Fr. Ron's weekly letter to his parish 2002

In a homily I gave on the 3^rd Sunday of Advent I spoke of ways on how to get rich. The thoughts were gleamed from a radio commentator of years past, Earl Nightingail. "Rich" means more than getting everything you want – it also means enjoying what you have. It is why wealthy people can live in poverty and "poor" people live richly.

Don’t compete: create – it develops a capacity to enjoy, to "be yourself", and it gives without taking away.

Give more than you take – you measure that by use value. A nail may cost only a few pennies but it’s use value can go on for years and years. What does it take to be considerate, respectful or loving: a little extra effort. But to person who receives it – it may be priceless. E.g., the time an older brother gave to teach his little sister how to ride a bicycle may be priceless to her. (For a scriptural understanding cf. Matthew: 25:31 ff.)

Do these things and you will find your real "wealth" increasing over the year(s)… more friends, more help given when you need it, peace of mind, etc.

While visiting one of our parishioners who is seriously ill I asked her for a bot mot – a good word, a word of wisdom. Her response came quickly: appreciate what you have! Don’t be blind to what has been given to you and what you have made of yourself. Consider: among all the people who walked this earth your are among the most educated, the possibilities of life are not predetermined by caste or wealth, the amenities of life you have could not even have been imagined by people just over a 100 years ago – and the theological gifts of faith, hope and love (Godlike gifts) are yours. Sit down, take a piece of paper and write down the things you like, the people you love, the loyalty and trust you receive – you will begin to see how blest you are. Appreciate what you have (hint: share it with others – give more than you take)

Jesus came to give us life – fullness of life – abundant life. By giving us his very self in every way he was raised from death and is proclaimed as Lord of all.

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To those who have prepared the church and prayers for the seasons of Advent and Christmas we give thanks – musicians, planners, ushers, lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, gift-bearers, candle lighters at Advent, servers at the altar, sacristans, counters, servers, decorator designers and decorators (seamstresses and carpenters and more), and ornament makers.

For those who bring gifts to total strangers with generous and joyful hearts. For those who have prayed for people unknown to them but do so with fervent intensity and urgency. For the children who do special things and for, well, just for being children. For those who have given so generously to the church and to charities… you are so often asked for help and you so seldom refuse.

For those who have painted the blue rooms and cafeteria, who have put up new ceiling tiles, changed light bulbs, vacuumed time and again, hung up banners church and parking lot), cleaned the church…

For the parish staff, Religious education staff, Nursery school staff and Resource staff!

Thank you! God bless you! –from myself, and from all who belong to St. James at Pennington.

It happens every year. Somewhere, someone (who has some sort of authority) will say to children that Santa is not real He will say that parents are Santa, or he’s like magic or make-believe. And the people will go "bonkers"! Even death threats will be made to one who dares to even suggest such a thing. This year it happened in Florida. Within a day or two the school board made sure that Santa showed up at the school to reassure the children that their teacher did not know what he was talking about and the teacher was forbidden to talk about this again. Can there be any doubt that Santa is a super star figure? Can there be any doubt that people take him very seriously?

At age 5 or 7 what did you want Santa to bring you? At a sophisticated age of 17? 25? 35? 50? 65? ??? Not all have reached those ages – but what in all seriousness, do you think you might want? In short, what were your dreams? What are your dreams today? What do you think they will be in years to come? How do you think they will be fulfilled? Will you tire of them quickly? Will they ultimately satisfy or not?

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"Christmas lends itself so easily to metaphor and sentiment." (It’s easy to see Santa as a symbol of God’s graciousness and undeserved blessings.) "We need our metaphors, and sentiment is the grease without which our human machinery would break down and wear out, but Christmas does not represent a sentiment, an idea, or even a feeling about God. Christmas belongs to those who recognize not the sense of the holidays but the real presence of God in their lives and in their world, not simply once upon a time long ago and far away but here and now, inhabiting our hearts and struggling with us against the tangible realities that surround us. (Italics mine.) The world of little Bethlehem was real, Caesar Agustus was real, Herod was real and normal; and in the midst of all of this God had to be made real, and was made real not in an ideal but in the flesh, for that is what the Incarnation was and is, and that is why we bow before its presence. ‘God with us,’ for that is what Emmanuel means, is not just a translation of a Hebrew name but a translation of the living, loving purpose of God to be present in and among his creation. God does not abandon that which he makes; he becomes one with us that we may become one with him.

So we join with him and with one another in this feast of feasts on that day of days, for the gift of the Incarnation continues in the fellowship that we have with Christ around his Holy Table. In these most ordinary, these most tangible creatures of bread and wine, flesh and blood, we become at one with him who for us became one of us. Every time a baby is born, the old legend says, God endorses his world; and every time we celebrate the Holy Communion we experience once again his Incarnation. This miracle of Christmas: What is it? Is it the star, the singing angels, the wondering shepherds, the lovely mother, the exotic kings? Is it the cold night, the hopes and fears? Not really. The miracle of Christmas is that God cared enough to send the very best, and he continues to do so in the gifts now given to us in one another.""(Peter Gomes, SERMONS: Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living)

Merry Christmas!

Blessed Christmas!

Holy Christmas!

"Silent Night" has always seemed to me to be the best Christmas carol – ever. Victor Parachin, writing in PRIEST magazine, gives us an interesting history of this carol. In WWI a most unusual event took place. On the eve of 12-24-1914, on the Western front war the weather was bitterly cold. On the German side, soldiers began lighting candles and the British sentries reported them to be small lights, raised on poles or bayonets. The lanterns of the German troops clearly illuminated them and made them vulnerable to being shot – but no shot was fired. When the British officers looked through their binoculars they saw that some enemy troops were holding Christmas trees over their heads with lighted candles in their branches. The message was clear – they were sending holiday greetings to their enemies!

Within moments the British heard a few German soldiers singing a Christmas carol – and then all the German soldiers joined in. Though they were singing in German the British soldiers recognized the tune – and they started to sing with them the Christmas carol Silent Night, Holy Night. More amazing was the fact that soldiers from both sides laid down their arms, met in the middle of the combat zone, shook hands, talked about how they were fed up with the war, and about family life. Then they exchanged small gifts: chocolate bars, buttons, badges and small tins of processed meat.

The truce ended the next morning. On December 26 (more than a full day), at 8:30 a.m. a German officer fired 3 shots into the air, he and a British officer bowed to each other from across the field. When the British officer went into the trenches he fired 2 shots into the air and, unfortunately, the fighting started again.

In 1818, at the church of St. Nicholas in Oberndorf, Austria, Fr. Joseph Morh (26) discovered that the church organ was broken. To the young pastor, Christmas without music was unthinkable. He played the violin and occasionally led worship by strumming his guitar (loooonnnggg before VCII). He began writing Silent Night, Holy Night. He turned to Franz Gruber who was so impressed by the priests words of the carol that he composed the melody. It was sung for the first time at the midnight Mass.

It was never sung again – seen as a stop gap solution for a temporary problem. Again, a broken church organ played a part in this song’s history. When the organ was being reconstructed by Carl Mauracher he found the music and asked permission to make copies of the carol (Fr. Morh had been transferred several years earlier). It soon was being sung throughout Europe and Fr. Morh, who died penniless and of pneumonia in 1848, never knew how popular his carol had become. The original carol had six verses (only 3 at first were translated into English).

Silent Night

Silent Night, Holy Night!

All is calm. All is bright,

Round yon virgin mother and Child.

Holy Infant, so tender and mild.

Sleep in heavenly peace (2X).

Silent Night, Holy Night!

Shepherds quake at the sight,

Glories stream from heaven afar,

Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia.

Christ the Savior is born. (2X)

Silent Night! Holy Night!

Son of God, love’s pure light,

Radiant beams from Thy holy face,

With the dawn of redeeming grace.

Jesus Lord, at They birth. (2X)

Silent Night! Holy Night!

Night which brought salvation’s light,

From the heaven’s golden vault,

Drops a Gift Which the angels exalt,

Jesus in childlike form. (2X)

Silent Night! Holy Night!

Night when poured from heaven’s height,

Love and grace from the Trinity,

Embracing all of humanity.

Jesus, Savior of men. (2X)

Silent Night! Holy Night!

Wondrous Night, O Blessed Night!

Night when angels and shepherds were thrilled.

Earth’s Redeemer has come. (2X)

"missed the boat last week" by not acknowledging AIDS Awareness Day on December 1^st. A visiting minister to Africa addressed a 1,000 African clergy. He asked all those who knew someone who had died of AIDS to stand up. Everyone stood up. When he asked them how many preached on it only three stood up. It is, as Deacon Currie noted in his homily last week, the most devastating plague since the Bubonic plague of the Middle Ages. On the continent of Africa it is most devastating… e.g. in South Africa 5.3 million people are HIV positive (which leads to AIDS) out of a population of 45 million.

Economist magazine states that by the gloomiest projection it means Africa is headed for economic collapse within 3 generations. Wage earners are wiped out and parents die before they can teach their offspring the basics of how to get on in life. (In the schools the children are not learning the basics of education but being instructed in how to avoid getting infected and what to do if infected.) The good news is that the problem is being taken seriously and is no longer being hidden and denied by the governments. The price of AIDS drugs has plummeted by more than 95%… but a lot of financial resources need to be committed – such as $10 billion in 2005 and $15 billion in 2007. More than good health is at stake here. Stability of governments may be challenged.

