Having come from a big extended family, I learned a long time ago that I am a social being who depends on others for a better and more fulfilled life. This awareness has been a positive influence on my life as a seminarian. With this knowledge, from the day I joined Our Lady of Mercy as my home parish, I have been working on learning how to better relate with OLM parishioners. The OLM parishioners, with the help of our Pastor Fr. Michael, have helped me to become a balanced person who continually works at becoming a better person. Because of this, I am more prepared for the missions/ministries that await me in the future.

The ministries that I have been exposed to while here at OLM have been a means of responding to God’s call of praising and serving Him and His Church in the Diocese of Joliet. With honest discernment, I have been able to serve the sick and elderly by visiting and bringing them Holy Communion in their various assisted living facilities such as Thrive Hospital, Alden Gardens and Arbor Terrace. Also, I’ve had the opportunity to serve the Visitors (Homeless) at Hesed House. For me, the visitors at Hesed House are the very people who found special attention in the eyes of Christ, and still do through us today in the various ways that we respond to our ministry. My services at Hesed House and assisted living facilities have led me to feel closely linked with the ministry of Christ and in the way that he appears in the poor. The team that serves at Hesed House, and the Ministers of Care from OLM have both helped my Christian faith. I understand better that our faith is an invitation to see Jesus in the poor and the needy and to serve them.

My ministries at OLM have been very enriching, both by helping me grow in all aspects of life and giving me experiences that I can rely on in the future. Spiritually, I’ve been blessed to join in daily Eucharistic Celebrations with wonderful parishioners. It has been a gift to attend the Marian Crusade every Saturday with devoted men and women, lead Adoration at Waterleaf once every month, and join women for the Divine Mercy Chaplet and Rosary for Priests every day after our Eucharistic Celebration. These devotional groups at OLM have helped me recognize Christ’s presence in my journey of life, and the need for building a strong relationship with Christ.

Physically and socially, the Fit Shepherds and Bowling Team at OLM have helped me to put more effort into moving outside the box of my own nationality and grow in my openness to others. I am so grateful for this wonderful parish, with wonderful parishioners who invited me into their homes for prayers, lunch, and dinner. And thank you to those who took me to tour the great city of Chicago. As a seminarian in training, I treasure the memory of these experiences. Please continue to pray for me.  

Vincent Otieno

Seminarian

Did you know that in St. Matthew’s Gospel the word “kingdom” is used 50 times? This includes the 28 times that he mentions the “Kingdom of Heaven”. Maybe St. Matthew wanted us to know not only about the Kingdom of Heaven, but also about our King! In our Gospel this weekend, we hear several parables of the Kingdom of Heaven, which leads me to the following reflection. 

  When we talk about Heaven, we can have a tendency to only point to the future. We are not in Heaven, so it is tempting to either wait for the time when the Lord calls us there or keep it out of sight and mind.  We fail to see what is being offered to us in the Gospel today, namely the reality that the Kingdom of Heaven is also here and now. 

Through his parables, Jesus reveals that the Kingdom of Heaven is not something we are waiting for, but something we are called to live in right now. He explains the parable of the weeds in the field by saying, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.” We are called to respond to his Word and live as children of the Kingdom of God here on earth. Salvation begins now, not when we get to Heaven. Jesus desires to give us fullness of life in our daily lives as we await Heaven with hope. Even in the face of temptation and hardship, we are called to bear fruit in our lives and to bring others to experience this same joy. 

A few chapters later in Matthew’s Gospel, spoiler alert, Jesus will hand the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven to Simon Peter, who is appointed as the rock and foundation of the Church. The Church is an integral part of the Kingdom of Heaven and provides us with graces and sacraments that give us much needed strength to follow Jesus. The Church had humble beginnings, much like the mustard seed in the parables, and yet it is now a place of refuge for all to find shelter.   

Let us not ignore the Kingdom of Heaven, believing that it is something we will only experience in eternity, but instead respond to the Lord’s invitation to live fully with him in the present moment.  May we experience the Kingdom of Heaven here and now at Our Lady of Mercy.  

