To My Spiritual Family of Holy Redeemer and St. Anthony,
St. Therese of Lisieux: Today – October 1st – is the feast day of St. Therese of Lisieux (+ 1897). When a saint’s feast day falls on a Sunday, it is “suppressed.” In other words, we do not celebrate it in the Church’s liturgy because the Sunday celebration always takes precedence. Nonetheless, I cannot let this day pass without acknowledging my good friend and heavenly patroness, St. Therese of Lisieux! I became enamored with her story as a young man, I was able to visit her shrine and her childhood home while I was a seminarian, and when I was ordained a priest, I chose her and St. Catherine of Siena to be my particular intercessors (along with my own name saint, St. Stephen the Protomartyr). She is an awesome saint! Today, I ask Therese to pray for all of you and to draw you ever closer into Christ’s embrace! We love that St. Therese is the patron saint of Walking with Purpose.
Ignite the Fire: I recently put out a call on Flocknote for stories of how God is working to ignite the fire at Holy Redeemer. It’s incredibly uplifting to hear these “glory stories.” In the midst of our cultural chaos and woe, God is doing a work. His grace is always active and alive! You and I are tasked with being God’s instruments in this effort. Our job is to “Invite to Ignite!” Here are three proven ways to accomplish this: (1) Pray for family or friends who are far away from Christ or are in need of particular assistance; (2) Ask someone you encounter how you can pray for them; (3) Volunteer to pick up an elderly or ailing friend as you travel to Mass. Invite to Ignite! And please, share with me your “glory stories!”
Prayers for your Priests: The greatest privilege of being a priest is having the opportunity to offer the sacraments, especially Confession and the Mass. From the quiet beauty of our early morning Masses, to the rush of our Christmas and Easter Confession times, to the solemnity of our funeral rites, it is a profound blessing to walk with you on our journey toward heaven. Fr. Rick and I continue to be so grateful for the many prayers that you offer for each of us and for all of our diocesan priests. There is no secret to the fact that the devil wants to discredit and destroy the Catholic Church and her priests. We can wonder at how many priests who have fallen into serious sin, lost their faith, caused scandal/ harm, or left their ministry would not have done so if more members of their flock were intentionally praying for them. Your prayers are like a wall of protection. They are also a comfort and a solace. Thank you! Your every prayer means so much!
Valiant: Recently, on the feast day of the Korean martyrs, I was struck by the wording of the closing prayer at Mass: “Nourished with the food of the valiant . . . we humbly ask you O Lord, that clinging faithfully to Christ, we may labor in the Church for the salvation of all.” The valiant. What an evocative description! It makes me wonder, though. Are you and I living our faith in a way that others would describe as valiant? Are we – like the martyrs – willing to lay down our lives for the salvation of souls? If not, why not? These are not easy questions to answer, but questions that we definitely should grapple with. I may not be there, but I want to be valiant for Christ. May the Eucharist strengthen us to be filled with every virtue!
God bless you all. Go out there and be a saint!
Mary, Mother of the Redeemer – Pray for us! Our Lady of Guadalupe – Pray for us! St. Anthony – Pray for us! St. Joseph – Pray for us!