Russia, China, India may also be at high risk… and the high risk will have its effect throughout the world. The last sentence in an editorial from Economist magazine was the words: "The worst is yet to come." The seriousness of the world situation should not be under-estimated – but it is not a hopeless situation. As for us, awareness is a start. To support programs that fight the AIDS epidemic is a step in the right direction. From a gospel perspective we are urged to be concerned about the needs of our neighbor not because they may deserve it – but because they need it.

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The CRASH+ Choir led us in a reflective and song-filled evening on the first day of Advent. I am sure they benefited a good deal from their hard work –and the their work resulted in a pleasurable benefit for those who were there. Thank you youth and adults!

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A Carpet report: We are having the company come in to look at the carpeting in the church. You most generously have pledged a total of $66,230 and as of 11/20 we have collected $58,630.

Church $33,939.83

Blue Room $ 4,362.14

Hall and Nurs. $ 5,922,54

Cafeteria and Hall tile $ 6,830.50

Monahan Rm. $ 3,135.00

Entrance mats $ 351.80

Total $54,541.81

Expenses for mailing, ceiling time in the Monahan room, ceiling tiles for Family Center, Regent Carpeting and for Pew removal totals $61, 263.01

Yet to be done: Carpeting in the chapel ($5,715).

Just to say "thank you" seems not to be enough – but I hope it is said in so many ways as you see and enjoy the improvements. Fr. Ron B

Thursday evening, Nov. 20^th, in the Church at 7:30 p.m. I am inviting parents of children in grades 6, 7 and 8 to an information night on Child Abuse Prevention. This is not limited to St. James parishioners. You may invite others to join you that evening. You are not committing yourself to anything by coming to the meeting. A qualified counselor will make the presentation. If you like what you hear then you will have opportunity to have your children come for 3 night sessions in January to learn skills on what to look for and how to protect themselves. Every child deserves to grow up in a safe environment.

You might think that with all the publicity and awareness that has been raised that the dangers have subsided. It is not so. On the news this past week was the report of a man who worked at a youth program in Newark. He had ordered the children in his care to strip – they were ages 10 – 13. (He immediately lost his job.) Such attitudes and dangers cut across all educational and economic status.

When I last wrote of this I received only one call – but in their school system they have a child abuse prevention course in place (Hopewell Valley has it in place only for 2^nd graders I believe).

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CONGRATULATIONS

… to the children who received the Sacrament of Confirmation this past Friday. They worked hard to prepare for the sacrament and parents, teachers, and the parish is proud of them and happy for them.

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End times? What, do you suppose, is the best selling Christian non-fiction book other than the Bible? The biggest selling Christian fiction ever? To the first question: The Late Great Planet Earth (over 40 million copies) by Hal Lindsey and to the second question: the Left Behind series (fifty-seven million + and more books to come) by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. These books center on the end-times, the Parousia, the Final Eschaton, the Second Coming of Christ – the end of the world. Some may snicker at such talk – but a lot of people take it very seriously. Apparently the books are quite mainstream, influencing even nominal Christians and non-Christians.

Though we Catholics believe in the 2^nd Coming of the Christ we are far apart from teachings such as these.

I’m sure you have heard of "the Rapture". In the books the authors profess that before the end of the world there will be a great tribulation lasting seven years - a period of chastisement for the Jewish people (many will die and the rest converted). But before this tribulation the true Christians will be spared the tribulation by being taken from earth, in the flash of an eye, by a heavenly power. This event is known as the "Rapture".

The authors are strongly anti-Catholic and the source of their teaching goes "all the way back" to 1830 (said with a bit of cynicism). It has no solid biblical foundation – though they can toss biblical passages back and forth quite easily and to some, convincingly. Oddly enough, the authors will claim that the Fathers of the Church wrote about such events in the early centuries. I say "oddly" because they accept nothing else the Father wrote on such things as Eucharist, Church, etc. Though people feel they can now understand the book of Revelations (last book of the bible) after reading these books – the truth is, they do not. Dispensationalists (those who write about the Rapture and end-time) disagree about nearly every major element of this book including the identity of the Whore of Babylon (i.e., a reformed Roman Empire, the Catholic Church, Iraq, the USA), the mark of the Beast (i.e., computer chips, bar codes, social security numbers, laser technology) and numerous other entities, personages, nations, and events.

In the end, they are long on promises and short on biblical, historical, and theological evidence.

November 1st, 2nd, 2003 Pastor’s Notes: Nov. 2 is All Souls Day

November is a month dedicated in Catholic tradition whereby those who have gone before us to God are remembered and prayed for. Below you will find the first of a 2-part article that is culled from The Christian Century Magazine (7/26/03). The thoughts are from Thomas Lynch (a funeral director). I offer it for your reflection… but both parts must be read.

Good Grief: Jesssica Mitford’s book The American Way of Death was an easy and often hilarious read – lampooning some of our American funeral services and directors (some certainly deserving of such treatment). She recommended getting rid of both caskets and corpses, and let convenience and cost efficiency replace what she regarded as pricey and barbaric display. She lost her husband in war, her daughter in infancy, and her first son killed by a bus. "…all "disappeared" – dispatched without witness or rubric and never mentioned in The American Way of Death…" The idea that the body is "just a shell" became a popular way of thinking. The author writes:

"Human beings are bodies and souls. And souls, made in the image and likeness of God, are eternal and essential, whereas bodies are mortal and impermanent. "There is," the scripture holds, "a natural body and a spiritual body." In life we are regarded as one – a whole being, body and soul, flesh and blood and spirit. And we are charged with the care and maintenance of both. We feed the flesh and the essence. We pamper the wounds and strive to improve the condition of both body and soul. We read and run wind sprints, we fast and pray, confide in our pastors and medicos, and seek communion, spiritual and physical, with other members of our species. "Know ye not," Paul asks, "that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"

Many people find the "spiritual bodies more agreeable than the natural ones. The spirits are well intentioned and faultless; the bodies are hungry, lustful, greedy and weak. The soul is the sanctuary of faith, the body full of doubts and despairs. The soul sees the straight and narrow path, whereas the body wants the easier, softer way. The corruptible bleeds and belches and dies, and the incorruptible is perfect and perpetual. Souls are just easier all around. Which is why for years she’s (this is a reference to an Episcopalian priest) been officiating at memorial services instead of funerals. They are easier, more convenient and more cost-efficient….

"The memorial service makes much of dealing with memories of the dead by steadfastly refusing to deal with the dead themselves. It is the emotional and commemorative equivalent of a baptism without the baby or a wedding without the blushing bride or a graduation without the graduates. A funeral without the dead body has the religious significance of the book of Job without the sores and boils, Exodus without the stench of frogs, Calvary without a cross, or the cross without the broken, breathless, precious body hanging there, all suffering and salvation. It is Easter without the resurrected body…"

"When Joseph of Arimathea, in league with Nicodemus, pleaded with Pilate for "just" the body of Christ, he was acting out a signature duty of our species. And when the Marys came bearing spices and ointments to anoint the corpse, they too were acting out longstanding obsequies "in keeping with the customs of the Jews.’ It is the custom of humankind to deal with death by dealing with the dead…."

"The defining truth of our Christianity – an empty tomb – proceeds from the defining truth of our humanity: we fill tombs. The mystery of the resurrection to eternal life is bound inextricably to the experience of suffering and death. Indeed, the effort to make sense of life – the religious impulse – owes much to our primeval questions about the nature of death." (to be continued…)

Pastor’s Notes: Perhaps you’ve seen a new report about the place of prayer at public meetings. A man on a town council likes the prayers because he is a religious person. He went on to say that the prayer has no effect on what he will say or how he will vote or even change his mind on something. That struck me as odd. I am thinking that if he is serious then I say "toss out the prayer". Why pray if the prayer is intended not to have any effect? Offer any guidance? Or open the heart and mind to really hear what is being said? We pray so that we can handle the complexity and the struggles that are our lot. We pray for guidance so as to do the right thing. We pray so that if we are wrong our minds and hearts will change. We pray and we engage in our God-conversation so that we might draw close to God. Prayer that is neutral, prayer that is impotent, prayer that is meant to mean nothing is nothing. When we speak to God let the conversation ought to be meaningful – no matter how short it might be. Don’t let it become banal and trite… we waste God’s time and ours. And as Forrest Gump might conclude: "…that’s what I have to say about that!"

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Though there is a note further on in the announcements I want to thank all those who worked to make the dinner last week such a great experience. To all the volunteers: if just one of you had not done what you did it simply would not have been the same. And to Pat Corrozza a special note of appreciation for chairing this event. It was no small feat!

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Every pastor gets a lot of mail announcing concerts, programs, learning opportunities, pilgrimages, etc. Here are a few that might strike your fancy.

4^th Annual Bishop’s Celebration of the Performing Arts… at the Cathedral in Trenton on SUNDAY, NOV. 2 AT 3:00 P.M. Since this announcement is late you might be able to call the Pastoral Center (406-7400) for tickets. There will be a free will offering accepted after the banquet.

Friday, Nov 7 through Sunday, Nov. 9 there is the 24^th Annual Conference and Interfaith Service for Peace. This takes place at Princeton, NJ. It’s a little complicated to give all the info here but there are brochures out in the Gathering area for more info.

