themselves when receiving Jesus in the Eucharist. At the turn of the fifth century, St. Augustine noted that when you approach to receive the Holy Eucharist at Mass “you hear the words, ‘The body of Christ’ and you reply ‘Amen’. Be then a member of Christ’s body, so that your ‘Amen’ may accord with the truth… Be then what you see, and receive what you are.” Our Heavenly Father has called to do works of love in our various states of life and we have said, “Yes, sir,” but we have not always done it. Yet there is encouragement for us in today’s gospel.

Jesus notes how tax collectors and prostitutes had not done the will of God preceding the preaching St. John the Baptist. They had disobeyed God’s commands but, through believing, changed their ways and were now entering the Kingdom. Through believing in Christ we also can change. We cannot do it alone, but we were never expected to. Consistently invite Jesus Christ to live his perfect obedience, his intense love, his holy life in you. Then, becoming more like him, you will share more greatly in his exulted glory.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Homily, Jesus Christ, Parables, St. Augustine, Sunday Homilies, Two Sons | Leave a Comment »

God is Just & Generous

September 25, 2023

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran


Generosity is the attitude of sharing whatever we have. God is Just as well as generous. When God created the world, He created everything by His words. When He created human beings, “God created man in His image, in the divine image He created him, male and female He created them.” (Gen 1: 27) God so loved the world, that he gave His only son to redeem the world. God expresses Justice and generosity, through His creation and redemption of the world.

In the first reading, we see another generous act of God: He invites His people to forsake their wicked ways and return to Him. They should not have any fear because God is very generous and forgiving, and he will forgive the sins of repentant sinners. God is always near His people as a loving Father.

Today’s parable of the landowner is also a good reminder of God’s generosity. The landowner hired laborers for his vineyard at different times of the day. However, at the end of the day, everyone received the same, daily wage. Those who were hired first complained, but the landowner proved himself just and generous. From the beginning, the landowner was clear: he agreed with those who were hired first regarding the wages. At the end of the day, he gave them the promised wage. While the first ones worked longer hours compared to the others, they were given a just wage. To the others, the landowner chose to be generous.

The context of today’s gospel is that St. Matthew was writing to the Jewish Christian community, who saw Jesus as the fulfillment of the Jewish prophecies. Some of them thought that salvation was only for the Jewish people. The truth Jesus gives to the Jewish community is this: God’s gift of salvation is offered to everyone. God will give all his children the same gift of salvation. Jesus said the prostitutes, murderers, and other sinners would be saved ahead of the religious leaders because they repented while the Pharisees and scribes continued to be hypocrites. One who repents would receive the fullness of salvation.

God has a perfect plan for your life. If others have more than you, it does not mean that God loves you less. God loves each one of us equally. In the parable, the landowner (representing God) says, “My Friend, I am not being unjust to you.” Jesus is our friend and He is not unjust to us. Think of parents and their children, parents have a different relationship with each child and special love and concern for the physically or mentally challenged. God is greater than any parent and shares His love and concern with His people, especially sinners. It is our task to listen to Him when He invites us to the vineyard.

It is never too late. It is never too late to turn to the Lord. It is never too late to be welcomed by the Lord. It is never too late to leave sin and be welcomed by the mercy of Jesus. Jesus told the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard that we have just heard. The Lord continues to go out to the marketplace every hour to invite people to His vineyard.

Learn the simple lesson in today’s scripture readings. Allow God to be God in all things that happen in our lives. When things are not working as we planned, let God be God in that situation. Trust in God, and let Him do the rest. God is compassionate and generous to us. May we also learn to share our time, talent, and treasure in His vineyard.

Posted in Generous Landlord, Homily, Justice, Mercy, Parables, Sunday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

Controversial Mercy in the Vineyard

September 23, 2023

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

The landowner in Jesus’ parable recruits workers throughout the day. He goes to the marketplace at dawn, at nine, at noon, at three, and at five, hiring laborers each time and sending them to work in his vineyard. At the end of the day, he pays his longest laborers one silver denarius coin (the wage to which they had previously agreed) but he surprisingly also pays even his briefest employees the same amount. When some grumble at this, the boss replies, “My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? …Am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?” Why did the employer risk this HR controversy? Why did he wish to pay the later workers so generously? The Old Covenant gives us insight into his motivation.

