May 1 – Third Sunday of Easter

Today I would like to share with you some thoughts about my last time to preside for the liturgies of the Sacred Triduum.  The liturgies of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil are in reality one single liturgy over three days.  More recently in parishes with more than one priest, it has become more common to have one of the priests preside for all three days instead of dividing the presiders for the three days.  So, for my last time before retiring from parish ministry, I had the privilege to preside for the Sacred Triduum.

Holy Thursday was a step in faith for me.  In the past every parish I have been in we selected those to have their foot washed before Holy Thursday, and while we did pre-select two, the Holy Spirit urged me to invite people from the assembly that very evening to come forward for the foot washing.  While I got a lot of skeptical feedback from what I was going to do, I had faith in the people of OLM!  And boy did you come through!  It was so fun and joyful for me to see your response.  And when I asked for a young man who might be discerning a vocation to the priesthood, and he came forward, it was truly inspiring to see the assembly’s reaction – enthusiastic applause!  I had many people say how moved they were, and one woman came to my office, and hugged and thanked me saying she has never been involved in anything in church before, but came forward when I invited those in the assembly. This Holy Thursday liturgy will rank in one of my best memories!

As you know, I am a Vatican II priest, which simply means that I believe the laity have a voice and active role in the church, and we must not always be confined by rubrics.  I bet there was no other church in the Diocese of Joliet that celebrated Holy Thursday the way we did!  That brings us to Good Friday.  In the past, I always remembered that the priests and clergy held the cross for veneration.  Once again, why not the laity?  It moved me to tears to see just ordinary men, women, and children take turns holding the cross for veneration.  Jesus’ death and resurrection was for ALL of us – no particular class.  Thanks to all who held the cross of veneration!

The Easter Vigil is always the highlight of the year, and this year was no exception. The fire, the many scripture readings, baptizing two adults and two children – one a screamer! – then receiving two adults into the Catholic faith and confirming the four adults and giving them the Body and Blood of Christ for their first time – nothing compares!  The whole assembly renewing their baptismal promises, plus the beauty of the flowers and music – it was a little bit of heaven on earth!

Have a blessed Easter Season!

Father Don

April 24 – Divine Mercy

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday.  Someone asked me if I could give a simple explanation of what the Divine Mercy devotion is all about.  It’s as simple as ABC.  A – Ask God for His Mercy.  God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly, repenting of our sins and asking Him to pour His mercy out upon us and upon the whole world.  B – Be merciful.  God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others.  He wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does to us.  C – Completely trust in Jesus.  God wants us to know that all the graces of His mercy can only be received by our trust.  The more we open the door of our hearts and lives to Him with trust, the more we can receive.  It’s that simple!

Today’s gospel has long be labeled as “Doubting Thomas.”  Scripture scholars maintain he doesn’t deserve that label.  Whether he does or not, rare is the person who has never experienced the grey cloud of doubt in his or her spiritual life.  Thomas is acquitted of doubt based on this precise definition of doubt:  “The refusal to believe even after one has received confirming evidence.”  As soon as he experienced the in-person confirming evidence (seeing the nail marks and putting his hand in Jesus’ side) Thomas confessed his faith. Doubt is not proof of a weak faith, nor is it an act of disloyalty.  Mother Teresa spent years feeling God was so distant that she doubted whether he truly cared, loved, or sometimes even existed.  Yet she continued faithfully carrying out her mission of lovingly caring for the poorest of the poor.  Thomas Merton, the American monk whose spiritual writings are still read by millions, wrote, “Faith means doubt.  Faith is not the suppression of doubt.  It is the overcoming of doubt, and you overcome doubt by going through it.”

So, when in doubt, turn to God’s Divine Mercy!

Have a blessed Easter season!

Father Don

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