Msgr. Nolan (at Princeton) informs us that a special production of The Miracle of Fatima will be presented at Notre Dame H.S. on Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 23 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $25 (adults) and $15 (age 5 – 18). You can call the parish for tickets at 924-1743 ext. 111 or go to their website:

www.stpaulsprinceton.org Msgr. writes that this a professionally produced dramatic musical. "Recalling the story of three poor children in Fatima, Portugal to whom Our Lady appeared over a period of six months, The Miracle or Fatima is an account that reminds us of a mother’s great love for us. it offers to our children the heroic example of honesty and sacrifice in young Lucia, Franciso and Jacinta. It calls us to return our hearts to God and to seek the mercy and love so needed in our troubled times."

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I will be away all during the week – but back next Saturday for Mass and confession.

Pastor’s Notes: In not-so-ancient days when children went into their first year of high school or college students into a frat house they went through a ritual that was known as "hazing". I suppose it was some sort of passage that newcomers had to endure in order to be accepted. Often times it was nothing less than brutal. We have seen that happening over the past few months via video taping of high school girls maltreating their younger classmates and then, in these past few weeks, have heard about the victimization some young high school boys (of Mepham High School) at a football camp.

What the boys went through possibly would never had been revealed were it not for the fact that one of them s had to be taken to a hospital for treatment -- then the story emerged. I would like to point out that in spite of the malicious treatment they received it seems that the young high school victims did not tell anyone: not their friends, not their parents, and no adults. Children and teens who are victims of sexual abuse by adults often keep quiet about what is going on or what has happened. To the adult mind it doesn’t make sense but to the victim there are many reasons why they remain silent. For my purpose here it is only important to know that so often they keep silent.

From the money that has come back to the parish from the Bishop’s Annual Appeal St. James Church - Pennington, NJ will sponsor a workshop for children in grades six through eight. It will be presented by staff of Prevention Education, Inc. This CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION (CAP) workshop will involve parents and children. On November 20^th there will be a meeting of the parent(s) of the children who are to participate. On January 13, 14 and 15 the children will be meeting. On January 13^th it will be a gathering of both boys and girls. On January 14 and 15 they will be separated.

The purpose is to inform and instruct the children on recognizing and preventing abuse. "Most important, workshops provide information about how adults interact with children in ways that allow them to practice their rights to be Safe, Strong, and Free."

The workshop can only accommodate 35 children. There is no fee for this program – as noted, this is being subsidized by money that was returned to the parish from the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. If the demand is greater than what we can accommodate I will immediately set up another workshop. Both parent(s) and child(ren) must attend. The workshop is not limited to parishioners of St. James Church.

If you want to register please write to Fr. Bacovin and include your name, address, phone number and names of those who will attend. Please give this some thought – I am sure you children will benefit but you will need to talk to them and take the initiative. I will confirm your registration a.s.a.p. – and if we fill up I will 1) put you on a waiting list and/or 2) set up another workshop that you may be able to attend.

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The Parish Mission will be conducted this Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Fr. Aiden will speak after the morning Masses and in the evening at 7:30 p.m.

In word-association testing, I am told, the response time can speak volumes. You say the word "white" and almost instantaneously the response is "black". But say the word "mother" and most people will often pause before coming out with a one-word response. The word "mother" carries with it high emotional impact. Now say the word "divorce" and register your own reactions. For some it means blessed relief; to another it is devastation; to another it is fear, or failure, or a shattered world. In the USA it is an experience for almost 50% of those who marry.

The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce authored by Judith Wallenstein, Julia Lewis, and Sandra Blakeslee, is a 25-year landmark study of the divorce and the effects is has on children and society. The book presents various life stories to reflect their findings.

The author’s inform us that even though children may know that not all is well between their parents the children simply do not want their parents to separate. We may assume that a child’s life is somewhat changed because of a divorce but think that they are resilient. The authors inform us that the children are much more dramatically changed than we imagine and, in some cases, may never recover from it. The child’s life is not only changed – but also the child. "All of the children I have described in this book took on new roles in direct response to changes that occurred during the post divorce years. Many were acutely aware of their parents’ distress and tried to rescue them. Others remained angry at their parents’ diminished attention and judged them harshly. Others longed for the family they had lost and tried to reverse the divorce decision. And still others took responsibility for keeping the peace and walked on eggs throughout their childhood. These children took many paths, but all changed significantly in the wake of divorce. And because the children’s character and conscience were still being formed during the postdivorce (sic) years, the new roles they assumed in the family had profound effects on who they became and on the relationships they established when they reached adulthood." (pg. 306).

To the parents: "In talking to young adults who were raised in unhappy intact families, it became clear to me that their parents could have gone either way – stay together or get a divorce. This older generation of parents certainly had enough legitimate complaints about their spouses to consider divorce. But their marriages were not so explosive or chaotic or unsafe that husband and wife felt living together was intolerable." (Pg. 307)

In spite of what their research revealed (a lot more than I could put in these notes) the authors never outright condemn divorce. What is particularly devastating to many of us is that genuinely good people find themselves in a divorce situation… this was so even for the early church. Before some of the gospels were even written we find evidence that the church allowed divorce for certain reasons. One such example was if a person converted to Christianity and their spouse could not accept that to the point of making life unbearable for the newly-baptized – the community would allow a divorce and even remarriage to another Christian.

Jesus presents what many may consider an impossible ideal. But his impossible ideal becomes possible only with God, through God, and in God – in other words, through grace.

"Grace," said Tertullian (an African Church Father) "makes marriage a blessing. How beautiful is the marriage of two Christians who are one in hope, one in desire, one in the way of life they follow, one in the religion they practice… nothing divides them… they are, in very truth, two in one flesh, and where there is one flesh, there is one spirit. They pray together, they worship together, they fast together, instructing one another, encouraging one another, strengthening one another… Hearing and seeing this Christ rejoices. To such as these ,He gives his peace. Where there are two together, there also He is present and where he is, evil is not."

St. John Chrysostom was a bishop and a renowned preacher: "Chrysostom" means "Golden Mouth."

He was twice put into exile by his enemies and died at the age of 57.

In the Divine Office (a priest’s daily prayer book) comes this homily of St. John C. It was a difficult time to be a follower of Christ and his words are encouragement to his people. Could they not serve us in our time, in our day?

"The waters have risen and severe storms are upon us, but we do not fear drowning, for we stand firmly upon a rock. Let the sea rage, it cannot break the rock. Let the waves rise, they cannot sink the boat of Jesus. What are we to fear? Death? Life to me means Christ, and death is gain. Exile? "The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord. The confiscation of our goods? We brought nothing into this world, and we shall surely take nothing from it. I have only contempt for the world’s threats, I find its blessings laughable. I have no fear of poverty, no desire for wealth. I am not afraid of death nor do I long to live, except for your good. I concentrate therefore on the present situation and I urge you, my friends, to have confidence.

Do you not hear the Lord saying: Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst? Will he be absent, then, when so many people united in love are gathered together? I have his promise; I am surely not going to rely on my own strength! I have what he has written: that is my staff, my security, my peaceful harbor. Let the world be in upheaval. I hold to his promise and read his message; that is my protecting wall and garrison. What message? Know that I am with you always, until the end of the world!

If Christ is with me, whom shall I fear? Through the waves and the sea and the anger of princes are roused against me, they are less to me than a spider’s web. Indeed, unless you, my brothers, had detained me, I would have left this very day. For I always say: Lord, your will be done; not what this fellow or that would have me do, but what you want me to do. That is my strong tower, my immovable rock, my staff that never gives way. If God wants something, let it be done! If he wants me to stay here, I am grateful. But whatever he wants me to be, I am no less grateful.

Yet where I am, there you are too and where you are, I am. For we are a single body, and the body cannot be separated from the head nor the head from the body. Distance separates us, but love unites us, and death itself cannot divide us. For though my body die, my soul will live and be mindful of my people.

You are my fellow citizens, my fathers, my brothers, my sons, my limbs, my body. You are my light, sweeter to me than the visible light. For what can the rays of the sun bestow on me that is comparable to your love? The sun’s light is useful in my earthly life, but your love is fashioning a crown for me in the life to come."

Temporalities: The new carpet for the church should be installed this week. The link, the blue room and nursery rooms have been carpeted and new tile has been put down in the cafeteria and hallways. A few details need to be attended to – but all taken care of within two or three weeks.

Pastor’s notes: Over the past two months the Diocese of Trenton has been audited (as has or will all the dioceses throughout the US) as to how they are following the bishops’ national policies on child sexual abuse. The dioceses of New Jersey have issued a new sexual abuse policy which all the priests have received and to which they are now obligated. This policy was printed as a separate format in the Monitor a few weeks ago. You can find two relevant documents on the diocesan website. Go to www.dioceseoftrenton.org – then to "Justice and Caring" – and look up "Office of Victim assistance. This will lead you to the documents: Policy of the Diocese of Trenton in response to complaints of Sexual Abuse" and Memorandum of Understanding. Workshops on these policies for the priests have been conducted these past two weeks.

