hope and sadness

I have many fond memories of Resurrection Parish. When Fr. Carr was pastor here our family would come to Mass here once a month just to hear his thoughtful and well formulated sermons. Fr. Carr gave the sermon at my first Mass. When I was in the seminary I would visit Fr. Coakley in the Summer and he would help me with my discernment. I asked Fr. Coakley to vest me at my ordination.

My mom always expected more from the faith. As a child I never experienced the faith as something small or cramped or limiting. I never remember my parents saying, "we have to go to Mass." It was always something very natural and something that would expand our lives and hearts. Her expectation of more helped us to open our hearts to greater gifts from God.

Sometimes when we expect more this can lead to a critical attitude of disappointment, but the virtue of hope is the longing for more from the one who can give it. Hope is the the natural result of a living faith. Faith is the light of God's Word in our intelligence. Hope is the desire of the heart for what one sees by faith. Certainly there is sadness and disappointment in life, but this sadness is a reminder that we want more, that we desire the eternal. The temptation is to alleviate this sadness by settling for something less. We pretend that something finite, like power, possessions, or pleasure can satisfy our longing. The faith never limits our human capacities, rather faith extends our vision and opens us up to the eternal love of God.

Do not be afraid to hope for more, not even when this increases your sadness. Your thirst can never be greater than God's desire to fill you with His love.

St. Josemaria says

Pride dulls the edge of charity. Ask Our Lord each day for the virtue of humility, for you and for everyone. Because as the years go by, pride increases if it is not corrected in time.

Corpus Christi

How Holy this Feast
Christ's Passion is remembered.
Grace fills our hearts.
And we receive a pledge of future glory.

St. John the Baptist

St. Thomas More

St. Thomas More

Today is the Memorial of St. Thomas More.
He is a reminder to us to remain true to the faith in the midst of persecution.

New Name

I am trying to figure out these changes.

From St. Paul

Therefore, that I might not become too elated,
a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan,
to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.
Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is made perfect in weakness.”
I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,
in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.
Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults,
hardships, persecutions, and constraints,
for the sake of Christ;
for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Tomorrow

On June 19 I will move into the rectory at Resurrection Parish in Wichita. This is a new chapter in my life, so I changed the blog a little and the name.
I will always cherish my six years in Kingman.
Benedictines make a vow of stability, but diocesan priests do not.
God grant me the grace . . .

something borrowed

Chesterton’s appreciation for tradition (which he called “the democracy of the dead”) was one of the things that shook my brain loose from much of the twaddle of contemporary thought and made me see things in the clear light of common sense. He pointed out that Tradition was not something covered in cobwebs but was rather something that was rooted in the experience of a thousand previous generations of men and women who were quite as smart and full of prayer as my generation of clever people suckled on TV—perhaps even a bit more! He insisted that people be given a vote in how we order our lives, even when they happen to be dead. And he pointed out how much of our lives are, in fact, ordered by and dependent on simple human trust.

This is my last week in Kingman. I will need a new name for the blog or I'll need to shut it down.

Pentecost

Go here to read a good post about Pentecost

Best Books

Go here to read the list of great books.