March 2, 2014, The Eight Sunday in Ordinary Time

Last Thursday, February 20th, early in the morning as I was in the chapel, a text came across that we might have a new bishop. A few minutes later a Google Plus text popped up that we indeed had a new bishop. His name was Carl Kemme. As I left the chapel, I thought about making an announcement to the 6:30 am Mass goers. However, I held back because I didn't know how his name was pronounced. Was the second “e” pronounced or not pronounced. Maybe it was a short “e” and not a long “e.” I certainly did not want to mispronounce the name of my new boss.

After Mass, I headed down into Bishops Hall for our Thursday, Junior High Scripture Group. The religion teacher was waaayyyy excited! She enthusiastically approached me, “Did you hear about the Bishop.” I responded with a less than enthusiastic, yes, which kind of surprised me. As I listened to people celebrating the announcement of Bishop-elect Kemme, I did not really understand why I was not yet “feeling the joy.” My reserve started to shake off as I read his bio and found out that he was a farm boy; moreover, later in the day someone shared with me that he raised hogs! Oh my, this is good news! You can't go wrong with a hog farmer. :-)

Over the next several days I thought some about my hesitation to celebrate the appointment of a new bishop. For priests, the appointment of a bishop is the arrival of a new boss. A lot of our happiness is connected with our relationship with our boss, the bishop. Naturally, a number of questions arise in a priest’s mind on the appointment of a new bishop. Will he be a bishop that likes to move priests around?; Will he approve of the things that we are doing at our parish?; Will we relate to each other well?; Is he traditional or progressive?; and, of course, will he like K-State or KU?

It wasn't until Saturday, the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, that I realized the foolishness of my thinking. The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter is the celebration of Christ establishing the authority of the supreme authority of the Church, namely, the pope. The Gospel of the day is Mt. 16:18 where Christ tells Peter that he is the rock on which the Church will be built. Peter was given a special authority through the reception of the “keys.” It would be God’s plan to provide a shepherd’s care to each generation through the authority of the pope founded on the Chair of St. Peter.

It all became clear to me when Bishop-elect Kemme stated that he was humbled by Pope Francis’ choice in selecting him as the next Bishop of Wichita. This was how the good shepherd Jesus Christ was going to care for me and the people of our parish over the years to come. All of a sudden those questions about his style and background didn’t really matter anymore. Christ is at work shepherding us and, by the Chair of St. Peter through Pope Francis, we have been graced with Bishop-elect Carl Kemme. Of course, it doesn't hurt any that he was a hog farmer.

Ad majorem Dei gloriam, Fr. John F. Jirak

The Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - February 23, 2014

“Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Well, I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air; but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” 
1 Cor 9:25-27

There is something truly special about the Olympics. The games enthrall me. The stories, the skill, the sheer weight of a competition that only happens once every four years. I don’t think any other time you would find me standing and yelling at the TV during a cross country ski race. You definitely would not see any form of figure skating, but somehow even that catches my attention every Olympiad. There’s an element of admiration in the skill these athletes have. A definite respect for the work they've put in to even get there. A true sense of pride in our country.

What’s ironic is that these athletes are competing every year. There are circuits and world cups, qualifying and exhibitions, but I don’t pay any attention until there is a firehose of events at all hours on a couple channels. We fall into the same trap in our spiritual life. The big moments in our life get special attention. We fall on our knees and beg for guidance or strength, perseverance and courage. The rest of the time it’s humdrum. We should be in training. Always pushing, always growing, honing our techniques. Saints don’t spring out of the woodwork every 20 years, God creates new ones each day and He created one in you.

It’s true we don’t pay much attention to the athletes that finish out of the top ten. But even those competitors have done something astounding. I am quite sure that if you talk to them they are proud to have been on that stage, and they are hungry to get better for the next chance. We aren't in competition with St. Peter, or Francis, Agatha or Therese. These giants we will see on the podium. But I'd be darn happy to finish the race, and to be in their company, you can count on that. So catch some of the Olympics while they are still on. Then, get back to work, there is plenty of training to do before we are called up.

“Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his own fl esh will from the flesh reap corruption; be he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.” Gal 6:7-9
-Fr. Benjamin Green

Keep Your Kids Safe Online Presentation, Wednesday!

