April 17 – Easter Sunday

It is a heartfelt joy that I welcome all of you to Easter Sunday Mass!  There is no greater celebration for Christians than Easter!  It is good that you are here!  But for a moment, let us travel back in time to that first Easter morning.

Since the death of Jesus, all who knew and loved him have been laying low.  They’ve been grieving.  They’ve been stunned.  They’ve been trying to retrace the path of events that led them to this horrible and despite all Passion prediction to the contrary unanticipated crisis.  Were they wrong to have entered Jerusalem?  Was there a fatal mistake that could have been avoided earlier in the plan?  Whose fault was it that things turned deadly so quickly?  If Jesus foresaw all this, why didn’t he prevent it from happening?  It’s safe to say the friends of Jesus have spent the past 36 hours trying to understand.

Then, the empty tomb is discovered.  Mary of Magdala dashes through the dark and reports directly to Peter.  Her interpretation? “They – the enemies of Jesus – have stolen his body.  Peter runs to the site, sees every detail of the remaining contents of the tomb, but draws no stated conclusions.  Another disciple goes with him, “sees” and “believes”  – but we aren’t told precisely what he saw or what he believed.  The evangelist comes to his own bottom line of all this frantic running and bewildered seeing:  “They did not yet understand the Scriptures that Jesus had to rise from the dead.”

We now have the luxury of 2,000 years of Christianity and a sworn allegiance to this faith in the resurrection.  When we hear the story of Easter morning from our vantage point, it’s easy to wonder what part of the Resurrection didn’t those early believers understand.  Empty tomb, stone rolled away, burial cloths neatly piled up.

Ah. If only it were that simple.  Many of us run all around the territory of religion, reporting and seeing and believing – but understanding little and incorporating less.  Genuine understanding of the empty tomb isn’t an “aha!” moment that’s over and done with on Easter morning.  It’s demonstrated in how you perceive every empty, lost, lonely, abandoned situation in this world and in your life.  Is it hollow, or full of divine promises?

On behalf of Fr. James, Deacon Tom, our permanent deacons, pastoral and support staff, I wish you and your family a most blessed Easter day and Easter season!

Father Don

April 10 – Palm Sunday

Due to the COVID pandemic, there has been a dispensation in the Diocese of Joliet from the obligation to attend Mass in person. Today is the effective date in which Bishop Hicks has re-instated the obligation to attend Sunday Mass in person.  Of course, those who are sick, homebound, have compromised immunity, and other illness are not required to attend Mass in person.  Easter Sunday will be the last Sunday that we offer communion in the parking lot during the 10:00am livestream Mass.  We will continue to livestream the Sunday 10:00am Mass and weekday Masses for the homebound.  Communion can be arranged to be brought to your home.  Please contact our Pastoral Care Coordinator, Jolene LeRoy, RN who will schedule a trained Minister to the Homebound to bring you communion at your home.

Sometimes I have wondered why palms are so important to people.  They show up in the unlikeliest of places:  behind bedroom mirrors, tucked away in taxicab visors, woven into crosses, and placed behind crucifixes and other holy pictures. A rather sarcastic view about church being fuller than usual on Palm Sunday is to say it is because we are giving something away free.  But let’s think about the meaning of palms, as they do tell a story. These simple palm branches remind us of The Greatest Story ever told – a story so boundless that we Christians repeat it every year and revere it as the most significant spiritual event that ever took place.  But more than that, these palm branches also tell our story, the story of our own faith life.  Five weeks ago, we received ashes on our foreheads and were once again reminded of our sinfulness and our need for a radical change in our lives.  But those ashes did not come from the bottom of someone’s fireplace.  They were the result of blessed burned palms.  Today we are five weeks older.  The palms we now hold in our hands are new green leaves, reminding us that we are a part of this great story: that it isn’t just something that took place 2,000 years ago; that this drama is ongoing; and that we are each involved in our own way in being a part of the conspiracy and the betrayal that happened that night.  These palms can remind us that we have played the role of Peter in our own life by lying and denying.  They can remind us that we played the role of John when we abandon others in need. They can remind us that we have played the role of Judas in betraying our commitments.  But here’s the good news about palms:  They can also remind us of the miracle of reconciliation that can be ours.  Lent begins with palms and ends with palms.  The question is:  What will we do with their promise and the challenge?

Have a blessed Holy Week!

Father Don

April 3 – Fifth Week of Lent

Bishop Hicks has re-instated the obligation to attend Sunday Mass in person effective April 10 – Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion.

 Catholics in the Diocese of Joliet received, from the bishop, a dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass in person during the COVID pandemic.  Now that the State has removed the mask mandate, bishop feels it is time to remove the dispensation.  Those with underlying health concerns, those who are ill and not feeling well, those with compromised immunity may use their conscience on deciding to attend Mass in person.  We will continue to livestream the Sunday 10:00am Mass and our weekday Masses.  Easter Sunday will be the last Sunday that communion will be distributed in the parking lot.

Those who are ill or infirmed who wish to receive communion, please contact our Pastoral Care Coordinator Jolene LeRoy, RN and she will arrange a trained Eucharist Minister to the homebound to bring you communion at home.  We look forward to seeing and celebrating the Mass with all who are able to attend.

