One privilege of my ministry is meeting with families to help plan the funerals of their loved ones. I always learn something important from spending time with people during these sacred times in their lives. Recently we met with the family of Dave who I had not seen in many years. Their children grew up in our programs, but I had lost contact with them.

The first thing they wanted to share was a story. They said that many years ago Dave and his sister had a conversation about the fact she was having trouble praying, sharing that in the many words of her prayer, she was not connecting with God. She recalled Dave responded that in Family Program he had learned a prayer could be as simple as saying the name of Jesus, the person’s name you are praying for and close with the name of Jesus. So, she and Dave’s family had adopted that as a form of prayer in their life. It especially became a bond between the two grown siblings. She said, years later, as she sat with her brother while he was in hospice, this was how they prayed together, over and over again. Jesus. Dave. Jesus.

I hope you will not think less of me if I share that I don’t remember exactly teaching that prayer 30 years ago in Family Program. But I am sure we catechized about the power in the name of our God, Jesus Christ. The conversation reminded me to never underestimate what sharing faith from your heart can do in another person’s life.

It also reminded me of St. Theresa’s advice, “I (pray) like children who do not know how to read, I say very simply to God what I wish to say, without composing beautiful sentences, and He always understands me.” St. Theresa also is credited with advising, “Pray as you can, not as you can’t.” There are as many ways to pray as there are stars in the sky.

In Dave’s case, it was, as a friend affectionately called it, a “Jesus Sandwich.” Doesn’t this reflect what we hear in Scripture? “And whatever you ask in my name, that I will do…If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:13-14)

I think Dave’s sister was not believing her “Jesus Prayer” was a magical formula, but it was expressing her trust in Jesus and how she was lovingly entrusting her brother into God’s care. It is a commitment to live God’s will, even if it is not understandable to us in the moment. It is a prayer of surrender to God’s authority in our lives.

Dave learned something that he could have kept to himself. But he was a witness of faith by simply sharing the prayer he was given. The prayer from his heart became a lasting gift to others.

Jesus. Dave. Jesus. Rest in peace, Dave.

One night last week I couldn’t sleep. So I got up way too early and went to my desk in my home office. I thought I may as well get some work done. To be honest, I was not happy as I sat in the dark with only the light from my computer, feeling chilly, and thinking this winter of short cold days is getting old. I was definitely thinking crabby thoughts. It was too early to get up but my mind was crowded with concerns about people I love, unresolved issues to be faced, the all too quickly passing of time, the lack of peace in the world…

The monkey chatter in my mind was interrupted by a sound that I didn’t expect in the cold dark winter morning. Through the window I faintly heard a bird chirp and I smiled. Daylight is on its way, the earth is moving toward light and warmth, my life is not a problem to be solved but a holy mystery to move through with trust and hope. A bird chirping in February was a graced call to remember this.

Sometimes one small thing can change everything.

Recently a book was published called Born Survivors. It is an inspiring story about three women, torn from their husbands, all sent to concentration camps. They were able to hide their pregnancies, which revealed would have meant immediate death to them and their unborn children. Despite unthinkable conditions and malnourishment, in the last days of Nazi Germany, they gave birth and the three babies, now in their 80’s, survive to this day.

There was so much about their stories that were heartbreakingly sad and unbelievably heroic, as well as a testimony to the human spirit and sacrificial love. But one scene especially stayed with me. One of the women said she saw her husband only once after they were taken prisoners. For a brief moment, from across the camp, they were close enough that she could hear him say to her, “Stay strong and only think good thoughts.”

That is remarkable. Experiencing the depth of cruelty humanity is capable of, he gave his wife and unborn child this gift of the call to goodness, in a loving thought that still inspires 80 years later.

Isn’t this how our God comes to us? In the bleakest times. In the cold lonely moments. In the one bird’s reminder of the turning of warmth and light. In a few words from someone who loves you to rise above malevolence.

May a bird chirp for you when the winter seems too long. May someone give you words of goodness to hold fast to in the world’s darkness. May these small and great miracles remind us of a God who loves us in the mundane state of tired crabbiness and will find a way to give us a lifeline of hope and find a shred of goodness for each other when we are most lost. 

My brother gave a talk at his church. In it he said:

“I grew up on the East Coast and Midwest amongst parishes, schools, relatives, and holidays that were Catholic as far as the eye could see. It was a loving, if ineffable, God at the center of it all.”