As you may be aware, it is incumbent on all adults to report child abuse to the authorities. If a priest of the Diocese of Trenton has sexually abused a minor there is a process now in effect by which he is to be reported. What happens after that is described in the documents. Some elements of the document clearly state that allegations will be reported to the local prosecutor’s office. This is not an option – even if the one reporting it "wants to keep it confidential." There will be an immediate outreach from the diocese to the victim and his/her family. The local prosecutor will conduct its own investigation and the bishop has his own advisory board to assist him in these matters. One of the strongest elements in the policy is the fact that if any priest admits to just one act of sexual abuse with a minor he will be laicized.

The diocese may bring in a program entitled Virtus. Some dioceses throughout the US have already initiated this program for its people. It is a training program for people to become facilitators in the recognition and prevention of abusive situations. They in turn will instruct personnel who are involved in youth work (educational, recreational, etc).

At St. James Church we will have a program this year for 6, 7, and 8^th grade children concerning sexual abuse. It will begin with a meeting with parents to familiarize them with the instruction and then in January there will three instruction nights. On the first night all the children will meet as one and then the boys and girls will attend separate sessions. Personnel from the Children Abuse Prevention organization (headquartered in Lawrenceville) will lead the sessions. Their programs are used by school districts throughout all of NJ. Because of the nature of the program there will be limited enrollment – but we will definitely expand the program if there is a good response to it. The funding for the program will come from the money that is returned to the parish from the Bishop’s Annual Appeal.

There will be more information available at a later date.

Sing to the Lord!

From a 1761 hymnal comes the following directions:

"Learn these tunes before you learn any others… sing them exactly as they are printed here… Sing all. See that you join in with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a slight degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If singing is a cross to you, take it up and you will find it a blessing. Sing lustily and with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength… Be not afraid of your voice…nor ashamed of being heard. Sing modestly. Do not bawl, so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony…Sing in time… Do not run before or stay behind…and take care not to sing too slow. Above all, sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing God more than yourself or any other creature. In order to do this, attend strictly to the sense of what you sing and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound but offered to God continually…

This week and next, my "Pastor’s notes" may or may not seem very relevant. But since he topic is already well ingrained in our contemporary world we ought at least to be aware of it.

I’m sure I read a short blurb in the paper that scientists think they can, with genetic engineering, make it possible for people to live 6,000 years - I kid you not. In The Christian Century magazine, Bill McKibben writes where genetic engineering might be headed, (May 17, 2003)

"James Watson, the eminence grise of gene work whose discovery of the double helix 50 years ago we are celebrating this spring (2003), has called his fellow researchers to show some "guts" and "try germ-line therapy without knowing if it’s going to work." He has proposed that they try to prevent "ugly babies" and "stupid people" and to reduce the odds that anyone will be shy or a "cold fish." "If we could make better human beings by knowing how to add genes, why shouldn’t we do it?" he asked recently."

We are not talking just about determining a child’s sex, color of eyes, improving their IQ or even engineering out possible future diseases. "People will be inclined to give their children those skills and traits that align with their own temperaments and lifestyles," writes Gregory Stock, an apostle of human genetic engineering… A devout individual may want his child to be even more religious and resistant to temptation."

Do not allow yourself the out of believing such a thing is necessarily impossible. Regions of the brain have been pinpointed that "light-up" in moments of prayer and meditation and we’ve already changed the sociability patterns of many animals.

New technologies are already challenging our ideas on life and its purpose(s). In the past bows and arrows were an advancement over swords and knives, then rifles were an advancement over bows and arrow – but when nuclear weapons were developed they raised entirely new questions… questions about the end of the world for example. And we are still struggling with these questions.

In Scientific American Dean Hammer (the chief of gene structure and regulation at the Nat’l Cancer Institute’s Laboratory of Biochemistry) wrote of an imaginary couple, Syd and Kayla, who get to tweak the emotional makeup of their fetus. "They pondered the choices before them, which ranged from the altruism level of Mother Teresa to the most cutthroat CEO. In the end, they chose a level mid-way between, hoping for the perfect mix of benevolence and competitive edge… Syd and Kayla, however, did not want to set their child’s happiness too high. They wanted her to be able to feel real emotions. If there was a death they wanted her to mourn the loss. If there was a birth, she should rejoice."

Of course, this is what parents do as they raise their children. But if such things are engineered into your own genetic make-up there is little or no control over what may happen. If one is an alcoholic or needs to take mood-altering drugs on a temporary basis – there is always the option to stop. Much of the cell engineering can be helpful to the human race – and not lead to what could be disastrous results. "But more worrisome is the fact that once you’ve cloned the embryo to get its stem cells, you could instead decide to grow it to full term – to produce an actual clone. Which is not only a big leap over the threshold of this empty new world but also makes it much easier and more likely that we would go on to design babies, not just make copies… (!) Still, such threats can be guarded against – a national panel recently recommended a temporary moratorium on stem-cell cloning until safeguards can be worked out to make sure it’s used for medicine, not for reproduction." Anyone who has read a Harry Potter novel knows the differences and the different thoughts about "mudbloods", (pure) "witches" and "muggles"… about who is acceptable and who is not. A super race battle? Would genetic engineering result in developing a super-race?" (to be continued)

Sometimes we hear a phrase that perhaps we wished we had not heard. because it challenges us to reorder our thinking and priorities. Life might so much more convenient (and maybe less complicated) if these did not keep coming back to mind. Here are a few that might yield much upon meditation.

To the believer in and the follower of Christ the phrase "What would Jesus do?" (aware that we are not Christ). For some it is annoying and for others, a God-send. It really doesn’t need any commentary – a few minutes thought will demonstrate how good or dangerous this can be.

While in the seminary we had a one-week workshop with a Paulist Priest. He threw out two(!) phrases I could never get out of my mind. The first is "There are the good reasons why we do some thing and then there are the real reasons." They are not always the same. For anyone who is seeking to act out of and to purify their motives – start here.

In the early years of my priesthood, after helping someone I thought about my "great deed of charity" and the question kept going through my mind: "You know the good reason – what’s the real one?" I was very humbled (and sad) when I realized that the ‘good motive’ took second place. Perhaps, at times, God doesn’t worry too much about the motive as long as the other is helped (given food or shelter, etc.).

The third phrase was placed in the context of working with people whose motives you think are very suspect. "It’s not the motive that brings the man (sic) but the man the motive brings." A corollary to that is (as noted by a Jesuit in a classroom setting who was commenting on a scriptural passage) the phrase: "the question isn’t whether or not someone deserves our help – the thing to consider is whether or not he stands in need."

Fr. Ronald Rolheiser wrote the following in one of his newspaper columns several years ago. "In his rather provocative, though always interesting, autobiography, Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt tells of a confession he once made as a young boy in Limerick, Ireland. His mother had just given birth and their in-laws from the North had sent five pounds to buy milk for the new baby. But his father, an alcoholic, had taken the money and was drinking it up in the pubs. His mother had sent him, a young boy, to find his dad and bring him home. But young Frankie can't find his father. What he finds instead is a drunken sailor in a pub, asleep, with a largely untouched plate of fish and chips in front of him.

Ravenously hungry, he takes the fish and chips outside and eats them. Then, feeling guilty for stealing, he decides he had better go to confession. It's Saturday afternoon and he goes to the Dominican church and confesses to a priest that he stole fish and chips from a drunken man. The priest asks him why he did this and Frankie answers that he was hungry, that there is not a scrap of food in their house, and that his mother is raging by the fire because his father is drinking away the money meant to buy milk for the new baby. The priest hearing all this suddenly becomes quiet. Instead of scolding Frankie and giving him a penance, he does something else [McCourt's words]:

"I wonder if the priest is asleep because he's very quiet til he says, My child, I sit here, I hear the sins of the poor, I assign the penance. I bestow the absolution. I should be on my knees washing their feet. ... Go. Pray for me. He blesses me in Latin, talks to himself in English and I wonder what I did to him."

These words wonderfully describe one of the central meanings of the Eucharist. We should be on our knees washing each others' feet because that is precisely what Jesus did at the first Eucharist and he did it to teach us that the Eucharist is not a private act of devotion, meant to square our debts with God, but a call to and a grace for service. The Eucharist is meant to send us out into the world ready to give expression to Christ's hospitality, humility, and self-effacement"

Pastor’s Notes: We are in the midst of a 5-week series of readings that focus on the Eucharist. There are numerous names and ways of expressing the reality of the Eucharist. The following is to be found in THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (#’s 1328 – 1322)

"Eucharist, because it is an action of thanksgiving to God. The Greek words eucharistein and eulogein recall the Jewish blessings that proclaim – especially during a meal – God’s works: creation, redemption and sanctification.

"The Lord’s Supper, because of its connection with the supper which the Lord took with his disciples on the eve of his Passion and because it anticipates the wedding feast of the Lamb in the heavenly Jerusalem.

The Breaking of Bread, because Jesus used this rite, part of a Jewish meal, when as master of the table he blessed and distributed the bread, above all at the Last Supper. It is by this action that his disciples will recognize him after his Resurrection, and it is this expression that the first Christians will use to designate their Eucharistic assemblies; by doing so they dignified that all who eat the one broken bread, Christ enter (sic) into communion with them and form but one body in him.

"The Eucharistic assembly (synaxis) because the Eucharist is celebrated amid the assembly of the faithful, the visible expression of the Church.

The memorial of the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection.

