Personal Reflections: April 2004 Archives

Deny yourself in the Blood of Christ crucified; drink deeply of the blood; fill yourself with the Blood; vest yourself in the Blood. If you have been unfaithful, be baptized again in the Blood; if the devil has clouded your intellectual vision, bathe your eyes in the blood; if you have been unappreciative of unrecognized gifts, be grateful in the Blood; if you have been a lax shepherd, forgetful of the rod of justice tempered with prudence, undo that in the Blood…In the heat of the Blood dissipate your tepidity. In the light of the Blood banish your darkness, so that you may be the spouse of the Truth and the true shepherd and guardian of the flock placed in your hands.

St. Catherine of Siena’s advice to Priests

...In Chicago. Tired, fatigued. ok...sleep!

.... home to Chicago today

It is a restful day but there is much work to be done. So many projects.... I will be blogging again by Monday.

Here's some more revealing information about Voice of the Faithful. Thanks to JohnH for pointing this out.

I have been pondering ways to meet people and to hear ideas about the future direction of the parish. I become Pastor again on August 1, 2004.

I was thinking of having a variety of town hall meetings over several months. I do not plan on making any immediate changes to the parish beside just the change of Pastor. My main question is going to be "How did you do it last year?" Obviously Fr. Finley and I are two different people, but he is much loved by the people and has done a great job over the past 14 years there.

I was thinking of having meetings with the Staff, and with the Pastoral Council just to hear their experience and ideas. Then I thought I would have town hall meetings, first with the elders in the parish, then with Young Families (child care provided) and then with the Youth, simply to hear their questions, their needs, and to get their ideas.

In order to have a voice, I also have to be able to listen. Listening is not something that VOTF seems to be doing. There has to be a better way than VOTF.

Bishop Vigneron of Oakland writes a regular column in the Catholic Voice. He is planning to use the next several articles to provide some commentary on the coming ad limina visits of the American Bishops, and on the Holy Father's words to the Bishops.

I found his current (April 12) commentary very encouraging.

Pope John Paul II leaves us in no doubt about the path that will lead to the reconciliation and renewal he is prescribing for what ails the Church in America: “a holier priesthood, a holier episcopate and a holier Church” (Address # 1, sec. 1).

Effective reform can only come from interior renewal, from conversion from sin and turning back to obeying the Lord’s commandments. So, the first of our “marching orders” from our Holy Father the Pope is to recommit ourselves to putting off the ways of the old Adam and living the life of Christ in the Spirit.

In taking to heart the challenge of the Holy Father, I cannot help but think of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, which is the very means our Savior gave us to accomplish the goal the Pope says we must work for.

So, I intend to start a series of discussions with the consultative bodies of our diocese about how we can mobilize the resources of our local Church for the continued revitalization of the practice of frequent Confession. Peter, speaking through his Vicar John Paul II, has pointed out to us where we must begin. Now, we need to strategize about how to move forward on the path he has traced out.

I fully acknowledge that the Pope says the renewal of the Church in Oakland must begin with the reform of the Bishop of Oakland, that is, with me. If we are to become holier, I must become holier. It is my practice to see my spiritual father for direction and Confession frequently.

I am resolved to be more careful about being faithful to this commitment and to make the issue of my growth in holiness for the sake of our Diocese a regular theme of my dialogue with my confessor. I will begin again to follow Christ, so that I can lead you to Him.

What was encouraging is that this is the similar to the same conversation I had with my spiritual director today.

Also in the current issue of the Voice there were several letters to the editor criticizing Bp. Vigneron for not letting the Voice report on or advertize the local VOTF conference. His response to that is clear and direct

In these words of Peter’s Vicar I find clear confirmation of my serious doubts about any group or movement that seeks to build up the Church while withholding assent from the Church’s teachings.

I am looking forward to working in the Oakland Diocese again.

Yep, the taxes are due tomorrow. oh well, checking account is $500 poorer.

The other thing today is cooking, like I did not have enough of it Sunday. That was Calvert House, this is home, it is my turn to cook. But it is still Easter and every day is a solemnity, so...

Jenna is home from the hospital. Thanks be to God.

My great-niece Jenna is in need of prayers. She is 9 months old and she is in the hospital fighting off a virus. Prayers appreciated. And say some prayrs for her mom, Julie, and for her grandmother, my sister who arrived home in California to find out about this.

A Voice of the Faithful petition was received in the mail today. While I have some sympathy for some of their views, I do not agree with their work. Only a Bishop and a Diocese can claim to represent the voice of the faithful. And yes, that bishop is a sinner, just like me. So, the petition went in the round file.

I saw this cute little thing in the Newsweek that showed up today. It was a short little sidebar on a book of grammar. One example of how grammar changes things is:

A woman without her man would be nothing.

Now just add a little punctuation and see how it changes.

A woman: without her, man would be nothing.

Sooooo…..

Me thinks that maybe it is just our punctuation that needs reforming.

Too often people sing in church:

“Here I am, Lord.”

when what they really mean is….

Here, I am Lord.

Urgent prayers needed. Christopher, whom I met with his family during a recent mission in Arizona, was just informed that his Father has had two heart attacks in the last 12 hours. His Father is only 45 years old. This is the first time something like this has happened to him. He has been in pretty good health. He is in critical condition in the hospital right now. I spoke with Chris a while ago and let him know we would be praying for him and his family, and that the intention of the mass in the morning would be for his Father.

Everyone else, leave your prayer notes in the comment box for Chris to see.

I really enjoyed reading this post.

Deny yourself in the Blood of Christ crucified; drink deeply of the blood; fill yourself with the Blood; vest yourself in the Blood. If you have been unfaithful, be baptized again in the Blood; if the devil has clouded your intellectual vision, bathe your eyes in the blood; if you have been unappreciative of unrecognized gifts, be grateful in the Blood; if you have been a lax shepherd, forgetful of the rod of justice tempered with prudence, undo that in the Blood…In the heat of the Blood dissipate your tepidity. In the light of the Blood banish your darkness, so that you may be the spouse of the Truth and the true shepherd and guardian of the flock placed in your hands.

St. Catherine of Siena’s advice to Priests

This promises to be an interesting blog to follow. He describes himself as a former Hindu being fully initiated into the Catholic Church next week at the Easter Vigil, and a future medical student. Welcome to the world of Catholic Blogs!

Dad would be 84 today.

Francis W. Keyes is in the first row, far left. The picture was taken in 1929.

This won't make the news, for some reason.

150,000 will enter the Catholic Church at the easter Vigil this year.

Here is a link I got from Bill Cork's site.