398th Mass

A year ago today I celebrated my first "solo" Mass. If you count my ordination Mass as one and that Mass as two, then today I celebrated Mass number 398. In the spirit of the post below, here is what I wrote about my first Mass. I think the last line is as true today as it was then.

June 30, 2007
First Holy Mass

My Mass of Ordination did not seem to end. As soon as we processed out, we went back to the sanctuary for pictures and blessings with our families. The blessings and greetings continued into the reception hall. When that was over, I barely had time for a bite to eat, and we were off to celebrate my Mass of Thanksgiving, which took the place of a 4pm Saturday Mass at a parish that knew me. I was thinking to myself, as we arrived 20 minutes before the Mass, that I had made a mistake scheduling my Mass this early in the afternoon. I had wanted time to rehearse with the acolytes, to go over the Mass in my head, and to iron out last-minute details. I did not have the time, but I did have a sacristy full of priests.
"Fr. Jim, we forgot my chalice in the car, here are the keys." "Fr. Joel, make sure that Mom and Dad know they are bringing up the gifts, and also Grammy and Grandpap...and John is supposed to read the second reading, make sure he knows this and is prepared." "Fr. Jim, take the chalice and paten to the back, they come up with the gifts." In no time we were standing the back of the church, and then processing up the aisle, and then I was standing at the front of the church, looking at all the faces. I thought to myself, "Everyone is waiting for me to begin, and I don't have the book in front of me." Then I thought, "I've been to Mass before, I know how this goes."
"In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

As I sat back in the chair and listened to the readings, I thought to myself "If the Spirit lets go of me, I will crumble into dust." The readings flowed into the Gospel, and the Gospel flowed into the homily, and we were carried along by the ritual. After the Mass, I called my mother up to give her the maniturgium. After a priest is ordained, he wipes the oils from his hands onto a cloth. There is a custom that he gives this cloth to his mother, and when she dies it is placed in her casket. That way, when she appears before the heavenly gates, she appears carrying this cloth, as a sign that she gave God a priest.

Another moving moment for me was when I turned to introduce the priests who had concelebrated with me, and who represented all nine years of my formation. Fr. Joel, my twin brother, who was discerning priesthood when I first began to think about it, Fr. Richard, my first pastor when I became Catholic, Fr. Paul, who was with me at St. John Vianney Seminary, Fr. Tom, who was pastor for my internship, Fr. Tom, who was vocation director for my final years in seminary, Fr. Jim, who was with me at the North American College, Fr. James Conn, who taught me at the Gregorian University in Rome, and Msgr. John Dewane, a retired priest from the Green Bay Diocese who works as a spiritual director in Rome. It reminded me of my reflection at the time of ordination, that I was sharing in the spirit of the priests who had gone before me, since we all share in the priesthood of Jesus Christ and in his Holy Spirit. During the Mass I had thought that if the Spirit let me go, I would collapse into dust, but the Spirit did not let me go, and to this day he has not let me go.

Ordination (one year later)

I was reflecting on my own ordination a little this week, because I attended the ordination of three new priests for the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin. It was a beautiful and powerful ceremony, and not only the rite itself was powerful. The young men were surrounded by their family and friends, by deacons and seminarians who studied with them, by fellow priest of La Crosse and by priests from far and wide who knew them or had studied with them. It was obvious that this ordination was not just an action of the bishop but of the Catholic (universal) church, begging God to send his Spirit that these men might become priests.

In this spirit, I would like to repeat what I wrote shortly after my own ordination to the priesthood:


June 30th, 2007

When I woke up on June 29th, the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, I woke up excited. The next day, I was going to be a priest. Of course, for nine years I had been studying and praying to prepare for the priesthood, but it was always a goal that was far off. On Friday morning it was right in front of me and I was thrilled. I went to deacon the morning Mass at the church of St. Peter and Paul, and I floated back to the rectory. Fortunately I calmed down as the day went along.

Saturday morning the weather was absolutely beautiful. The cathedral was in a bustle as the last minute preparations were being completed, including a few interviews with the local media personnel. The Bishop took some time with Joel and Andy and me. He blessed the stoles that my mother had made and prayed with us before the ceremony began. The cathedral was packed with friends and family who had accompanied us on our long journeys towards the priesthood. They smiled and some waved as we processed in, and they applauded loudly when we were called for the Order of the Priesthood.

In his homily, the bishop talked about how Jesus had called the first Apostles, after having consulted with his Heavenly Father. He said that even the Lord himself would never have done something important without consulting with the Father, and naturally neither should we. He offered to us the same two instructions which Jesus had give to his first disciples: remain with him and preach the good news. Remain with Jesus in prayer and in the sacraments, and preach the Gospel of Jesus, never our own opinions or prejudices.

For me, the most powerful moment was when the priests were laying hands on us. I closed my eyes and imagined that the long procession of priests included those from the whole diocese, and those from all throughout the great history of the Church who served God with a generous heart and loved the people. I imagined that each priest was praying that the spirit which had rested on him and given life to his ministry would pass to me and sustain me to serve the needs of the Church today.