God commanded in the Book of Leviticus, “Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.” Then the Book of Deuteronomy explains why: “On each day you shall pay the servant’s wages before the sun goes down, since the servant is poor and is counting on them.” Now, if this vineyard owner had promptly paid his one-hour workers proportionally less than his full-day workers, that’s equal pay for equal work. But he pays all of them the same full wage because he is acting mercifully. He understands that his servants are poor, that their families are poor, and that they depend upon this pay for their daily bread. Rather than letting them go hungry, he generously provides. We see expressed throughout the Scriptures God’s special care and concern for the poor and the vulnerable, and our God calls us to be like himself.

Still, we can feel the grumblers’ grievance when they complain: “These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat!” And yet, those last-hired laborers were trying their best. They report that they were standing idle in the marketplace all day simply because nobody had hired them. Assuming they aren’t lying, these workers were not lazy, just unlucky. They came when they were called and received an equal reward.

In this parable, our Lord is the landowner, we are his laborers, and our payment is heaven. This parable presents hope for the unconverted. Though your days may have been wasted up to now, you can still heed our Lord’s calling and receive his merciful generosity as your reward. It may be your final hour, but do not despair and walk away forever. Answer Christ’s call. Believe, repent, and be saved.

For Christians who feel that they have labored hard and long for the Lord, I wish to address a bitter temptation you might be feeling: “If those who repent on their deathbeds get to go to heaven too, why shouldn’t I sin and just repent later?” For starters, this attitude is dangerously presumptuous. You do not know the final hour when the sun will set on your life. You may never get around to repenting before facing your eternal judgment. Furthermore, your repentance must be sincere, and God cannot be fooled.

And finally, do not imagine that the grass is greener away from Jesus. Yes, laborers in Christ’s vineyard must bear burdens and heat, yet those outside the vineyard are not at rest. They stand all day in the uncomfortable marketplace, spiritually impoverished, without true purpose, and anxious about their future. Remember that living a life apart from Christ is no paradise.

Jesus’ challenging parable about the generous landowner and his vineyard workers reminds us of God’s special concern for the poor and of our calling to practice the same. It reminds us of God’s incredible mercy and the need for all of us to answer his call to repentance. And it reminds us of God’s loving generosity, that he is all-good, and deserving of all our love.

Posted in Generosity, Generous Landlord, Homily, Mercy, Parables, Salvation, Sunday Homilies | 1 Comment »

Transformer of the Earth — Funeral Homily for Richard Zwiefelhofer, 92

September 19, 2023

By Fr. Victor Feltes

Richie’s family has told me a number of stories about him as a hardworking transformer of the earth. He would take places as they were naturally and improve them. He served in the U.S. Army in wartime Korea (1951-52) building roads, “engineering the land.” He made it home safely, married Margie, and labored on his farmstead. He worked hard on that farm, meticulously picking rocks day and night as if they were weeds in his fields, improving the soil. You have passed his verdant pastures on your way out of town beside Kwik Trip, where he gave his beef cattle peaceful rest. He could harvest his fields to yield four hay crops each summer for feeding his hungry herd. He did not raise dairy cows but he had a side-job hauling milk, and also gravel, dirt, corn, and or grain. His work aided in the shaping of this earth and in the sharing its blessings. Despite his short stature, he possessed great strength. He reportedly could carry a milk can in each hand, weighing one hundred pounds apiece. And his strength endured. Even into his nineties, he would shovel manure out of the pens.

He loved that farm and loved having fun. He loves his family and loves our God. Every weekend, he brought his family members to our Lord in the Eucharist. And when Riche could no longer attend himself, he watched the Holy Mass on TV. Though he was in and out of consciousness during his final weeks, when I visited Richie and gave him the Last Rites he thanked me for these precious gifts. And I am told that as the hour of his death drew near, he was heard praying the Hail Mary.

