Hierarchy update

It has been awhile since a new bishop was appointed by Rome here in the U.S. Nonetheless, it has been a busy year for episcopal appointments in this country. Yesterday, the Holy Father named Msgr. Bernard Hebda, a priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh working in Rome, as the bishop of Gaylord, Michigan. He succeeds Bishop Patrick Cooney, whose resignation was accepted by the Holy Father due to him having reached the age limit.

With this appointment there are now nine ordinaries over 75 still serving their dioceses and eight Latin Rite dioceses that are vacant: Cheyenne, WY; Duluth, MN; Owensboro, KY; Milwaukee, WI; Ogdensburg, NY; Springfield, Il; Austin, TX; Scranton, PA. As you can see, there will be plenty more appointments to follow in the coming months.

Veni Sancti Spiritus, veni per Mariam.

Our Lady of the Rosary

Today is the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, but it is an obligatory memorial. I am off to Holy Family Parish to celebrate and to preach. Today we pray the Glorious Mysteries.

Veni Sancti Spiritus, veni per Mariam.

What a lot of driving!

We are back from our trip to lovely Carmel-by-the-sea, where my little sister was married on Sunday afternoon. It was a great family adventure. The wedding meal was incredibly beautiful. No expense was spared. Wine was plentiful, no miracles needed! That made the first half of Monday's journey a little rough for me!

We drove the journey: 860 miles one-way. On the way there we spent the night the Sparks, Nevada. Sparks is just east of Reno. We stayed in a little inn just a few blocks away from where my wife lived with her family for quite a few years, when her Dad taught at the University of Nevada.

On the way back, we stayed in Carlin, Nevada, a little town about 20 miles west of Elko. We had good weather all the way and while we were there. I hope to post a few pictures in the coming days.

We prayed a decade of the rosary every 100 miles, which was nice and mercifully easy to get the children to do with us. We even spent discussing the meaning of the Luminous mysteries. We also talked about a fundamental theological matter. My oldest son asked if identical twins, who start out as the same fertilized egg before splitting in two, and who are always the same gender, as opposed to fraternal twins, also share a soul before the split? The answer, of course, is "No," but it was a surprising question and an interesting discussion.

My four year-old had the quote of the trip. He was in the very back of the van with his older brother, when suddenly I hear him ask, "Why don't you want to see my utters!?" He was also concerned as we went into California and we were being asked about produce we had in the car. Being a sometimes cucumber (like Larry), he thought he might be in for a bit of trouble. He also took to calling everyone "my precious" for the better part of a day after listening to an audio book of The Hobbit.

Veni Sancti Spiritus, veni per Mariam.

Notes and ramblings for a Sunday morning

Liturgically, Sunday trumps all saints memorials and feasts, but then each Sunday is All Saints. Today is the day on which we memorialize St. Francis of Assisi, a deacon of the church. As my wife and I walked through the mission here in Carmel yesterday afternoon, she purchased a medal of Bl. Junípero Serra, a son of St. Francis, as was Fr. Escalante, who first journeyed through Utah.

I also think of my dear friend Sara, who I miss terribly. She just began her formation to become a Poor Clare. The Poor Clares were founded by St. Clare, Francis' companion and friend. The charism of the Poor Clares is to pray for the apostolate, for the active works of spreading the Gospel in the world.

Mission Carmel by the Sea
From the end of the Prayer of St. Francis.:

"For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life."

Easy words to utter, but far more difficult to live. Francis' prayer exemplifies well the exhortation he is credited with giving his friars: "It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching." He also said something that forms a deep part of my personal spirituality: "Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self."

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us
St. Francis, pray for us
St. Clare, pray for us
St. Anthony of Padua, pray for us
St. Bonaventure, pray for us
Bl. Junípero Serra, pray for us

I seek the intercessions of our Blessed Mother, Mary, along with those of the Franciscan family and for my sister, who is getting married today here in Carmel.

