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

March 13 – Second Sunday of Lent

What if……The Transfiguration in today’s Gospel was not really about a dramatic, dazzling change in Jesus, but was instead about the radical change that took place in the apostles – that they could see Jesus differently?  What if today’s Gospel is really about transfigurations that take place in the lives of people around us, the kinds of changes that make us ask ourselves – Why haven’t I made that change, too?  What if….this story of transfiguration is really about you and me – and about moments in our lives when God opens our eyes to see the divine within and around us?

Perhaps what today’s Gospel is trying to get us to see is that the Transfiguration of Jesus isn’t a spectacular special-effects incident that took place a long time ago.  It’s instead a sweet glimpse of heaven that can come to any of us right now –if we are able to see it.  It can happen to a mother when she first views the baby she gave birth to.  It can happen to a person reading scripture when suddenly their eyes open wide at words that speak to a deep place within them.  It can happen to a person listening to a great symphony or enjoying a walk on a brilliant autumn day or watching the delight of children on a Christmas morning or standing in awe before a masterful piece of art. Transfiguration moments are experience of enchantment that open our everyday mind to the heaven that is already present, if we can see it.

Scripture describes these moments continually.  The Acts of the Apostles tells us transfiguration in the awareness that “we live and move and have our being in God.”  It is the gift of wisdom that Moses received when he went up on a mountain, just like the apostles in today’s story, and realized he was “standing on holy ground.”  What Moses also grasped was that the famous “burning bush” he saw was not an earthen plant on fire, but the gift of vision in his eyes.  Like the apostles in today’s Gospel, he could see differently.  To quote Thomas Merton, “Life is this simple: we are living in a world that is transparent and the divine is shining through it all the time.”  If we could see it.

Unfortunately, like the apostles in today’s Gospel, we are often asleep.  Consequently, we tend to miss the clues, the hints, the suggestions of something being afoot that is beyond our everyday recognition, something that is way more than what meets the eye.

This is what Lent is really all about – it’s a time to sharpen our inner eyes so that we can better see the “holy ground” in our lives.  It’s a time to ask: What if?  What if I can truly be transfigured?

Have a blessed Lent!

Father Don

 

March 6 – First Sunday of Lent

Bishop Ronald Hicks in consultation with the Priest Personnel Board has appointed Fr. Michael Kearney to succeed Fr. Don McLaughlin as Pastor of Our Lady of Mercy in Aurora effective July 1, 2022.

Fr. Michael writes: “I grew up in Naperville, just down the road, since I was four years old.  I went to Naperville Central for high school and I can remember coming to play against Waubonsie High School in volleyball.  I went to the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and received my General Engineering degree concentrated in Control Theory Robotics with the hope to go in consulting work after college.  God, clearly had a different plan. 

It was in college my love for my Catholic faith grew exponentially and I wanted to share my faith with others.  After college I was blessed to do 7 years of college ministry and missionary work with FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students).  I worked at Washington University in St. Louis, Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, University of Kansas City in Missouri, and University of Colorado in Boulder! 

After hearing the Lord call me to the priesthood through prayer and ministry, I knew the Lord was calling me to serve in the Diocese of Joliet where I grew up!  I was ordained a Priest in May of 2016 and was assigned at Visitation Parish in Elmhurst.  And after 3 years, I was blessed to be assigned to serve in seminary formation helping young men discern their own vocational calling toward priesthood at St. John Vianney Minor Seminary in St. Paul Minnesota.  I currently serve as Formation Advisor and Spiritual Director for men in college seminary,  including men from our own diocese.   

 I’m truly excited to be named by Bishop Ronald Hicks to be your next pastor at Our Lady of Mercy.  I know I have many things to learn, but excited to be back in the Diocese and be back in parish life!  I joke with my brother priests; I’m being called up from the Minors (as I worked at a minor seminary).  Please know of my prayers and I look forward to meeting you in July!”

 Father Michael Kearney

 

While I don’t know Fr. Michael personally – he is one of our more recently ordained – Fr. James knows him well and assures me that Fr. Michael will make a great pastor for OLM.  I ask your prayers for Fr. Michael as OLM will be his first pastorate.  I also ask you to give him, as you have given me, your warm enthusiastic welcome and support!

Father Don

 

 

February 27 – Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

This is Commitment Weekend for the Joliet Diocesan Catholic Ministries Annual Appeal.  Started in 1985, the CMAA is the way for you to support your local Diocesan church.  We support the global church yearly through the annual Peter’s Pence collection and various other collections.  We support the national church through periodic annual collections such as the Home Missions collection.  We support Our Lady of Mercy through the Sunday Stewardship Collection.  It is important to support our Diocesan Church that provides many ministries and services to our local parishes.

Our Lady of Mercy is one of 125 parishes in the Diocese of Joliet.  The Diocese of Joliet is comprised of seven counties – DuPage, Will, Kendall, Kankakee, Ford, Iroquois, and Grundy.  There are over 545,000 Catholics in the Diocese of Joliet.  Add to that number the many families who are registered, active and supporting Our Lady of Mercy and actually reside in the Kane County portion of Aurora, which is the Diocese of Rockford.

Today we heard a record homily from Bishop Hicks calling us to do the works of the Lord, the theme for this year’s CMAA.  If you haven’t already, I encourage you to make a gift to the Catholic Ministries Annual Appeal.  Your gift can be made in one payment, or a series of monthly payments.  And remember, it’s not the size of the gift that counts, it’s your participation that counts because YOU are a member of the Church of Joliet.  I thank you in advance for joining me in making a gift to the 2022 Catholic Ministries Annual Appeal!

I want to give a shout out to Fr. James for his fantastic 3 weekend preaching series (January 29/30, February 5/6, February 12/13) that combined the mission statement of Our Lady of Mercy (To offer everyone a life-changing encounter with Jesus, grow disciples, and send them on mission) and the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love.  The amount of prayer, effort and time he spent developing those three homilies was quite evident.  He did a fantastic job.  If you didn’t hear the series or missed one or two, I encourage you to go on our website and listen

Father Don