My siblings and I were impressed with his word choice, “ineffable.” Our dad always had an appreciation of a good “word choice.” 

As I reflected on his description of our religious upbringing, I had to agree. We learned who God was through a kind of osmosis. Our parochial education and extended family kept us mainly in circles of people who all believed the same things and held the same world view, as well as the after-life possibilities of heaven and hell.

One thing we knew for sure: God was God. We thanked Him for our food before meals and for our blessings at bedtime. We worshiped Him on Sunday. We knew Jesus died an awful death on the cross for us. We loved His mother and she loved us.

The God that I grew up knowing was more mystery than definable. More known though sacrament and symbol than conversation in prayer. More caretaker than companion. This wasn’t all bad. As my brother said, we grew up believing, trusting and loving a God who loved us.

I looked up the definition of ineffable, “too great or extreme to be expressed in words.” It denotes qualities that transcend human comprehension. I think it is a good thing to believe that God is so holy and has a love for us that is so intense and beautiful it cannot be expressed in words. It signifies the respect we should have for the fundamental gap between the magnitude of the divine and the limits of human expression and comprehension.

Looking back, I do wish we had learned more about Jesus from reading and reflecting on Scripture. I think my relationship with Jesus has flourished more since I have learned this practice. I am grateful as an adult to live every day with an awareness of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, promised to be with me always. I believe the Holy Spirit guides me with gifts of knowledge, understanding, wisdom and courage, given to me at Baptism. I have learned these gifts are available for me to call upon every day.

More than anything, I am grateful that my faith was cultivated as a mystery of unfathomable love. It was a blessing lasting a lifetime. I just hope I have passed it on to those in my care so they will know whatever the question, our God will answer it with love though we may not have the vision to know or see it until we are finally home with our ineffable God.

November is a soulful spiritual month in the Catholic heart. How could it not be, when the first day recognizes saints and the second day remembers souls?

November begins with saints. We honor the men and women we believe are exemplars of lives well lived. They remind us, our life mission is simply to love God above all things in our own unique way. Like Saint Francis, who taught peace and simplicity. Saint Joseph, who demonstrated unmitigated devotion to Mary and Jesus. Saint Therese of Lisieux, who invited us to do little things with great love and who inspired Saint Teresa of Calcutta, who loved the dirty, dying poor as if each one was her precious child. Saint Maximilian Kolbe, who in the concentration camp said, “Let me take the place to die for this man. He has a family.” Or Saint Mary, Mother of God, who simply said, yes, her fiat, to love, no matter the cost.

The month moves into the second day, remembering the souls who we have known, loved and lost from this world. We stand with those who grieve, who so bravely move on though the way is difficult, the time disorienting and the nights lonely. They do it for the sake of those who are left. The bereaved embody what courage means – to know no light but move forward because all we have is the next step, the next day, and for the sake of the gift of life they still have.

The month moves forward darkening. The days become shorter. The air chills. The colors of October literally fall and we are faced with the reality of the memory of winter reawakening. Between us and summer, there are boots, driving in the snow and even shorter days. But as beings of hope we begin to open our mind and heart to the unique gifts of the coming season- holiday lights making up for the natural darkness, the wonder of a white snow filled morning, a cup of hot chocolate and the cozy lure of warm homes and the peace of restful long nights.

And just when you think, “Yikes, winter is going to be long and cold,” the secular world calls out and says, “Wait. Give thanks for all you have been given!” And we collectively, as a people, count our blessings. One by one we remember all we have been given- family who treasure us, home to shelter us, food to sustain us, friends to remind us to laugh. We give thanks for the Christian community who faithfully tell the story of a God who loved us so, born in poverty, with only the love of a young mother and a loyal stepfather to survive in this world. That is a God who exemplifies radical trust.

Finally, on the last day of this month we begin Advent, waiting in joyful hope to remember, above all else, God who loved us into being, lived so we can become saints here on earth and one day souls together in the Kingdom of peace and justice.

Know I wish you and your family the soul and grace of these days. May this Thanksgiving be a celebration of all God’s generous blessings in your life. 

Have you wondered about our theme this year? Why, Open the Door, and to what? The theme is inspired by this being a special year! 2025 was officially proclaimed by Pope Francis as a Jubilee Year, also known as a Holy Year, which is a special year of grace traditionally occurring every 25 years.