The Holy Sacrifice, because it makes present the one sacrifice of Christ the Savior and includes the Church’s offering. The terms holy sacrifice of the Mass "sacrifice of praise," spiritual sacrifice, pure and holy sacrifice are also used, since it completes and surpasses all the sacrifices of the Old Covenant.

The Holy and Divine Liturgy, because the Church’s whole liturgy finds its center and most intense expression in the celebration of this sacrament; in the same sense we also call its celebration the Sacred Mysteries. We speak of the Most Blessed Sacrament because it is the Sacrament of sacraments. The Eucharistic species reserved in the tabernacle as designated by this same name.

Holy Communion, because by this sacrament we unite ourselves to Christ, who makes us sharers in his Body and Blood to form a single body. We also call it: the holy things (ta hagia; sancta) – the first meaning of the phrase "communion of saints" in the Apostles’ Creed – the bread of angels, bread from heaven, medicine of immortality, viaticum…

Holy Mass (Missa), because the liturgy in which the mystery of salvation is accomplished concludes with the sending forth (Missio) of the faithful, so that they may fulfill God’s will in their daily lives."

I would think that most of you are familiar with or have heard most of these titles somewhere down the road of faith. And I suspect that most of you sense that the titles do not begin to express the power and reality of the Eucharist as you come forward to receive and drink. However, like love, we will always try to find ways to express it, describe it, define it, etc… it is our nature to do so. But it will never measure up to the action and the reality of the Eucharist

Pastor’s notes: A few weeks ago there was a small meeting about liturgy. At that meeting a question I would like to have focused on for the coming year be "Does our liturgy give fitting praise to God?"

In the past some of the concerns centered on participation in the liturgy, hospitality, particular needs, music, etc. All of them are part of the whole. Jesus told us that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. The sense and spirit of worship includes meeting some of our needs… and one of our needs is to have a sense of having given to God appropriate thanksgiving and adoration. When your breath is taken away by the birth of your first child, or a glorious sunset or the appearance of a rainbow -–don't you have a sense that you want to thank someone for that? So much more reason when we realize all the blessings that are given to us each day, each hour, each minute, each second.

What constitutes fitting praise for the Catholic is most complete in the gathering of the community for the celebration of the Eucharist (the Mass).

"…the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the fountain from which all her power flows. For the goal of apostolic works is that all who are made children of God by faith and baptism should come together to praise God in the midst of His Church, to take part in her sacrifice, and to eat the Lord’s supper."

Document on the Liturgy, Vatican Council II

The Holy Spirit has guided the gradual process of the formation of the liturgy over the centuries. Among the elements that have been fashioned is the proclamation of the Holy Word of God, prayers and petitions to the Lord, the calling upon the Holy Spirit and the breaking and sharing of the Body and Blood of Christ. There is the constant interchange of dialogue between God and the community (e.g. the Word and the response, the consecration and the offering at Communion, etc.).

Each person’s inner makeup leads them to particular preferences in their prayer life. Some thrive on silence and others on highly expressive prayer and singing. Some prefer to unite their voices in prayer in a spoken manner and others in song. What the Church seeks is a balance of both. In truth, those who prefer one way need also to pray in another way (though often they do not know or understand this).

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#1140) we are so instructed:

It is the whole Body of Christ united with its Head, that celebrates. "Liturgical services are not private functions but are celebrations of the Church which is ‘the sacrament of unity,’ namely, the holy people united and organized under the authority of the bishops. Therefore, liturgical services pertain to the whole Body of the Church. They manifest it, and have effects upon it. But they touch individual members of the Church in different ways, depending on their orders, their role in the liturgical services, and their actual participation in them." For this reason, "rites which are meant to be celebrated in common, with the faithful present and actively participating, should as far as possible be celebrated in that way rather than by an individual and quasi-privately.

The first step to fitting worship is what each of us brings to the praying community… and the most basic element of what we bring is our sheer presence. If you are missing then an important element is missing from the liturgy. You will never read this in any liturgical study – but each of us brings a certain elan or style to our prayer. I think it is a diversity that God is rather pleased with. A wealth of diversity dedicated to the common task of praising God and supporting each other – what beauty there is in that!

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August 2nd, 3rd, 2003

Pastor’s Notes: Over the past three weeks I have been writing about issues that are very much with us and won’t go away, viz. the issues of abortion, same sex marriage, and civil rights along with the concept of "the common good". In our country’s Declaration of Independence there are eloquent words about each person having inalienable rights (such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness) - and the Church speaks of the sacredness of life. How does one keep a proper balance between ‘rights’ and the ‘common good?’ Ideally, these ideals ought to complement one another.

How is the common good served by the reality of the, literally, millions of abortions each year? How is the common good served by changing the definition (commonly inferred and/or accepted) of marriage?

Such reflection must account for the dramatic shifts that will result in society when any changes are considered or established. The church’s witness to the sacredness of life from her very birth has not countenanced abortion. Yet, as the contemporary church condemns the act of abortion, she has always shown great care for the one who has an abortion.

As for the Catholic Church, she has always born witness that the family is the basis of all society. As the church will witness for the family and marriage between man and woman as the (only) model of union – she also speaks on behalf of protection of Civil Rights for the homosexual within that community.

The Canadian bishops have sent an appeal to the courts of that land to contest the June 10^th ruling allowing same-sex marriage. They will argue that the common good will not be served and will, in fact, be damaged. In a statement by Archbishop Marcel Gervais of Ottawa he writes: "A marriage between male and female is a unique bond. It transcends time, has common religious, cultural and social dimensions and is universally upheld. It is not something based on individual practices and choices. For centuries, the quality of the union between opposite sexes has been recognized as providing a richer and more stable environment for raising a family." From the other side there are arguments that inalienable rights are denied – and as such, there is civil discrimination. These seem to be the lines of argumentation that we will hear in our courtrooms.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Now, on a very different note: I want to express a very sincere thank you for your response to our request for new carpeting throughout our building. I know that the economy has hit hard for many of you and that only makes me more grateful.

Among our many servers, I am especially happy to have senior high school people serve at the altar. More impressive still is the fact that most of them have been serving for eight years. When we (Fr. Jim and myself) are aware that one of them is serving their last Mass we like to make special note of it. But those who go to other Masses will not be aware. So we now thank the following: Matt Boucher, Matt Curley, Emily Devlin, Katie Emhof, Peter Fisher, Rachel Jordan, Matt Kazior, Dan Lookner, T.J. Podeszwa, Michael Ranbom, Peter Reineke, Aaron Vurgason, Michael Warren and Chris Ziegler.

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July 26th, 27th, 2003

Pastor’s notes: Continued…In the past two weeks I have presented the Church’s teaching about the idea of the Common Good. Last week I wrote about the possibility of expanding the dialogue and thinking of some social issues in terms of the Common Good as well as in terms of Rights or Privacy. They all come into play when discussing the issues of abortion, affirmative action, the death penalty and same sex marriages. Same sex marriages are now being debated on the floors of Legislative bodies in many states. The following testimony was recently given to the Connecticut State Legislature by Fr. Bob Washabough. I think it will be helpful in to you in your reflections and discussions. Much is at stake.

"…I come before you today , recognizing that I am a contradiction. I am a Roman Catholic priest…I strongly support the civil rights of gay and lesbian people and I deeply repent of the prejudice displayed by society in general and by members of my Church both in the past and the present. Yet, I am a contradiction because I come to express my deep reservations about the legislation you are considering.

I also recognize that I am an anachronism because I speak the language of religion. This is not in vogue in our secular age, but it is more important than we think. The type of discourse that we naturally carry on in our daily deliberations may be described as that of logic: reasoned thinking which tries to be clear, concrete, and focused on both the rights and responsibilities of both groups and individuals. The language of religion can sound out of place or out of fashion when placed next to modern discourse. Anachronistic. It is less clear, not subject to demonstration or proof, and concerned with questions that may not seem to have immediate importance to all. The language of religion, though less popular, is vitally important to us all, even to those who profess no religious beliefs. The language of religion is important because we have no other way to answer such vital questions such as: "how do we define a human being?"

I am opposed to the re-defining of marriage to include same-sex couples, not out of prejudice towards lesbian or gay individuals, but for the same reason that I am opposed to human cloning. In the case of cloning, by using technology to produce exact replicas of human beings, we thereby change our definition of the human being. We become the products of a manufacturing process. In the same way, a redefinition of marriage which excludes the possibility of reproduction through lovemaking introduces a sea-change, a sub-surface shift, if you will, in our self-definition, our religious, poetic, and mythic descriptions of what the human being is. Up to the present the question, "where do human beings come from?" receives the following answer. A man and a woman give themselves to one in a total way, physically and emotionally in an act of lovemaking. Thereby they become parents. Human beings are the products of human love. This, of course, is not always the case. Acts if violence and deceit, even self-deceit sometimes are the beginning of a life. Nonetheless, the normative description of where human beings come from is the act of lovemaking between husband and wife in the context of marriage. This belief, religious in a way, is, to a great extent the source of our conviction that we have transcendence, "souls" if you will, that we are valuable in ourselves, not ciphers, not disposable, not merely advanced, organic thinking-machines – all because we are the consequence of acts of love, not a manufacturing process. Loosen the connection between the deep human loving of man and woman and human reproduction, as one would do by redefining family to include same-sex unions, and one subtly, and I believe unhappily redefines the human being. One touches depths of soul and self-definition of which our pragmatic and scientifically a-religious age is barely aware.