Another powerful moment was praying the words of consecration at the altar for the first time, trusting that it was not all a masquerade and that the Spirit of God had truly transformed me into a priest.

When the ceremony was over my mother rushed up, very moved, and gave Fr. Joel and I a great big hug. "Can I give you my blessing?" I asked her. "Yes," she said, "I would love that." I was no longer only her son, I had become a priest for her and for the Church.

Homily for June 29

June29 - Brothers in the Faith
June 29th is the feast of St. Peter & St. Paul. They were very different men, but both were motivated by a love for God and his Gospel. As we enter the Pauline Year, St. Paul can teach us three things:
Follow the Truth Always
Preach the Gospel Constantly
We must be willing to Die for the Faith
[Readings][iTunes]

Wall-E

I just came back from an early showing of the spectacular new PIXAR film "WALL-E". I have to confess that I am a big fan of Pixar films. They have a genius for attention to detail and for creating compelling characters with real personality. Wall-E is no exception. It opens on the planet Earth in approximately the year 2800. The huge corporate conglomerate B-n-L (Buy n Large) is cleaning up mountains of trash left on planet Earth. At least, they began the clean-up, but now only one little robot is left working. Meanwhile, as we have made the planet uninhabitable, the last remaining humans are out in space. They float around on flying chairs with screens in front of them, imprisoned by their own sedentariness. The world unfolds slowly following a day in the life of Wall-E. He has developed a creative curiosity that begins to affect everyone he meets.

People who have studied Theology of the Body will be amazed by the unfolding plot. In the midst of his solitude, Wall-E is suddenly confronted with a new being, a dangerous but fascinating robot on some kind of special mission. The plot hinges on the 'gift of life' which must be guarded and protected. In the midst of a depressing future, life brings not only hope but also a new creation.

Our particular showing was interrupted mid-way by technical difficulties. At first I thought it was intentional -- in the film, the humans discover themselves only when their ever-present entertainment screen is interrupted. Our audience experienced the same thing and were frustrated by it. The boy in front of me whipped out his cell phone and started playing games. Perhaps modern man cannot live without a screen in front of him. As a final kind of irony, movie goers were offered a free Chinese-made Wall-E watch (pictured above), with advertisements for an upcoming Disney movie. You might think that promoters would avoid giving out junk when the movie is about the build-up of trash. Ultimately, the bleak backdrop of a trashed world is overcome by a love that is willing to welcome life. I highly recommend this movie. WALL-E is all about what it means to be human.

Favorite YouTube Clips: Men's brains vs. Women's brains

This clip is really funny, because it's all true!

Mark Gungor - Men's brains vs. Women's brains

School's out forever

It has been a significant amount of time since my last post, mainly because I have been studying for my final comprehensive exams in Canon Law, which involved both written exams and oral exams. The written exams were three sessions of an hour and fifteen minutes each. We started at 8:30 in the morning and we wrapped up at about 12:30. The exam questions weren't particularly complicated (particulars about religious life, about the canonical trial for examining marriage, missionary work of the Church, Catholic universities). There were three sessions, and each session had two questions we could choose from. It finished at 12:30.

After that exam, I went back to study for my oral comprehensive exams. In between the study I went through my room and sorted between the good and the bad, as Jesus will do at the end of time. Those things that I would want in my future life I packed up to ship home. Everything else was given away to seminarians or went into the garbage. It is a good feeling to let go of notes from my first couple years of classes in Rome, and to think about how much I have seen and done and studied since those first days.

The other indispensable task was getting together with friends from Rome to talk to say goodbye. I expect one of these days I will be back to visit, and many of them will still be living here.

Wednesday I had my final oral exam at 6pm. Three professors sat at desks in the same room; three students came in for the exam. We sat for fifteen minutes before switching to a second professor and then a third. They are allowed to ask me on the whole Code of Canon Law, but they stayed with their own area of expertise. One asked on the power of the bishop and his role in the diocese in respect to the Pope and to the priests, the second asked on the competence of Tribunals and the beginning of an ecclesial trial, and the third asked on what conditions sacraments can be offered to non-Catholics. It went very well, more like a conversation that a grilling.

As I walked out to meet some friends for dinner I must admit that I didn't look back at the University where I spent four years. It felt just like going out for another evening in Rome. Life goes on.

Homily for June 8

TPA10 Changed by a Meal with Jesus
When we eat with people, we share a little of their life. Jesus loves to eat with people, and today Matthew is changed by sharing a meal with Jesus. Do we allow our hearts to be touched by the Eucharist? Or do we simply go through the ritual, and then walk away unchanged?
[Readings][iTunes]

Homily for June 1

TPA9 Built on the Rock of Jesus
Today's Gospel is the end of the Sermon on the Mount. In it, Jesus warns his followers to not only hear his words but also to put them into action. This is what it takes to build our lives on Jesus. What will you depend on when the storms of life come? {Sorry the recording is so poor}
[Readings][iTunes]