The Jubilee Year & the Holy Door are deeply intertwined concepts in Catholicism. The Holy Door is a ceremonial entrance in each of the Vatican’s four major basilicas- opened only during Jubilee years. Pilgrims come to cross the threshold of these doors. The practice encourages Catholics to reflect on their journey of faith and place their trust in God’s promises. The Holy Door and the Jubilee Year serve as powerful reminders of God’s abundant mercy & forgiveness. It is a call for Catholics to embark on a spiritual journey of conversion, renewal and deeper communion with Christ.

Most significantly, the Holy Door can remind us, Jesus himself, is referred to as the “door” through which we are saved. May it encourage us to center our life to follow and be guided by Christ.

One thing that came to mind when I thought about our theme was a little story about a boy named Josh who had been bullied. By some grace he had the idea to respond by adopting one simple act, opening the door to fellow students. At first his gesture was not understood but in time, through doing this, he opened up relationships with his peers. Josh took opening the door literally and it opened the hearts of his classmates and changed the culture of the school. I began to reflect on how differently I feel when simply greeted by a smile or not. How would our families, our communities, our Church, our lives be changed by such simple things as a smile, a warm greeting, a kind word, or an open door?

The most important question is, will this theme have meaning to each of us? What doors is Jesus opening for you? What doors does Jesus call you to open?

This year’s theme is an invitation to open doors to opportunities and graces offered by Christ to us in any given day.

“Another week of Bible Camp in the books!” said Tasha Baures, who capably led our Bible Camp this year, with our dedicated Faith Formation staff Lea Boyd, Ann Grunwaldt, Debbie Kusch, Michelle Lukas and incredibly wonderful volunteers, especially Ann Fons, Jack and Maribeth Blankenheim, as well as many fabulous leaders of every age from middle school through our retired gifted pros.

A parishioner, whose children are in their 40’s, said to me that she sent her children to Vacation Bible School as it was known at the time, the only place it was offered, at the Lutheran Church.VBS has been a tradition in Protestant churches for decades. We Catholics are latecomers to this model of catechesis. But we are catching up quite well.

Often as Catholics, we gave prayer books, statues and medals as gifts. While these were, and are, great gifts, children were rarely gifted a Bible, and certainly Scripture was an afterthought in a catechetical lesson. We weren’t taught this is a library, preserving a legacy of our ancestors in faith and how it is a chronicle of Salvation History. We weren’t shown the beauty of the poetry of God’s Word. The biggest compliment I hear about a homily is “Father made it sound like the readings related to my life.” When actually everything in Scripture relates to our life! I believe that was the point of God’s Holy Spirit inspiring the writers. 

So, why is Bible Camp, as we call it today, valuable and important?

1.) It presents the narratives in Scripture as accounts that give us lessons for life today; the importance of being brave for our faith like in David and Goliath, reminding us how to listen to God and do hard things as Moses and of learning from the Master Teacher, Jesus, that the bonds of death are broken by his Resurrection.

2.) It presents these lessons of our faith through a joyful, vibrant methodology.

3.) If a child participates in most years of childhood, they have 50 Scripture stores in their minds and in their hearts laced with memories of warm relationships.

4.) It is an intergenerational experience, where all ages are learning and teaching, from preschoolers to octogenarians.

5.) It vitalizes our spirituality by combining song, story, art, games, memorization, beauty, nature, and snacks into a summer experience of learning and fun.

6.) It creates community. Relationships are formed between our Catholic school children and Family Program children, between new parishioners and longstanding members and between staff and volunteers.

7.) It is a leadership development program where middle school, high school and all ages of adults work side by side to catechize and share our faith.

8.) It deepens the knowledge, understanding and inspiration found in the Bible, God’s Living Word, meant to inspire us each and every day.

9.) It helps our children come to know our God who loves them dearly.

Bible Camp is something every parish should support, and every family should prioritize.

My 1^st grade granddaughter was talking to her mom after Bible camp and asked, “Mom, are we Israelites?”

It was a great week. We all learned a lot. But I guess we have more work to do. Hope to see you part of this wonderful week next year!

“We have a Pope.” As the white smoke came billowing out of the Sistine Chapel, everyone in the parish offices waited, as I am sure many of you did, for the announcement made from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. And we met our new Pope Leo XIV.