Father Michael

I think I might have to accept the fact that I don’t have a green thumb. In seminary, I kept succulents in my room because they are supposed to be easy plants to care for. For a while, things were going well. But then I decided to water one of the plants, and it died from having too much water. So I decided I would wait until it was clear that the other succulent needed water, but it ended up so dry that it looked almost dead. But when I watered it, the plant ended up dying from too much water. I don’t have any more succulents, but there are some plants in my office here at the parish. I was told I don’t have to water them, so they should be safe.

In our culture, we struggle with waiting. We want things to be done as quickly as possible, and we want them to be done as perfectly as possible, and we want all this done yesterday. If we try to apply this to our spiritual life, we will almost inevitably become disappointed. God did not create us perfect, and He typically does not work quickly or instantly in the spiritual life.

Maybe that’s why Jesus uses the image of a seed to describe how people receive the Word of God into their lives. We can really only observe the progress of a plant after it has grown; we cannot catch a seed in the act of growing. And this growth only takes place over time. My succulents were so slow in showing progress that I didn’t notice a change until it was too late. As today’s Gospel says, we all need to strive to become the rich soil which will allow the Word of God to grow deep roots and bear fruit. But this takes time.

What does that look like? The key idea is little by little. In the spiritual life, this means cultivating good habits such as praying every day or joining a ministry or doing the dishes. When we first start doing this, we might not see any difference. But after some time, we hopefully will begin to notice some growth compared to where we started.

As with plants, there are many factors that are outside our control. We can make sure the plant has rich soil, water, and sunlight. But the rest is up to God. The same is true for our spiritual lives. We cannot grow by our own efforts alone but only by God’s grace.

Even with this in mind, waiting is still hard. But we know that the One Who sows the seed is faithful and that He wants His Word to take root in our lives and bear fruit even more than we do. If we allow Him to work in our lives on His terms, then we can bear fruit “a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” Thankfully, God takes much better care of His plants than I do.

Father Frank

It’s amazing how we can learn a lot about our faith by reflecting through the eyes of a child.  Jesus says as much in our Gospel this weekend: “For although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to little ones.”

Think about this, for instance: What were your first words as a child? You probably don’t even remember them, but that’s okay, because you could probably make a good guess. Mom and Dad were our everything as toddlers—so much so that they were the foremost things on our minds and in our words. We really couldn’t understand ourselves or the world apart from them.

As beings made in the image and likeness of a trinitarian God—a God who’s essence is relational—this doesn’t surprise us. Our essence and identity too is inherently relational. This explains why Christ talks about his relationship with his Father in heaven immediately after talking about the wisdom of children. Children come to know who they are because of their relationship to their parents. We come to know who we are because of our relationship to our Heaven Father.

Hence why we are pursuing a family-centered faith formation process for our children! If we truly want our children to better understand themselves in light of their heavenly Father, it is most effectively passed on through catechesis of their earthly parents. If children learn to walk, talk, and do just about everything else essential for life from their parents, why not also the most essential thing of all? 

God revealed that He is a loving communion of persons. May the communion of our families be at the heart of where our children come to know communion with our loving God.

Father Michael

From the moment I was assigned to Our Lady of Mercy, I have been overwhelmed by the warm welcome I have received from parishioners. It has been awesome to begin to feel like a part of the community of OLM before my official assignment even began. But I realize that this enthusiasm isn’t about me, but about the One I represent.

As a priest, I am called not just to represent Christ, but to become Jesus, to act in persona Christi, so that I can say with my own mouth, “This is my Body.” In the short time I have been a priest, I have been struck by the awesome responsibility of what this means—that a weak human being like me is called to be Jesus for others. And yet, this has strengthened my faith because I know my weaknesses better than anybody, I can see more clearly that God is doing the work through me.

Not just priests, but every Christian is called to be Jesus. In the Gospel, Jesus says, “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” That’s a tall order. How can we possibly become Jesus?

We can only become Jesus if we know Jesus, through speaking to Him in prayer as our closest friend and being united to Him in the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist. Have you ever noticed that the more time you spend with a person, the more you become like that person? The same is true of Jesus!