By speaking this way, I do not see myself as upholder of old traditions for tradition’s sake. Even less do I want to maintain a system of prejudice and oppression which does harm to a significant part of our society. We ought to ensure that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters have the legal protection necessary to live with human dignity. We should not make it difficult for our brothers and sisters to form stable and sustaining relationships. However, in doing so, we should not redefine an institution which is enormously important to us all for other reasons, reasons which are barely noticed by our modern consciousness. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share these thoughts with you today.
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July 19th, 20th, 2003
Pastor’s notes (continued) In last week’s bulletin I quoted the teaching on the Common Good as it is found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. If you did not get last week’s bulletin you can find it on the parish web site. I noted that some issues facing our church and society have gotten so bogged down that there seems to be little chance of any real progress. Some of these issues are abortion, the death penalty, affirmative action and now, the issue of same sex marriages.

From Christianity Today (July 2003 issue) David Koyzis makes the following observation: "The whole of political discourse has been reduced to rights talk. And if you take refuge behind rights, that presumably trumps all other considerations.

Rights talk has only polarized the two sides on the abortion issue. If one side were to adopt a different kind of language, it might lessen the distance. For example, you could talk more about the common good. Does it contribute to the common good for society to countenance the large-scale ending of life in the womb?

It you would start asking that question, people might realize that there are other considerations. There are economic considerations – though we must never reduce life issues to economics. There are also considerations about the way that the vulnerable are treated. In Scripture, there are all sorts of commands about protecting the vulnerable. And there’s a real sense, not so much that the rights of the vulnerable are being violated, but that by abusing the vulnerable, we abuse God himself.

That makes for a society that’s cheapened human life, a me-centered society in which people are concerned only with getting what they can. In that kind of society, the powerful always end up winning."

Prior to the 1960’s, the teaching of the Catholic Church about marriage was clear and definite. The purpose of marriage was for the bringing of new life into the world, caring for and the education of the child(ren). All else was subsidiary or secondary (as good as other ends might be). This thought is reflected in the very name of the sacrament of marriage. It is entitled the Sacrament of Matrimony. Matrimony means "a call (or mission) to motherhood".

In the deliberations of the Second Vatican Council all the sacraments, the sources of our faith, the liturgy, the church’s stance towards the world, etc. was up for discussion. It was a time of renewal – and renewal we got, under and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The ends and the purpose of marriage were reaffirmed – with one not-so-minor addition. The addition was that the purpose of marriage is inclusive of and the enhancement of love – the love between the married couple. This is a statement to which all people would agree - but it was not always so. The idea that one marries for love is, over the centuries and in most societies – even in Western society, is a relatively new concept. Marriages were often arranged and love could come later. In the past it could be said "because I married you I love you." In our day the common wisdom is "I married you because I love you."

To the Western mind the matter of love is held up to high regard as to privacy and as a right. "If I love someone and they love me then you have no say in the matter!" A multitude of books and songs has focused on this issue, such as in mixed social standings, or different nationalities, etc. It seems to work with a male and female… but if the issue is male/male or female/female then we have "heat and flame", i.e. passions are aroused, and we come back to the issues of privacy, rights and the Common Good (and a whole set of other issues as well).

To be continued…
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July 12th, 13th, 2003
Pastor’s Notes: Certain issues confronting our society have been debated and argued (with protests and counter-protests) so long that their continuance seems ritualistic (i.e., pretty much the same and producing no further results). Such examples are the debates about abortion, affirmative action and the death penalty. The next issue is already upon us: the prospect of same sex marriage. Canada has just recently legalized it, Vermont has and it seems as though it will be debated in every state. You can be sure that the heat will be intense.
"Rights" and "privacy" are catch-words you will be sure to hear time and again in such debates. It is time, perhaps, to introduce (or re-introduce) a new element into the discussion. It is the element of the "common good." If you have a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church go to sections 1905 ff.

For those of you who can’t find your copy I am printing it here. Common Good is abbreviated as "CG".)

1897 – (it situates the status of authority) "Human society can be neither well-ordered nor prosperous unless it has some people invested with legitimate authority to preserve its institutions and to devote themselves as far as is necessary to work and care for the good of all."

By "authority" one means the quality by virtue of which persons or institutions make laws and give orders to men and expect obedience from them.

"1905 In keeping with the social nature of man, the good of each individual is necessarily related to the CG, which in turn can be defined only in reference to the human person:

Do not live entirely isolated, having retreated into yourselves, as if you were already justified, but gather instead to seek the common good together. (Ep. Barnabae)

1906 By CG is to be understood "the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily." The CG concerns the life of all. It calls for prudence from each, and even more from those who exercise the office of authority. It consists of three essential elements.

1907 First, the CG presupposes, respect for the person as such. In the name of the CG, public authorities are bound to respect the fundamental and inalienable rights of the human person. Society should permit each of its members to fulfill his vocation, such as "the right to act according to a sound norm of conscience and to safeguard… privacy, and rightful freedom also in matters of religion."

1908 Second, the CG requires the social well being and development of the group itself. Development is the epitome of all social duties. Certainly, it is the proper function of authority to arbitrate, in the name of the CG, between various particular interests; but it should make accessible to each what is needed to lead a truly human life; food, clothing, health, work, education and culture, suitable information, the right to establish a family, and so on.

1909 Finally, the common good requires peace, that is, the stability and security of a just order. It presupposes that authority should ensure by morally acceptable means the security of society and its members. It is the basis of the right to legitimate personal and collective defence (sic).

1910 Each human community possesses a CG which permits it to be recognized as such; it is in the political community that its most complete realization is found. It is the role of the state to defend and promote the CG of society, its citizens, and intermediate bodies.

1911 Human interdependence is increasing and gradually spreading throughout all the world. The unity of the human family, embracing people who enjoy equal dignity, implies a universal common good. This good calls for an organization of the community of nations able to "provide for the different needs of men; this will involve the sphere of social life to which belong questions of food, hygiene, education,… and certain situations arising here and there, as for example… alleviating the miseries of refugees dispersed throughout the world, and assisting immigrants and their families."

1912 The CG is always oriented towards the progress of persons: "The order of things must be subordinate to the order of persons, and not the other way around." This order is founded on truth, built up in justice and animated by love.

To be continued…
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July 5th, 6th, 2003

Pastor’s Notes: We are, all of us, citizens of the world. From space you cannot see lines of demarcation that define the limits of one country against another. Those lines exist only on maps and in our heads. Still, our lives and the blessings of God have a defined specificity, e.g. though Jesus is the Lord of all the earth he lived and moved about in a particular space at a particular time. Jesus’ travels did not span a great distance – perhaps only as much as 150 miles as you measure north and south and fewer from east to west.

This weekend, we celebrate the founding of our nation, USA, and thank God for specific blessings – both material and spiritual. God’s good gifts have come to us in this place and at this time of the ages. Those who seem to be most appreciative are those who have now alive and have migrated here and those who have been in the armed forces. That may be because they have seen with their own eyes and have experienced within their own lives the absence of the blessings we may, at times, so cavalierly accept and possibly abuse. This weekend is designed to let us be giddy about what is given to us… but also to recognize it is not so throughout the world. It has come at a high price and it demands from its citizens and leaders a great responsibility ("Those to whom much has been give, much will be demanded from them.")

Happy (207^th) Birthday, USA!
The following come from Centurymarks that have appeared in Christian Century Magazine.

Old debate resolved: Jewish author Isaac Singer was nonce asked whether he believed in free will or determinism. Singer responded: "That’s a very easy question. We have to believe in free will. We have no choice."

"The problem is not the we’ve tried faith and found it wanting, but that we’ve tried mammon and found it addictive, and as a result find following Christ inconvenient… We are human beings, not human havings. God loves us for who we are, not what we have."

Arthur Simon

Your tired, your poor, your skilled: Much of the world may resent the US, but people still want to come live here. About 800,000 a year, in fact, are illegally entering the country. James Ziglar, outgoing commissioner of the Immigration Service, thinks that American immigration policy is schizophrenic, torn between the extremes of the open-door policy and xenophobic exclusion. Although Ziglar’s tenure was brief (less than two years), he sparked a fresh look at policy. For instance, he recommended the formation of Immigration Education Centers to teach English and civics to immigrants. Without such a program, he argued, immigrants don’t assimilate into the main stream. He also proposed that longer-term immigrants should be encouraged to become naturalized. "Why not ask immigrants to make a permanent commitment to our country after some reasonable time?" he asked. Recognizing that corporate America needs immigrants for the labor force, he also proposed industry co-ops, based on a Canadian model. The co-ops would make a good-faith effort first to find American workers, but then would recruit and train foreign laborers, based on skills and needs. Ziglar will continue to promote his innovative perspectives on immigration as a fellow at Harvard’s JFK School of Government. (George Anne Geyer, Chicago Tribune, Feb. 25)

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June 14th, 15th, 2003

The word "role model" conjures up a variety of images. Sports heroes, Hollywood stars/starlets, and music stars are probably the most apparent… and the role modeling they exercise is not always edifying. We admire their talents but the other elements of their lives are not so edifying. That may sound schizophrenic - but if a there is a surgeon who is the most qualified to operate on us, that’s the one we want. We aren’t going to check to see if he has a good prayer life or goes to confession on a regular basis.