Now that four months have passed since we made our new year’s resolutions, some of us can look back and lament our weaknesses.  We try, we fail and sometimes we prevail.  We may console ourselves by shrugging, “We’re only human,” as others condemn us with their eyes.  We may feel shame because we are all the woman brought before Jesus in today’s gospel story.  But no matter how many times or how hard we fall, Jesus says to us the words that close today’s Gospel reading:  “Neither do I condemn you.”  And in that hope, we can claim our salvation and walk in his grace.

Have a blessed final week of Lent!

Father Don

March 27 – Fourth Week of Lent

As a parish family, during Lent we support and pray for those who are to be baptized, confirmed, and receive the Eucharist at the Easter Vigil.  As I explained in my article last Sunday, on the 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th Sunday’s of Lent they participate in a liturgical rite called the Scrutinites.  We celebrate these rites at the 10:00am Mass and use the A cycle readings.  If you are not at the 10:00am Mass, you hear the readings of the cycle we are currently in, which is the C cycle.  To support our Elect in their final preparation to receive the Easter Sacraments, I share with you a few reflections about the A cycle readings for the 10:00am Scrutiny Mass.  In the story of the man born blind, we see a number of people reacting negatively to a miracle of healing.  Today many people have laser eye surgery to correct vision and reverse conditions such as cataracts and glaucoma.  It’s become quite commonplace, but we rarely regard these medical advances as miracles.  Visual sight is a powerful metaphor for our attitudes toward the world around us and the people who come into our lives every day.  Although our medical technology is far advanced from the time of Jesus, our spiritual blindness hasn’t always changed.

In the Gospel, few people recognize the healing that’s at the center of the story.  Jesus heals because life and healing are in his very nature.  The man who is healed moves from physical to spiritual sight.  But nearly everyone else misses the point.  The disciples are puzzling over the sin that must be at the heart of the man’s blindness.  The religious leaders see only a threat to their power and status quo.  Even the man’s parents prefer to disown their son rather than risk trouble with the authorities.  We might wonder why no one sees what Jesus is doing.  But our own reactions to the wonders of God’s world can be similarly obscured.  Our faith calls us to learn to see the wholeness that God sees.  We can get so caught up in our own priorities, our anxieties, and our various ideologies that we miss the wonder of the word around us.  Spend today consciously look for signs of God’s love and mercy in the people you meet, in the natural world, and, yes, even in the daily news.  Goodness is there if we open our eyes to it.

I would like to extend my appreciation to all of you for your prayers for my health and a special thanks to all who have sent cards and prayer enrollments.  The love, care, and support I feel from my OLM parish family strengthens me.  On March 3^rd I had a whole body bone scan and the results showed no cancer in my bones.  Thank God! At present, my oncologist feels it is not necessary to start treatment. I next meet with the oncologist on June 23^rd after at CT Scan on June 20^th to compare to the previous CT I had in January.  The results of that visit may or may not require the start of treatment.  I will eventually have immunotherapy to treat the kidney cancer that spread to my lungs.  Your continued prayers are appreciated!

Have a Blessed Lent!

Father Don

March 20 – Third Week of Lent

It’s that time of Lent again!  The Scrutinies!  What are they? The scrutinies are part of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA). At the beginning of Lent, catechumens are elected by the bishop for the Easter sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist. These Elect, as they are now called, begin their final period of “purification and enlightenment” before Easter. On the third, fourth, and fifth Sundays of Lent we celebrate these special rites for them.  At OLM, we will celebrate the Scrutinies with our elect at the 10:00am Mass on March 20, March 27, and April 3.

The scrutinies are meant to help the Elect in two ways:
First, the Elect are reminded that they are sinners (as we all are) — but that is not a cause for despair or discouragement. The reality that we celebrate at the Triduum is that we have salvation in Christ. By knowing the truth about ourselves we come to know our need for God — and thirst more and more for life-giving waters. Second, the scrutinies are meant to help heal what is sinful and strengthen what is good in the Elect. Part of the scrutinies is a prayer for freedom and protection from the effects of sin and from any influence of the devil — what we call a “minor exorcism.” That may sound a little scary or conjure up some bad Hollywood images, but no one is saying that the Elect are possessed! Rather, for the Elect, this final season of preparation can be a time of fatigue and temptation. They need our prayers. The scrutinies, then, are a way for us — the Church — to help support the Elect on this final leg of their journey to the font and table.

The readings from Cycle A of the Lectionary are used when the scrutinies are celebrated because the Gospel selections for those days have been traditionally associated with baptism: the Samaritan woman at the well, the healing of the man born blind, and the raising of Lazarus. By recounting these stories, we not only help the Elect understand where they are going — we remind ourselves of where we’ve come from. We are reminded that in baptism we are given to drink of life-giving waters, we are given new eyes of faith, and we are given new life. We are reminded that Christ is the living water, the light of the world, the resurrection and the life. The special Mass prayers used on these days reinforce those powerful images.

As we observe these Sundays of Lent, let us keep our Elect — and our candidates (those to be received in the Church during the Easter Season) — in prayer. Let us remember, too, the truth of the scrutinies: We are all sinners in need of healing and forgiveness; we all need the salvation offered by Christ Jesus.

Have a Blessed Lent!

Father Don