And yet in all of this, there will be times when we fail to image Jesus. But this isn’t a reason to give up, but rather a reason for hope. In spite of our failings, God is still able to use us to be Jesus to those around us. In these moments, we can realize that it is truly God shining through us rather than our own effort. St. John Henry Newman has given us a beautiful prayer to help us grow more like Jesus every day:

Dear Jesus, help me to spread Your fragrance wherever I go.

Flood my soul with Your spirit and life.

Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly, that my life may only be a radiance of Yours.

Shine through me, and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Your presence in my soul.

Let them look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus!

Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as You shine, so to shine as to be a light to others.

The light, O Jesus, will be all from You; none of it will be mine.

It will be You shining on others through me.

Let me thus praise You the way You love best, by shining on those around me.

Let me preach You without preaching, not by words but by my example, by the catching force of the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to You.

Amen.

In spite of my weakness, God has called me to be His priest, and to be His priest here at Our Lady of Mercy Parish. I look forward to being Jesus for you and also to receiving Jesus in each and every one of you.

Father Frank

Oddly enough, one of the best parts of my two-week pilgrimage to France this month was returning to OLM and celebrating Sunday Mass with all of you. I felt more joy praying the Mass with the people whom I have come to know and love over the last three years than when I was visiting some of my favorite saints: St. Therese of Lisieux, St. John Vianney, and St. Bernadette of Lourdes to name a few. Maybe you find that hard to believe. Maybe that’s just the jet-lag speaking. True, saying Mass at the tombs of these heroes of our faith was a blessing I’ll never forget—I’d do it again in a heartbeat! But I think the Lord was telling me at 8am Mass last Sunday something along the lines of “there’s no place like home.” 

People imagine that the priesthood is somehow extra-ordinarily demanding—that we must be so brave and selfless to give up a wife and children and money for the collar…but we’re not. I’m just as much a sinner in need of God’s grace as anyone else—slow to relinquish my preferences, slow to give God my heart, slow to trust that He’ll give me more than I give Him. I became a priest because God called me to, and what I found was the pearl of great price—what I pray all of you discover as well. That “whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matt 16:25) 

The issue at hand is that we imagine that the opposite of the Gospel is true. We think, “Whoever preserves his life from the excessive demands of God will find it.” But to preserve oneself from God’s invitations, is to preserve oneself from love. Hence, “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matt 16:25)

It is certainly a big demand from God to me to have to leave here. I will always remember OLM, and yes, I will deeply miss it, because I will deeply miss you. I started tearing up months ago at the thought of leaving this place that has been my family and my joy! But I know that the Lord has good things in store for all of us.

 With St. Paul, I hope that I have at least somewhat succeeded in living out the words: “what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” (2 Cor 4:5) Many times I have fallen short of living this out, so I humbly ask that you forgive me where I have fallen short. But above all, I must say, thank you… for your love, your friendship, and for blessing me over the last three years. I have learned so much here from Fr. Don, from Fr. Michael, and from all of you. The priesthood has been an inestimable gift to me. This assignment has been an inestimable gift to me. Serving you has been an inestimable gift to me. Please pray for us priests as we seek to lose our lives for His sake, as we try to help you to do the same!

Father James

The mere fact that my mother was born in the Middle East sparked a profound question during my high school years. I pondered, what if my mother had been raised Jewish or Muslim? Would I not then follow that faith? These thoughts led me to a seemingly intellectual conclusion – that religion was merely a product of our parents, and the ultimate purpose in life was simply to be a good person.

However, as I delved deeper into the depths of our faith, I began to realize the flaws in my argument. I had failed to consider that in an orderly world, crafted by a loving God, actions bear consequences and punishments. Expiation and reconciliation become necessary for the harmony of this design.

Let’s take a simple example. Imagine two children engaged in an argument, with one consumed by anger, throwing a punch. What unfolds for that child? The parents step in, handing out punishments such as grounding or restricted screen time. Oh, the pain! Now, fast forward to that same child as an adult, still wrestling with a volatile temper, throwing a punch at a stranger. What follows? Legal consequences, potential trials, charges of assault and battery, leading to county jail or community service.