Charles Barkley was a basketball superstar and not adverse to letting people know his view on things. When it was suggested that he was not a good role model for children he stated that he was a basketball player and not a role model. That wasn’t his job – that’s the responsibility of others (such as family members).

Sooner or later we find that all our heroes have feet of clay. Sammy Sousa was one of the most popular sports figures in America – and then came the corked bat (mistakenly used or not) and now life is different for Sammy and his fans.

A mature mind is aware that "original sin" is, as always, too much with us. While role models can be wonderful diversions – we need something more in our lives. We need people of integrity and moral credibility… even if they have had their failings and failures (the history of many of our great political heroes are filled with such accountings). Yet, there is something about them that makes them stand above the rest of us. There are the elements of integrity and honesty, and wholeness that seem to shine through and are the foundations of their own lives. And they have the courage and the will to hold true to such virtues. We need them for more than their virtues we might want to imitate. These are people to whom trust and responsibility are given. What they say and do and the decisions they will have to make directly influence and affect the lives of others. It is more than their reputation that is at stake – it is the lives and welfare of others that are at stake.

It is a responsibility that is laid upon all of us. A mother and a father, despite all their limitations and failings ought to be such heroes. (Every once in a while at a funeral Mass a child will say exactly that about a deceased parent).

Here is one memory of such a hero. It is from the thoughts of Mario Cuomo, a former governor of NY state as he speaks of his father.

"I watched a small man with thick calluses on both hands work fifteen and sixteen hours a day. I saw him once literally bleed from the bottoms of his feet, a man who came here uneducated, alone, unable to speak the language, who taught me all I needed to know about faith and hard work by the simple eloquence of his example."

For those who strive to be such a hero, Bill Cosby offers the following advice:

"If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated, let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering situation has a fifty percent chance of being right."

"Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!" Lydia M. Child

Happy Father’s Day!

If you might be interested in helping to plan children’s liturgies for grades 3 through 6 please let call me at the rectory.
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May 24th, 25th, 2003

Pastor’s notes: Jonathan Glover has written a book: Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century. In this book he claims that wars have killed an average of 120 people an hour in the 20^th century! (7/24/365/100) While many a general and soldier have claimed that "war is hell" – it is the widows who lead (figuratively and sometimes literally) the parades of remembrance.

I recently went to Washington, D.C. for a days and had seen our National Cemetery (in Arlington). There is a quiet and yet disturbing peace to the determined order of the simple tombstones. The peace is quiet because those who are buried there have found rest. Disturbing, because (most often) that rest came through the power and violence of armed conflict. I would guess that the average age of those buried there would be somewhere in the twenty’s. The nation celebrates a national day of remembrance for all such as these to say (and to remind us) that human desires such as freedom, peace, security, etc. have come at high cost… and most of those who lie buried did not live to enjoy them in their hoped-for future. Remembering is a way of expressing gratitude… a way of saying their lives given were not in vain… a way of urging us to seek out ways of peace that insure justice and security. For those who follow Christ we are reminded that true and lasting peace comes from the hands and the spirit of God. The cross may be heavy – but we carry it with Christ and in the power of Christ. Death may come along with it – but death cannot hold us down. We are celebrating a season of Easter… of resurrection. May they rest in peace!

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In America magazine (5/19/03) Fr. John Kavanaugh, S.J. writes that in war men and women often find themselves in an immoral matrix – and striving for moral integrity. "This is the area of jus in bello, justice within war… these warriors try not to kill civilians; they try to defend the defenseless and one another; they want only to help the Iraqi people." He goes on to say that it is foolish to say that all who go to war are heroes. But he does speak of "noble warriors". He quotes one such soldier (does not name him) who addressed his brigade (an Royal Irish regiment – 800 soldiers) with these words:

We are entering Iraq to free a people, and the only flag that will be flown in that ancient land is their own. Show respect for them… It is a big step to take another human life. it is not to be done lightly. I know of men who have taken life needlessly in other conflicts. They live with the mark of Cain upon them… Iraq is steeped in history, it is the site of the Garden of Eden, of the Great Flood and of the birthplace of Abraham. Tread lightly there. You will see things that no man could pay to see, and you will have to go a long way to find a more decent, generous and upright people than the Iraqis. Don’t treat them as refugees, for they are in their own county.

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By the time you are reading this bulletin, Ryan Fesko will have been buried from our parish (5/23/2003). He was one of the young men who perished in a car crash on Rte 29 – a road on which everyone reading this bulletin must have traveled at one time or another. Of the five who died in that car accident only one may be able to survive it. The grief to so many cannot be measured and the length of the grieving may be without measure. I am sure you have done so already… but pray for those young men and pray for their families and their friends. Prayer is not without its power – and prayer is something we ought to be (and are) good at.

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I know my writings this week are "heavy". But these are elements of our human estate and are certainly current and visible to us in this time and in this place. Our faith is no stranger to such struggles – and our Lord does not abandon us. Draw close to the Lord and the Lord will draw close to you.

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May 17th, 18th, 2003
Recently we had our second parish conference regarding the child abuse situation within our church. About twelve people were in attendance – most of who were not able to make it to the first conference. An update was given on what was happening within the US. The bishops have established a national office for the protection of the young and an office of investigation to see if the bishops of their local diocese are following the norms set up within the past two years. An account of the results is to be made (public) by the end of the year. Dioceses are now going back to past records to discover past offences. There are a number of new cases coming forward – but they are not about priests who are currently working – but of those who are retired or who have died. Fifty years seem to be the general expanse of time that the investigations are centered on. There were some questions that could not be answered (e.g. the costs involved).

To go forward in our parish we are going to investigate and establish a child abuse prevention program within the parish. The program will involve parents and children and will be open to all the members of the community at large (i.e. not just to St. James parishioners). The funding for the program will come from the money that is returned to the parish from the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. I have been speaking with the superintendent of schools, Mr. Sopko, one of the principals of our schools, Mr. Dick Fitzpatrick, and with the head of CAP (Child Abuse Prevention) which has its main office in Lawrenceville. The conversation was to assure that we would not be duplicating efforts. I will keep you informed as progress is being made

Deacons: About 25 – 30 years ago, when the diaconate was re-introduced to Catholic Community, many priests were not too receptive to the idea. "What do they do?" "I don’t need them." "I can do all that stuff quite well, thank you." Were some comments that I would hear. On May 10^th, while vesting before the mass for ordination I was speaking with some priests. The comments I hear now are "Thank God for the deacons. I’d be dead without them."

Our deacons, Sam, Jim, Kevin, Dick and Moore handle much of the business end (finances), run the religious education program, work on social justice issues, care for family life, help prepare liturgies, run RCIA programs, prepare for baptisms and baptize, make sure that the Eucharist and some prayer life is in nursing homes, train servers at the altar, lead prayer at funeral vigils, go to the cemeteries, hospitals, chair parish dinners, visit the sick, proclaim the gospel and instruct within the liturgies and outside the liturgies, work in emergency situations for the homeless, the sick, and counsel in the rectory. These are but a few of the things they do. "How did we do without them?

The Easter collection this year totaled just a little bit over $40,000. This will help us meet some of our diocesan assessments and, of course, our normal course of expenses.

It has been noted that it seems that when we (pastors) speak about money it is either to ask for it (and we don’t do that well) or to lay out a guilt trip. Actually we do thank you for it as well and are extremely appreciative of your generosity.

Perhaps in the fall I might dedicate a few homilies on money. The good news will be that I won’t ask for or lay on a guilt trip. It is a difficult topic. The Lord Jesus spoke about it often (and did not always say to give it away). At one time it considered a sin to loan money and expect to get it back with interest. It was called "usury". But the way the world was progressing and the demands of growth made loans a necessity… and so the church changed. So – what to do with the money? You know I won’t give answers – but I can bring something to the table for you to reflect upon

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May 10th, 11th, 2003

"In those days, as the number of disciples grew, the ones who spoke Greek complained that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food, as compared with the widows of those who spoke Hebrew. The Twelve assembled the community of the disciples and said, ‘It is not right for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. Look around among you own number, brothers, for seven men acknowledged to be deeply spiritual and prudent, and we shall appoint them to this task. This will permit us to concentrate on prayer and the ministry of the word.’ The proposal was unanimously accepted by the community. Following this they selected Stephen, a man filled faith and the Holy Spirit; Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus of Antioch, who had been a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who first prayed over them and then imposed hands upon them." (Acts 6: 1 – 6)

On May 10^th the Bishop of Trenton ordained William Moore Hank ("Moore") to the ministry of the Diaconate… and specifically to the service of the church at Pennington – St. James. Moore completed several years of study and training before he arrived at his day of ordination – but the process of discerning a response of a call from God to serve was a bit longer. In all those years his wife, Theresa, accompanied and assisted him. It could not, it ought not, be otherwise.

May God bless them and God’s light shine upon them!

Mother’s Day 2003

Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948) is credited with originating our Mother's Day holiday. She never married and was extremely attached to her mother, Mrs. Anna Reese Jarvis. Mrs. Jarvis was a minister's daughter who for 20 years taught Sunday School in the Andrews Methodist Church of Grafton, West Virginia. Miss Jarvis graduated from the Female Seminary in Wheeling, West Virginia, and taught in Grafton before moving to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the rest of her family.