We certainly have a God of surprises! An American citizen. A Peruvian citizen. An Augustinian friar. His chosen name, associated with Pope Leo XIII and a legacy of social justice. The Holy Spirit sent us someone we perhaps least expected, but most need.

I have led a series of discussions about this new leader in our Church. Here are some of the observations that surfaced:

1.) This pope is an unexpected gift to our Church! He is a leader who understands our American culture but has lived among the poor for two decades. His life experiences include both the blessings and challenges of those who are materially comfortable but may suffer from “time-poverty” and those who lack in basic human needs but are rich in trust in God.

2.) He desires to unite us in peace as a human family. I treasure his first words to the world in his “Urbi et orbi” blessing, “Peace be with you all.” In this, our new leader echoed the first words the Risen Christ spoke to his bewildered despairing disciples. Pope Leo XIV prayed that this peace would enter our hearts, reach our families and all people. The sentiments I heard repeated were how in need we are of a peacemaker and a leader who can unite our world that is divided in so many ways.

I think often of how our present culture is dividing families with different ideologies, spiritualities and priorities. I worry about, what I think of as, a “crisis of busyness.” Our families have so little unstructured time just to be with each other. I believe we will ultimately treasure, not what we have, but the time we have spent together. I know my heart is most at peace when I am with the people I love and when I am in prayer and fully trusting God with my life.

3.) Several people noted how he looked when he came out to greet us. They mentioned the emotion they felt they could read in his expressions of appreciation and love. One journalist described it as his “receptivity.” Several told me they were moved by his smile and “open-hearted” expression. If body language can be interpreted, he surely exuded humility and gratitude.  I felt a quiet serene warmth he held for us.

St. Augustine said, “Our heart is restless until it rests in you, O Lord.” In a culture that seems to be in a hurry to do more, have more, be more, the leader of our Church offered us to rest in the Peace of Christ. Our God longs for us to quiet ourselves and be open to that peace of heart. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for Pope Leo XIV!

Watch the video of Pope Leo XIV below to reflect with him, as Fr. Robert Prevost, on how St. Augustine’s teachings are still relevant in our lives today.

Recently, for a grant, I was asked to imagine the Sacraments of Initiation for Children in a Catechumenate Model. We were to imagine Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation, lived in our Church the way we experience OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, previously called RCIA).

The point was to challenge us to think of Sacrament as a not as a one moment event, but from the perspective of using a Catechumenal Formation Model: Preparation-Celebration-Mystagogy.

I found this an easy thing to do. While not using the language of the Catechumenate model we indeed have implemented it! Our parish does our best to involve preparing our children and parents creatively in their families and the parish, to make our celebrations occasions of great joy and beauty and do everything we can to continue unfolding of the significance of the Sacrament – in mystagogy, offering many experiences to lead to a deeper understanding of the mystery of faith and the meaning of the Sacrament celebrated.

This weekend we are delighted that 60 of our children will celebrate their First Holy Communion.

Led by Michelle Lukas, their preparation has been extensive and vibrant! Children are in a catechetical class for one to four years prior, from 3-K but not later than 1^st grade to begin what is called Remote Preparation. Here is Michelles’ summary of their Immediate Preparation:

• A parent/child evening session: Children worked with catechists while Fr. Mark talked with parents. He emphasized the importance of what families do and how we practice our faith. Parents shared some of the meaningful traditions of their childhoods as well as the traditions within our their families now. Children learned about the Last Supper, the Real Presence in the Eucharist, discussed the Apostles Creed, completed a bread shaped puzzle with the parts of the Mass, and practiced their special song that they sing at their First Communion during Mass.

• Bread Baking Retreat: Many parents (and other parishioners) helped the children bake bread and participate in other activities to prepare for their celebration of First Communion. Then, families joined their First Communicants for a special prayer as they shared their freshly baked bread followed by a picnic lunch together. Thank you to Christine Baar for leading the bread baking.

• With their parents, children decorated their First Communion candles at home and said a special prayer.

• Children and parents worked together to complete a workbook, giving them an opportunity to discuss different parts of the Mass and our Catholic traditions together at home.

A special feature this year was for each child to create a Sacrament Memory Box, an idea first conceived by Fr. Mark and Fr. Tony and developed by Michelle. Each child created their Memory Box, as a keepsake. This will be a special place to keep things to hold Sacrament memories. The children decorated their box on their retreat day to look like stained glass, reminiscent of the tradition of stained glass in our church. They were given 7 stickers to represent the 7 sacraments inside their boxes to continue to decorate their boxes at home and write the dates of their sacraments on the box.