Richie worked hard to bless his family and help lead them to the Lord. Jesus Christ, meanwhile, always labors to bring us closer to himself and bless us. He engineers creation to build us a road so that his allies can conquer overwhelmingly in fighting the good fight and reach heaven triumphant. He meticulously picks out the useless rocks—the sins in our souls, to make us more fruitful. He would make us maximally fruitful; four, or thirty, or sixty, or one hundred fold. He utilizes us to help nourish his herd, shape this earth, share its blessings, and in verdant pastures give us repose.

Looking at Jesus during his public ministry, some people thought him to be a mere man. But his words and deeds reveal the divine strength he possesses, strong enough to bear the Cross for our sins and overturn death for our salvation. And Jesus Christ has not giving up laboring on this earth. He would shovel out the muck of sin from our lives if only we would welcome him and allow him to do so.

God loves us. He loves us powerfully. The Book of Wisdom says the Lord would purify and perfect us like gold in a furnace. And Jesus tells us in John’s Gospel that we would be wise to let him. Christ notes a lesson from the fields: “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit… for eternal life. … The Father will honor whoever serves me.”

The gospel reminds us that Jesus felt natural human distress as he faced his approaching Passion and death: “I am troubled now,” Jesus said, “Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.” Today, we may feel natural sadness at Richie’s passing, and that’s a beautiful thing, as it reflects our love. Yet what shall we say? It was for this purpose—a holy passage from this life into new life—for which Jesus and Riche worked hard together for so long.

Our Lord is the great hardworking transformer of the earth, who takes us as we are naturally and labors to improve us. Let any goodness you see in Riche reflect for you its source and perfection in Christ. And let Jesus work with you to bring you to holy perfection.

Posted in Funeral Homilies, Homily, Jesus Christ | 1 Comment »

Forgiveness 77 Times?

September 18, 2023

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Deacon Dick Kostner

Today’s gospel lesson has Peter questioning his friend Jesus as to how forgiving he must be with others. The answer Jesus gives him is the answer our heavenly Father gives to each and every one of us and that is “always.” We are to forgive others just as many times that we would ask God to forgive us for our failings in life. Peter, the first Pope of our faith, seems to think that he is without fault or at least he feels that “seven” would be a reasonable number of times that humans should be allowed to be forgiven. But Peter will soon learn that God will always forgive us for our human weakness if we approach him with a contrite heart when we stumble and disappoint our creator.

Jesus answers Peter with a parable story to help him mature into a worthy disciple. He uses a king to represent his Father in heaven to display what is required to receive forgiveness from God for our failings. We must be sincere and contrite when we ask God and others for forgiveness. Is that not what is required for us to receive forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation? But the king and God expects more of us than that as the parable continues. The servant in today’s story is forgiven by the king and his debt is erased, at least so he thinks. But now comes the kicker, when he is asked for forgiveness from a debt a fellow servant owes him, his answer is “no” and he has the man arrested and put in prison.

The forgiven servant soon finds out that the king requires of him and of us that when we receive forgiveness of our failings from God that we are to extend the act of forgiveness to all who approach us and ask to be forgiven if they approach us with a contrite heart. If we do not do this we can expect to be corrected by the king, by God, when we meet him in person at the conclusion of our life here in this world.

Recently, I presided over the marriage of a young couple and I told them things that I had learned from my fifty-plus years of marriage to Barb. One of the first things I shared with them was the fact that although they might think that their new spouse is perfect in every way, that this is a myth for we are all humans and as Father Tom would always say, “We have feet of clay.” Humans by their nature, have weaknesses and all of us will display our weaknesses during our lives here on earth. God knows this, and that is why he forgives us seventy times seven. When this happens, we will realize that we are not perfect and that we will need to ask for forgiveness. This holds true especially in married life. What makes this especially beneficial in a marriage is that our spouse has the obligation to try their hardest to prepare their spouse for the heavenly kingdom. That means to tell them and show their spouse that they are not perfect and that sometimes they will need to realize this and approach forgiveness with a contrite heart. Marriage helps us learn to be a forgiven person so that we can extend that forgiveness to not only our spouse, but also to our children, friends, and even strangers who have offended not only us but our heavenly Father.

