The Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

I had the privilege this past week to attend the ICSC Stewardship Conference with
seven of our parish stewards.  ese types of opportunities are a great way to refl ect
more deeply upon our mission and to discern what is working and not working in our
quest to be a stewardship parish inspired by the spirit of the New Evangelization.
On Tuesday I attended a session given by a parish who won an award for their
exemplary living out of the stewardship way of life. It was a genuine presentation, but
I was caught by a defi nition of evangelization given by the group.  e presenter defi ned
evangelization as “how you live your life.” I thought to myself, “how you live your life”
really defi nes stewardship. We live our life as a grateful response of a cheerful giver who
recognizes and receives God’s gifts and shares them in love of God and neighbor. You
have undoubtedly heard that before. Evangelization, on the other hand, is why you live
“how you live your life.”

Evangelization is the personal encounter with the love of God that inspires a passionate
and personal response. It can be borne through prayer, a talk, a book, a conversation, a
video and even a revelation.  e encounter happens in various degrees and can happen
daily or, if we are not properly disposed, rarely. For example, at a homily during the
conference, a bishop described in a very personal manner how stewardship living is
closely related to the way in which we relate towards our own family members. In
our good moments, more than likely there is nothing we wouldn't do for our family
members. I thought of my own love for my family members and how I would
do anything for them--well, most of the time.  is inspiration led to a renewed
understanding of the nature of stewardship. I was touched by the familial connection
that the bishop made to our own stewardship living. It was more than just head
knowledge, it was an understanding that touched my heart and I felt myself more open
and receptive to God and life.

Recognizing when we are evangelized, whatever the instrument, leads to a more
invigorated living of the stewardship way of life. It leads to a more passionate “yes”, to
“how you live your life.”

As we come closer to our annual stewardship renewal, considering how we live our life
of time, talent and treasure. Let us pray that we might be evangelized by the love of God
that captures us through the action of the Holy Spirit and leads to a grateful response.

Ad majorem Dei gloriam,
Fr. John F. Jirak

The Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

"Nothing we do to defend the human person, no matter how small is every unfruitful or forgotten.  Our actions touch other lives and move other hearts in ways we can never fully understand in this world.  Don't ever underestimate the beauty and power of the witness you give in your pro-life work" 
~ Archbishop Charles Chaput

Mark your calendars for October 6 from 2-330PM on the SE corner of Central and Rock Road.  Blessed Sacrament is standing proud for life in the annual Life Chain.  If you need a little incentive, I have heard rumor that Magdalen thinks they will have more people there.  I hope that you can give some of your time to remind Wichitan that there is still a great tragedy occurring in our country.  Abortion is still legal, and more than 48 million people have been killed since the Roe v Wade decision.  If you are unable to attend this event, I encourage you to make time to pray for life.

From Evangelium Vitae (8): "At the root of every act of violence against one's neighbor, there is a concession to the 'thinking' of the evil one, the one who 'was a murderer from the beginning'".  As the Apostle reminds us, "for this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, and not be like Cain who was of the evil one and murdered his brother" (1 Jn 3:11-12) Cain's killing of his brother at the very dawn of history is thus a sad witness of how evil spreads with amazing speed; man's revolt against God in the earthly paradise is followed by the deadly combat of man against men.  It is hard to proclaim the dignity of life from the womb to the tomb in the face of the culture of death, but it is necessary. We shake our heads and pray for the victims of yet another deadly shooting spree in our country, and wonder how things have gotten so bad.  It starts with the devaluing of life in the womb.  A couple hours in October may not seem like much in the face of such great evil, but we cannot know the impact of our witness and prayer.  If nothing else, it is a witness to our own children that life is sacred and we are willing to stand publicly for this truth.  Hope to see you there.

"I feel the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself.  And if we can accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tel other people not to kill one another? ... Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use violence to get what they want.  That is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion" ~ Mother Theresa, February 5, 1994, Washington DC

-Fr. Benjamin Green

- THE TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

“Never again war.  We want a peaceful world, we want to be men and women of peace.”
 (Pope Francis 9/1/13)

Pope Francis recently called for a worldwide day of prayer and fasting for peace Sept. 7th.  His request comes as the world faces disturbing events in Syria.  It is also a great reminder for us.  World peace is not just something beauty pageant contestants wish for, it is something we should all be actively working towards.  The Pope set up a prayer vigil for 5 hours in Rome on the 7th, but peace is not easy to achieve, we can continue the petition here.

People are heeding the call of our Holy Father.  The Franciscans have extended to hours at the tomb of St. Francis for pilgrims praying for peace.  Our diocesan priests are praying for peace at their Masses.  It is a worldwide movement, and it is not just Catholics.  Peace benefits all, and I encourage you to invite those that are not praying for peace, no matter the denomination, to join you.

Prayer and fasting are our most powerful weapons of peace.

Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit; and whenever it seizes him it dashes him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid.  I asked your disciples to cast it out and they were not able.  His disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.” (Mark 9:17-18,28-29)

May Christ, the prince of peace, bring fruit to our petition.

“Peace is a good which overcomes every barrier, because it belongs all of humanity!  I repeat forcefully: it is neither a culture of confrontation nor a culture of confl ict which builds harmony within and between peoples, but rather a culture of encounter and a culture of dialogue; this is the only way to peace.”
(Pope Francis 9/1/13)

-Fr. Benjamin Green

THE TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

A parish thrives or diminishes in direct proportion to its focus on the Mass. At the recent Synod for The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith the synod fathers presented the following proposition to the Pope: “The Eucharist must be the source and summit of the New Evangelization. The Synod Fathers urge all Christ’s faithful to renew their understanding and love for the Eucharistic celebration, in which their lives are transformed and joined to Christ’s offering of his own life to the glory of God the Father for the salvation of the whole world” (Proposition 34).  The synod fathers are saying that the vitality and growth of the Church depends on the Mass. This brings us to the importance of Mass for the parish.

Since the parish is where the Church is experienced in neighborhoods it naturally follows that the thriving of a parish falls and rises with the celebration of the Mass (Proposition 25, Synod).  The connection between the Mass and parish is even more pronounced at our parish where we identify ourselves as The Church of the Blessed Sacrament. Once we realize the link between the vitality of a parish and the celebration of Mass, it becomes clear where we need to be generous with our stewardship of time, talent and treasure.  The more we can come together for “ full, conscious and active participation in liturgical celebrations, the greater we will realize the dynamic presence of Christ transforming our hearts towards one another (Sacrosanctum Concilium [SC], 41).  In the Mass, love of God meets love of neighbor.  When this encounter occurs the result is a thriving parish community. As we begin a new school year, I would like to propose that we dedicate ourselves to full, conscious and active participation at the parish Mass each Sunday.  We have already begun to mobilize our eff orts to help in this regard.  Within the next two months we will be replacing our Mass hymnals.  Th e Gather and Worship hymnals will be replaced with one hymnal and a supplement.

The new hymnals will provide an opportunity to better realize this full, conscious and active participation at Mass called for by the Second Vatican Council. We are also focusing our eff orts at the parish school on the centrality of the parish Mass.  This year the children will participate in all school Masses on Mondays and Fridays.  Monday’s Mass will be without music and Friday’s Mass will be with music.  Moreover, during my class visits at the school, I will be teaching about the various parts of the Mass in greater detail.

We are The Church of the Blessed Sacrament!
The Council speaking about the importance of sacred music states: “Th e musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater that that of any other art” (SC, 112).

Ad majorem Dei gloriam, -Fr. John F. Jirak, Pastor