IMPORTANT:  Wednesday, 7PM, New Gym

Does your child have a smart phone, IPod Touch, tablet or computer?  Do you know what all those apps on those devices do?  Do you know what your child is doing on the internet, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, SnapChat, etc?  Who else is looking at your child's pictures and profile?  Learn how to protect your children and yourself from the pitfalls of the internet and social media.  Blessed Sacrament School's Student Activities Council is proud to present Rebecca Martin, and FBI agent, trained in this area.  Her presentation is amazing and so helpful in protecting our children.  Child care will be provided.  Middle school kids will receive a homework pass for the class of their choosing if their parent attends.  We look forward to seeing you. 

New Bishop of Wichita

"As Pope Francis' first Consistory revs up, the longest Stateside vacancy has likewise been resolved: at Roman Noon, Papa Bergoglio named Msgr Carl Kemme (left), 53, vicar-general of Springfield in Illinois, as bishop of Wichita.

In the Kansas post leading 125,000 Catholics – home to one of the nation's largest crops of seminarians, a rare tuition-free school system funded through active stewardship and all around, an unusually energized ecclesial hotspot – Kemme succeeds Michael Jackels, who was named archbishop of Dubuque last April in one of Francis' first major US appointments.

Having pastored five parishes in Illinois' capital church, Kemme – a product of St Louis' Kenrick Seminary – was named vicar-general by then-Bishop George Lucas in 2002, while keeping his full-time ministry in the trenches. After serving as diocesan administrator for the year between Lucas' 2009 transfer to Omaha and BishopThomas Paprocki's arrival, the "Holy Goalie" kept today's appointee as his top deputy.

In a tweet announcing the move, Paprocki said that Kemme's ordination is set for May 1st."

WHISPERS IN THE LOGGIA

February 16, 2014 - The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Each individual Christian and every community is called to be an instrument of God for the liberation and promotion of the poor, and for enabling them to be fully a part of society.  This demands that we be docile and attentive to the cry of the poor and to come to their aid.”
(Evangelii Gaudium 187)

This month you might feel like you are being hounded with requests for donations. There are a lot of groups doing various good works.  The Junior St. Vincent de Paul is having a warm clothing drive for the homeless; warm wool socks, hats and gloves are needed.  The Girl Scouts and grade school students are creatively
finding ways to raise money for the Walk in Sisters’ Shoes campaign. There are still spots left on the CYO mission trip.  If there are others, I apologize, I get a lot of emails. There is a temptation to shut it all out, or to give once and call it good.  I would like to encourage you on two fronts.  First, as such an integral part of the Gospel and of our evangelization it’s important that our children are raised with a concern for the poor.

These activities are a hands-on way for them to experience both the plight and the joy of doing something for the poor.  Each “drive” that you are asked to donate to means that these kids have been educated about some aspect of need in our society, and how their efforts mean something.  Why do the homeless need wool socks?  Well the homeless are out in the cold, do not have a lot of changes of clothes, and they need the properties of a wool sock that cotton socks don’t have. Second, the poor are not going to go away anytime soon.  These drives highlight a need, but you’ll notice other groups throughout the year.  The Knight’s of Columbus offer their brawn and brains.  The St. Vincent de Paul works tirelessly, often in the shadows, helping those in need.  Circles groups engage the effort in a very personal way. There is a fundamental need for us to address the issue of poverty. It can get overwhelming, and I know that eventually you might run out of “extra” to give to these groups, but persevere.  As long as the problem of poverty remains we have an obligation to address it.  I encourage you to take up the efforts yourself.  Join one of these groups, or get creative.  In the end we aren't throwing clothing, money, time, food, or whatever else at a problem, we are giving to a person.  We are giving to a very real, very serious need, that undermines the dignity of one of God’s loved ones.  Feel free to say no when you have to, as long as you can say yes, I have done what I can in my heart.

The Church has realized that the need to heed this plea is itself born of the liberating action of grace within each of us, and thus it is not a question of a mission reserved only to a few. “ The Church, guided by the Gospel of mercy and by love for mankind, hears the cry for justice and intends to respond to it with all her might.”  In this context we can understand Jesus’ command to his disciples: “You yourselves give them something to eat!” It means working to eliminate the structural causes of poverty and to promote the integral development of the poor, as well as small daily acts of solidarity in meeting the real needs which we encounter.  The word “solidarity” is a little worn and at times poorly understood, but it refers to something more than a few sporadic acts of generosity.  It presumes the creation of a new mindset which thinks in terms of community and the priority of the life of all over the appropriation of goods by a few. ” (Evangelii Gaudium 188) -Fr. Benjamin Green