Now, let’s raise the stakes. Picture that individual, still burdened by anger, directing their fury towards a local mayor or governor. The repercussions escalate, resulting in a sentence within the confines of a state prison. And now, imagine that same person, harboring that same childhood anger, launching an attack on a Congressman, a Senator, or even the President. The outcome could be fatal, or at the very least, a life behind the impenetrable walls of a federal prison.

What is the fundamental difference between these scenarios? The anger remains unchanged, as does the action taken. However, the consequences and punishments differ vastly. What altered? It is to whom the target of that anger is directed towards. 

Now, consider the consequences for sinning against God, who is infinite. Wouldn’t our punishment then become infinite? Can we, as finite beings, ever repay such a debt? The answer, resoundingly, is no. But here’s the remarkable truth: if Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God, He can bear the weight of our infinite offenses. Only Jesus can bridge the vast chasm that separates us. And that, my friends, is the reconciliation that St. Paul speaks of in our second reading!

To be a good person remains of utmost importance, but there is something even more profound that Jesus Christ offers to the world than a mere example of goodness. He offers us reconciliation with our loving God. He offers to restore the bond that was broken by our transgressions. So, let us embrace the truth that being a good person is significant, but let us also recognize the extraordinary gift Jesus Christ extends to us – the opportunity to be reconciled with our Creator, to have our sins forgiven, and to experience the boundless love and grace of our Heavenly Father.

Father Michael

Couple of years ago, I had an experience while in Africa, I happened to encounter an Anglican pastor who told me “You know brother, you Catholic Christians, you have three great things that make me always admire you.  First, you have the Holy Father the symbol of unity and Christian Catholic communion. Second, you have the Virgin Mary the mother of God himself and the mother of all humanity. And third, you have the Eucharist, the permanent presence of Jesus.”  He added, “Brother, those are facts that are undisputable.”

This led me to a very deep reflection, I entered into a very profound appreciation of my faith and understanding to be a Catholic.  As we celebrate this Solemnity: Corpus Christi, I think it’s right and fitting to reflect on the meaning, the importance and relevance of the Eucharist in our lives and faith as Christians. The permanent presence of God in our church in our life and in our faith as Catholic Christians.

The celebration of Corpus Christi invites you and I, to appreciate this great gift of Jesus himself remaining present among us, his choice and free will that he continued to be present among us in his true body and blood. How I wish and how wonderful it is that we always found time to encounter Jesus in his body and blood, to receive him, to contemplate him, to meditate him ,and to be with him. It is transforming to be with Jesus in the Eucharist, to adore him, to have some moment with him. And so today we are celebrating this solemnity of Jesus’ presence among us, his constant and permanent presence in our ministry, his constant awareness and company accompaniment of humanity.

This beautiful solemnity is something worthy of contemplating. The fact that Jesus is present amongst us, the fact that He is always in the Tabernacle there waiting for us, to come and adore him, and receive him, to contemplate and share with him, to be part of his being. This is a renewing and transforming experience for us Catholics. It’s no wonder that we are admired by those who don’t have him: we have the Eucharist, we have the mother of our Lord, we have the successor of Peter the symbol of unity and communion.

Vincent Otenio – Seminarian in Training

Growing up in the 90’s, one of my favorite TV shows (maybe because of the suspenseful music) was “Unsolved Mysteries”.  The show, as the name states, reenacted ongoing mysteries from the past.  Occasionally, throughout the years of the show, you might be lucky to get “an update” where they would reveal an answer to a former mystery. 

As a math guy and an engineer, I have to say, I don’t like mysteries.  I was always taught to solve the unknown.  Even to this day, people will come with me with problems, and my automatic instinct is to calculate the precise solution.  My mindset: answers are good, mysteries are bad.

But then, how do I deal with the ‘mysteries’ of our faith.  For example, this weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity: God is three persons, yet one God.  Is this a mystery I can solve?  The answer is clearly no… but then, are some mysteries therefore good?