While I am on the subject of spreading the Gospel, I also seek the intercession of Holy Mary and the saints, especially St. Mary Magdalene, along with Sts. Francis and Clare, for Dr.Douglas O’Neill, his wife Dr. Sujin Yoon, and Mr. Hines Vaughn, Jr., who are being received into the Church today at The Cathedral of the Madeleine by His Excellency, Bishop William K. Weigand, formerly the bishop of Salt Lake City, who retired as bishop of Sacramento earlier this year.

How are you doing on praying the rosary so far this month? Sunday is always a good reboot day! Today we pray the Glorious mysteries.

I also want to both congratulate and express my gratitude to my friend, Deacon Greg Kandra, who links to this humble blog from his on-line endeavor The Deacon's Bench, which is now featured on beliefnet.

Veni Sancti Spiritus, veni per Mariam.

Saints and angels sing

I don't know why, but I deeply feel the need to invoke my friends, the saints who accompany me along my way this morning, my own personal litany:

Holy Mary, Mother of God- pray for us
St. Joseph- pray for us
St. Mary Magdalene- pray for us
St. Stephen- pray for us
St. Martin of Tours- pray for us
St. Benedict- pray for us
St. Bruno- pray for us
Sts. Francis & Clare- pray for us
Sts. Dominic & Catherine of Siena- pray for us
Sts. Perpetua & Felicity- pray for us
St. Thérèse, Little Flower- pray for us
St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross- pray for us
St. Gianna Molla- pray for us
All holy men and women- pray for us

Fr. Tonino Lasconi, a parish priest and author of many catechetical works in Italy, made a very important observation a few years ago: "We don’t talk to children anymore about their Guardian Angel, or their patron saint." He continues, "We can’t think that Mass and conventions are enough." His conclusion is all too true: "Without the saints, the faith vanishes." The good news is that these lovely people intercede for us whether we ask them to or not. Nonetheless, they long to be our friends. Yesterday, was the Feast of the Guardian Angels. No less a figure than St. Basil the Great taught that "each and every member of the faithful has a Guardian Angel to protect, guard, guide them through life." This teaching was echoed by St. Bernard of Clairvaux.

I remember of moving passage from Pope John Paul II's book, Rise, Let Us Be on Our Way, about how he powerfully felt the presence of his Guardian Angel the day he was ordained a bishop.

Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide.

Veni Sancti Spiritus, veni per Mariam.

"Karma police, I've given all I can, its not enough"

Radiohead's Karma Police is our Friday traditio. Maybe when you've given all you can and it's not enough is when you turn and look for grace.

Veni Sancti Spiritus, veni per Mariam.

October: the month of the rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary

As with May, October is a month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially the rosary. I encourage everyone to pray the rosary everyday, beginning today with the Luminous mysteries



The Luminous mysteries draw attention to significant events in the life our Lord, specifically the

Baptism in the Jordan
The Wedding at Cana
Proclamation of the Kingdom
The Transfiguration
The Institution of the Eucharist

The Luminious mysteries were instituted on 16 October 2002 by the Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, among the many important things the late pontiff wrote about the rosary is his letter is this:

"To pray the Rosary for children, and even more, with children, training them from their earliest years to experience this daily 'pause for prayer' with the family, is admittedly not the solution to every problem, but it is a spiritual aid which should not be underestimated. It could be objected that the Rosary seems hardly suited to the taste of children and young people of today. But perhaps the objection is directed to an impoverished method of praying it. Furthermore, without prejudice to the Rosary's basic structure, there is nothing to stop children and young people from praying it – either within the family or in groups – with appropriate symbolic and practical aids to understanding and appreciation. Why not try it? With God's help, a pastoral approach to youth which is positive, impassioned and creative – as shown by the World Youth Days! – is capable of achieving quite remarkable results. If the Rosary is well presented, I am sure that young people will once more surprise adults by the way they make this prayer their own and recite it with the enthusiasm typical of their age group."

Today also marks the Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, a Doctor of the Church and our beloved Little Flower.

Veni Sancti Spiritus, veni per Mariam.