Anna Reese Jarvis died in Philadelphia in May of 1905. Still unmarried and left alone with her blind sister Elsinore, Anna missed her mother greatly. Two years after her mother's death (1907) Anna Jarvis and her friends began a letter-writing campaign to gain the support of influential ministers, businessmen and congressmen in declaring a national Mother's Day holiday. She felt children often neglected to appreciate their mother enough while the mother was still alive. She hoped Mother's Day would increase respect for parents and strengthen family bonds.

THE FIRST MOTHER'S DAY

The first Mother's Day observance was a church service honoring Mrs. Anna Reese Jarvis, held at Anna Jarvis's request in Grafton, West Virginia, and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 10, 1908.

Carnations, her mother's favorite flowers, were supplied at that first service by Miss Jarvis. White carnations were chosen because they represented the sweetness, purity and endurance of mother love. Red carnations, in time, became the symbol of a living mother. White ones now signify that one's mother has died.

Happy Mother’s Day

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May 3rd, 4th, 2003;
On this coming Thursday evening, May 8, 7:30 p.m. at the church we will have an open discussion re: child abuse within the church. We will review what took place at the first meeting and continue our discussion: perhaps some planning for the future. All are invited.

The following poem was written by Madeleine L’Engle. She is a religious writer of some note and she composed the poem that follows: an appropriate beginning to a month in which Mary is honored in a special way.

Mary Speaks

O You who bear the pain of the whole earth, I bore you.

O You whose tears gave human tears their worth, I bore you.

You, who when your hem is touched, give power. I nourished you.

Who turns the day to night in this dark hour, Light – comes from you.

O You who hold the world in your embrace, I once carried you.

Whose arms encircled the world with your grace, I once held you.

O You who laughed and ate and walked the shore, I played with you.

And I, who with all others, you died for,

now I hold you.

May I be faithful to this final test, in this last time I hold my child, my son;

his body close enfolded to my breast;

The holder held,

the bearer borne.

mourning to joy,

darkness to morn,

open, my arms; your work is done.

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Our community extends a special blessing and congratulations to our First Communicants this weekend. In Catholic churches one of the most pleasant and reoccurring Spring practices is that of First Communion. We always look forward to it and always come away from it with a glad heart. To our Religious Education staff, to the teachers, the parents and volunteers who assisted in the preparation (part of which is a First Communion Retreat) we extend our thanks and pray to God for good blessings upon you. And to the children: come to the table and come often. You will have special blessings from your Lord who has great love for you. Your presence is blessing to all – as will this community be to you.

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Next Saturday, May 11^th, Mr. William Moore Hank will be ordained to the Permanent Diaconate. On that same day, at the 5:00 p.m. Mass there will be a Mass of Thanksgiving. Moore joins the company of our Deacons Sam Sciarrotta, Jim Palsir, Kevin Byrne and Dick Currie. We offer to God our thanksgiving and to Moore and his wife, Theresa, our prayers and good wishes. They have both worked long and hard for the arrival of this day. As one journey ends for them – another begins.

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The Bishop’s Annual Appeal: St. James Church - Pennington, NJ has reached its goal of $55,000 and I want to thank all of you who contributed to the appeal… your generosity is a special blessing for me and then for those who will benefit from the funding of various programs.

For those who wish to contribute you still have time. This weekend is the final weekend of the drive. Please join us in this appeal.

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April 26th, 27th, 2003

Joined to the Body of Christ at the Easter Vigil were Doug and Rana Binder… Charlie _______ entered into full communion with the Catholic Church, Allie_________, Stephanie_________, and Rich and May Lee, with the others, were confirmed with Holy Spirit. We praise and thank God for the blessing of their lives and presence to this community of St. James.

A most heart-felt note of appreciation to the RCIA team, to the sponsors and instructors who stepped forward to meet the needs of those who sought out the Lord, Jesus. Without the proclamation, the hearing, the care from others there would be no nurturing of their faith. Blessed be God who worked through the members of His Body in this Church.

*****

The parish is very much indebted to and thankful for all those who prepared the liturgies, the music (a lot of work expended to give voice to the mysteries in which we engaged), the decorations, the other liturgical ministries such as hospitality, serving, sprucing up the church, or the deacons and staff, and so on. I want to assure you that your work 1) does not go unacknowledged or appreciated 2) that your efforts met with great success and 3) each according to its own grace drew us deeper into the life and love of our God.

*****

The Resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate victory of life over death, of God’s goodness over evil. Like you who are reading this bulletin, I try to involve myself as much as possible into the various mysteries we celebrate through Lent, Holy Week and Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday is a pretty big day… and at the end of the day we can find ourselves asking: "now what?" The world pretty much looks the same. The television programming goes back to business as usual, the sports world keeps moving along as do the governments of the world, etc. Has the resurrection had its effect in the world?

By analogy there is something that can be said. I, for one, worked years in the seminary and prepared for and looked for the day of my ordination (in the same way that many couples approach their wedding day). Then came the ordination and the next day there was the Mass and, later in the day, Benediction (we did things differently in those days). Our "great events" have taken place but we realized that though we have "arrived" – we knew that it was just the beginning. Though the world continued along its path, we changed and our life circumstances changed and nothing will ever be quite the same again. Many paths of life were open to us – and we chose this path. In one of the gospel accounts of the Resurrection we sense that the Ascension occurred on the same day. And when Jesus ascended the messengers of God said to the disciples "What are you staring at? Let’s go. There’s a lot of work to be done."

Now our lives are "resurrection" lives. We live and move about in the world in a way that is dramatically different from those who neither met nor know Jesus. This path brings its own trials and rewards and it brings the ultimate reward of life with God – forever. Things may look the same – but they sure are different!

Resurrexit sicut dixit. Alleluia!

He is risen as he said. Alleluia!

On May 8^th, Thursday, 7:30 p.m., in the Church there will be a follow-up parish meeting on the topic of clergy sex abuse within the Catholic Church. If you were not able to get to the first meeting this will be opportunity offered again. A point of consideration will be "where do we go from here as a parish?" I hope to have more details in a future bulletin.

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April 20th, 2003 Easter Sunday 2003

Ask any Roman Catholic priest (or observe for yourself) at what times of the year do most people come for the Holy Liturgy (Prayer). They will tell you Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday and Easter.

Christmas centers on life and promise. Human life! Beautiful human life! - no matter how humble or messy the beginnings. With the birth of every child there is the promise of hope. What will this child be? What disappointments will he/she experience? How will they come through it? How will they be loved? How will they love? The beginning of the revelations or answers to these inquiries begins with the birth of Jesus. And that is worth celebrating.

Ash Wednesday looks both to the past and to the future. It looks to the past and makes us face the coming certainty of death. The ashes lead us to ask, "how are we doing?" "Am I getting this ‘life’ thing right?" "Is there a better way, a fuller way, of life? And if there is, then why am I not getting it?" Intuitively, or by reason, or in some other manner we sense we fall far short (is it our sin?) and we come for the ashes to say "I want to put aside the old and destructive and to walk on new pathways." And that is worth celebrating!

Palm Sunday is a shocker! We begin the Holy Liturgy by praising the earthly kingship of Jesus and before we even get to the homily (sermon) we have heard how Jesus, within a week, is arrested, falsely condemned, and put to death on a cross! Definitely two "bummers." We thought we got it right as we shouted our "hosannas". We were with Jesus all the way - until we found out the way led to the cross! Palm Sunday turns us upside down and spins us around. We become dizzy and we have to take time out to figure it all out. If suffering is a necessary part of the package deal of life; if earthly kingship is temporary (even the pope is warned as he accepts his new position: "sic transit gloria mundi" i.e.; "thus passes the glory of the world"): if earthly kingship is empty then what is there? It will take us time to figure this out – and so we enter into a "Holy Week" in order to engage Holy Mystery – and be led into a revelation that will forever change us. And that is worth celebrating!

Easter Sunday completes the circle and it brings us back to life. To beautiful human (and supernatural) life! It is about the fulfillment of human life and more – much more – no matter how humble or how messy the earthly ending! It states that God has a plan and if God has a plan then our life has a purpose! It says that love is greater than the power of death! It says that God’s ability to forgive is greater than our ability to sin! It calls to mind Jesus’ promise that where He is there we shall be also – and Jesus has the power to deliver on that promise! In fact, Jesus has delivered! Fear and death will not have the final say. And that is worth celebrating!

Go and read the various accounts of the Resurrection and the appearances of Jesus. You might end up asking: "is this any way to stage a resurrection?" No big crowd (only a few women and even they are afraid to speak about it), and then when spoken about – disbelief at the worse (with one or two exceptions) and skepticism at best. But the Word could not be held down! It was passed on, it picked up a power of its own and proclaimed throughout the lands and throughout the ages. Those who gather weekly to celebrate the Holy Mysteries are most responsible for the preservation of the Good News and for the proclamation of that same Good News. And that is worth celebrating!

From the lips of the one in white garments and at the tomb:

"Do not be afraid.

Jesus is not here

for He has been raised."

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

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April 5th, 6th, 2003
(Apologies for all the "I’s" and "me’s" in these notes. I thought perhaps that some of my experiences might resonate with what is happening to you during Lent.) At the beginning of Lent I cautioned you that i

	St. James Parish
Fr. Ron Bacovin