Surprisingly, the answer is yes! Some mysteries are not meant to be completely solved, but rather entered into!  We can see this in other areas of our lives too. For instance, what person in your life can you completely explain or define? Can you ever really solve another person? No. There is always more to be discovered in an other—even our very own hearts are a mystery to us!  This isn’t a bad thing, but an opportunity. It’s what makes love, marriage, family, and friends a beautiful adventure that can captivate us for a lifetime! If we’re willing to enter into the mystery, to engage the mystery of the other with love and respect, then these relationships can continue to unfold as an ever more beautiful mystery!

So, unlike the 90’s show might have us believe, some mysteries are meant to be left unsolved—not because they’re nonsensical, but because their depths could never truly be exhausted. God revealed himself as love: as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We need not fret if we cannot fully grasp how it is possible to have 3 divine persons and only one God. Instead we can concern ourselves with the question, “How is my relationship going with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit?” It’s the mystery of our relationship with love himself, and the mystery at the heart of heaven.

Father Michael

One of the most compelling things about our Catholic faith is our understanding of redemptive suffering—so much so that one couple I know specifically converted from Protestantism to Catholicism because of this! In their previous church, there was little understanding of how to fit suffering within the greater scheme of things. One can be tempted to believe that suffering is a sign of God’s displeasure, whereas a lack of suffering is a sign of God’s favor. Yet, upon reading the lives of the saints, we find that the opposite is almost true!

St. Thérèse of Lisieux, for example, rejoiced on Good Friday one year when she received the first sign of the tuberculosis which would take her life at age 24: “Ah! my soul was filled with a great consolation; I was interiorly persuaded that Jesus, on the anniversary of His own death, wanted to have me hear His first call. It was like a sweet and distant murmur that announced the Bridegroom’s arrival.” To be honest, such words from the saints can feel naïve or unrealistic as we are tempted to think, “Yeah, but they’re so far beyond me in sanctity,” or “But that was a different time and place…” Yet, human they were, and human are we.

JP2’s encyclical Salvifici Doloris explores the theology of suffering in great depth, and we would do well to heed this saint’s words of wisdom. For instance, he writes, “The springs of divine power gush forth precisely in the midst of human weakness. Those who share in the sufferings of Christ preserve in their own sufferings a very special particle of the infinite treasure of the world’s Redemption, and can share this treasure with others.” Suffering can be an opportunity for intimacy with Jesus, intercession for others, and the salvation of our souls. We are all going to face trials and death anyways, so why not let Jesus give them meaning?

Our world has lost the significance of suffering as it has lost the significance of Jesus’ cross. This is why we see even traditionally Christian countries like Portugal legalizing physician-assisted suicide, while others like Canada are already passing legislation to extend their medically assisted suicides to include “circumstances where a person’s sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness.” (see canada.ca)

Let’s be clear: asking physicians who have taken the Hippocratic Oath to inject you or your loved one with toxic quantities of chemicals with the intention of shortening your life is the opposite of ‘dying with dignity’. While watching another suffer is a great suffering in itself, what suffering people need is accompaniment, not euthanizing. The sick, mentally ill, and dying have inherent dignity. Their existence is valuable! And while there is nothing wrong with lessening someone’s pain (with painkillers, for instance), there is something very wrong with intentionally hastening someone’s death (even with painkillers). This line can be very thin, but it’s no less important: the catechism equates euthanasia to murder. (CCC 2276-9) 

Finally, the sick and elderly elicit sacrificial love from their family and community—we should not resent them for that, but thank them and assure them that they are not ‘forgotten’, ‘worthless’, or ‘unwanted’! The difference between St. Thérèse’s disposition towards death and medically euthanizing humans is the difference between “thy will be done” and “my will be done”. Like the 7 Sacraments (or the Trinity for that matter), human suffering is indeed a mystery—not in the sense that it is irrational or unsolved, but in the sense that its significance is inexhaustible! Let us therefore trust in our good Lord, even in the face of darkness—for it is there that His light can shine all the more brilliantly.  

Father James