I want to thank my wife, Barb for being a good wife and for all the times that she has pointed out to me that I am not perfect. My only concern is why she always grins when she corrects me. I guess that it must just be what a good wife of fifty-plus years is called to do.

Posted in Homily, Marriage and Family, Mercy, Sunday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

Forgiveness is a Gift we must Share

September 16, 2023

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

In Jesus’ parable today, a servant owes his king an astronomically large debt, literally (in the original Greek) “ten thousand talents.” A talent was an ancient measurement of weight equaling something like seventy-five pounds. If these talents were owed to the king in silver, in the ancient world that amount would equal roughly 150,000 years’ worth of day labor. That’s something akin to several billion dollars today. It represents an unpayable personal debt.

The deeply indebted servant is brought in before the king and about to lose absolutely everything. But then he bows down, pleading. And his master, the king, moved with compassion, amazingly lets that servant go and forgives him the entire loan. How many people have ever been in a position to be personally owed billions of dollars? And who on earth would ever forgive a multibillion dollar debt owed to them? Who is this incredibly merciful king? Who is his indebted servant? This is a parable about God and us.

Our sins against the supremely good and all-holy God represent a personal debt we could never pay back on our own. Yet God is so merciful and so generous as to offer to forgive our debt of sin through Jesus’ perfect self-sacrifice. However, the Lord expects and demands we forgive others as well.

The servant in Jesus’ parable departs and finds a fellow servant who owes him “one hundred silver denarii coins,” or one hundred days’ wages back then. Now that’s not nothing, it’s something on the order of thousands of dollars today, but compared to the debt forgiveness the first servant was offered by the king it is a very small amount. Yet he seizes the man and starts choking his neighbor, saying, “Pay back what you owe!” The man pleads but is shown no mercy as he’s thrown into debtors’ prison.

Now other servants witness this and feel greatly disturbed. Attitudes of unforgiveness cause harmful ripples which negatively impact others. Those witnesses report the whole matter to their master, who then summons the first servant once again. “You wicked servant,” he says. “I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?” Then his king and master angrily hands the unforgiving servant over to be tortured until he should pay back the whole debt.

“So will my heavenly Father do to you,” Jesus declares, “unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.” Elsewhere in Gospels, Jesus teaches, “If you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” He will “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Now many Christians find this teaching deeply disconcerting. They are troubled because they think that they just can’t forgive. I often find this is due to them imagining that forgiveness means things that it does not. Forgiving is not the same thing as forgetting. People say “forgive and forget,” but can’t force yourself to have amnesia. It’s possible you may remember another’s forgiven offense for the rest of your life. And forgiveness doesn’t mean saying what the offender did was OK. Their sin may have been a grave one, and saying otherwise would be a lie. Forgiveness doesn’t mean the offense no longer hurts. Only time and grace can heal some wounds, yet not even lingering pain precludes forgiveness. Forgiveness does not necessarily mean pretending nothing happened. Even with forgiveness, it may be wrong for everything to go back the way it was before. Forgiveness may lead to reconciliation and full restoration, but not always.

You can forgive anyone. You can forgive people even if they can’t be trusted. You can forgive someone even before they feel sorry for what they did. Why is this so? Because forgiveness simply means loving someone despite the wrongs that they have done. Forgiveness is a decision to love someone despite their sins. Is there anyone you’re worried that you haven’t forgiven? Then pray for them, because no one can simultaneously hate someone and pray for their greatest good at the same time.

Is there anyone you find it hard to pray for? Then that’s someone to pray for, for their sake and yours. The Holy Spirit may call you to further steps in reconciliation later, but begin with prayer. Forgiveness is a decision to love the wrongdoer like God loves us. As even the Prophet Sirach said, “Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven. …Hate not your neighbor; remember the Most High’s covenant, and overlook faults.”

Posted in Homily, Mercy, Sunday Homilies | 1 Comment »

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