Congratulations to our First Communicants who will now join us at the Table of the Lord. Thank you to Michelle Lukas for leading their preparation, to Fr. Tony and Fr. Mark, their teacher, Alyssa Cloherty, catechists Kris Ponzi and Anna and Nick De Bakker and helpers for all the time, faith and care, they put into preparing our children to receive their First Holy Communion.

One thing I deeply love about being Catholic is the sense of being part of a big family. Our family is now mourning the passing of Pope Francis, who most identified as being a pastor. We live in a world that deeply needs that all-embracing pastoral love. We have lost our leader, but it feels more like losing a holy, wise, caring grandparent.

The work of mourning is remembering. To “re-member” is to put ourselves back together after loss. What I choose to remember are the images of Pope Francis that I treasure: him wanting to pay his own bill leaving the hotel after being elected Pope; his first words to the faithful, “Pray for me;” him moving to Casa Santa Marta, the humble smaller guesthouse residence rather than the extravagant papal apartments; him leaving his motorcade on a tarmac to kiss a child with cerebral palsy and then with that compassionate heart, seeing what others miss, acknowledging the parents who cared for this child day in and day out and who must have moved heaven and earth to get their son there. And I choose to remember his last generous act of love to come out on Easter Sunday to be with people as if to say, “I love you” one last time.

What I most hold dear about Pope Francis is his humility. Krista Tippett, the religious journalist, said, “Spiritual humility… is about approaching everything and everyone else with a readiness to see goodness and to be surprised. This is the humility of a child, which Jesus lauded… It has a lightness of step, not a heaviness of heart.” She, as well as other spiritual leaders have noted, humility is not to lower our opinion of ourselves, but to elevate our regard for others. Humility is not about me getting small but encouraging others to be big and creating a climate where that is more likely to happen. It is our spiritual work, to create an opening for others to be big, to transform the heaviness of the heart for mercy and understanding. 

As we mourn the passing of Pope Francis, we do so in the context of trust of the Advocate promised in Scripture. May the Holy Spirit send us another leader so humble and compassionate! May God send us another minister of mercy! May we remember the leader who never leaves us, Jesus Christ, so humble himself, to be born in a manger and die on a cross for us. How loved we have been by Pope Francis! How loved we are by our God!

Eternal rest grant to Francis, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

In catechizing about Pentecost with our young children and their families, we discussed how the Apostles huddled in the Upper Room and were simply afraid after Jesus died, even after they knew he rose from the dead. They didn’t know how to move forward. They were known for being followers, not leaders, and now with their leader gone, they had no idea what the plan was. They were afraid, as the Scripture story tells us, until the Holy Spirit came upon them. As we expressed it with the children, with the power of the Holy Spirit, they became “brave” and from that day on they shared Jesus’ story, life and love, so others would be followers, from generation to generation, continuing to today, with us.

Shortly after our lesson I spoke with one of our moms going through cancer treatment. She spoke with such courage about how well her chemo was going, just one treatment to go! Only to share she will then begin radiation and surgery. I thought…this is what it means to be brave. I could almost see the Holy Spirit hovering over her, filling her. I know having talked with her and her family, she believes that her secret power is the power of prayer, of her prayer and all of us praying for her.

I ran into another mom I love, who is on a journey of grieving a great loss. Her heart was broken but she was carrying on. I know she is taking it only “one day at a time” but I also know each day she is brave. Each day she is holding on, trusting God, moving forward, for the sake of those she loves.

These conversations made me think of how the Scripture continues to be the Living Word of God and I wondered if we are not that different from the Apostles. Without a relationship with the Holy Spirit how brave are we? How strong are we? We have just our own strength, our own limited courage, knowledge, understanding, but with the Holy Spirit we each can be brave to face our own hardships, crosses, challenges. Jesus promised us a “helper.” He never expected we could face life on our own.

As we move through Lent, it is great to allow the Lenten practices and sacrifices to soften our hearts. But what would it mean for this Lent if we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit to change us, to make us brave like my friends, to face our challenges believing in the power of prayer? What if, like the Apostles, we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit to not only follow Jesus, but lead others to His heart of love?