Pastor’s Columns

• GIVE POOR PARENTING A TIME OUT February 15, 2012

  This is a reprint of my column from three years ago which a very few of you may remember. It consists of excerpts from an interview given by Barbara Coloroso to U.S. Catholic Magazine. I thought it deserved a rerun because it contains a lot of wisdom. Please share it with parents still raising children.

• Many appalled at President Obama’s attempt to violate the conscience of good American Catholics February 10, 2012

  Regardless of whether our political affiliation is democrat, republican or independent, or whether we are for or against contraception or sterilization, we should be, I believe, outraged at the government’s attempt to force Catholic institutions and individuals to buy into a healthcare plan that violates their conscience.
  

• Annual Catholic Appeal Next Weekend February 3, 2012

  Next weekend is Catholic Appeal Sunday in the 90+ parishes and missions in our nine county diocese. If you are a regular in our parish, you have most likely received a letter from the diocese regarding Catholic Appeal.
  
  For those of you who are new to our parish, Catholic Appeal is the way all the parishes of our diocese join together to fund the administration and ministries of our central office: the department that oversees all the construction going on in parishes; Finance Department for parish finances and audits; Liturgy Department for the worship life of the parishes and diocese; Marriage and Family Life Department for marriage enrichment and pre-Cana program (couples planning for marriage); Office of Schools and Religious Education for the forty Catholic schools in our diocese and the faith formation programs in each parish, including youth ministry; the department for the formation of seminarians and ongoing formation of clergy; Human Resources for personnel issues of parishes and the diocese; fingerprinting department; Catholic Charities; and our Sister Diocese in the Dominican Republic. (I may have omitted some departments or diocesan ministries.) Overseeing the life of 90+ parishes is a big job. It requires many skilled personnel.
  
  

• Why we need Catholics schools more than ever January 27, 2012

  The following article by Archbishop Dolan of New York appeared in the September 2010 issue of America magazine. It is an excellent article. I hope you not only read it, but share it with family members with young children.

  
  
  When St. Paul describes the gifts God has given the church, he includes teaching among the most important (1 Cor 12:28). No surprise there. “Go teach!” was the final mandate of Jesus. History has long taught that without teachers to announce the Gospel and educate the young, the church struggles to survive. Evangelization through good teaching is essential to Catholic life. Pastoral leaders in developing nations say that Catholic education is what attracts people to Jesus and his church. When it comes to education, nobody has a better track record than the church.
  
  

• Converted Hearts January 20, 2012

  The following article appeared in the January 2012 issue of Columbia, the monthly magazine of the Knights of Columbus. It was written by Carolee McGrath, a freelance writer.
  

  In the early 1980s, Dr. Anthony Levatino saw abortion as just part of his job as an obstetrician-gynecologist. He estimates that in five years he performed 1,200 abortions. In medical school, he said, doctors quickly learn to compartmentalize aspects of their work.

• Not just one call but many -- Not just once but often January 13, 2012

  Reflecting on today’s readings, Patricia Sanchez writes:
  

  
  For the next few moments, allow your memory’s muse to carry you back through the years to the time when you were just “starting out in life.” Recall
  those entries under your picture in your high school yearbook; included among your achievements and the activities in which you participated was a mention of your future aspirations. Some of us were intent on being teachers, others doctors or nurses, some were headed for the military, business or law school and a variety of other fields and professions. Now, ask yourself, has your life evolved as you had thought it would? Have you fulfilled those youthful aspirations or do you find that you have been called by God in directions other than what you had planned? Whenever I pose these questions to the adults in the classes I teach, their responses are invariably similar.
  Their lives have been filled with people and places, challenges and opportunities quite different than what they had initially expected.
  

• A Star Still Beckons: Our Journey with the Magi January 6, 2012

  The following reflection is by Sr. Catherine Looker, S.S.J., D. Min., Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia. The article is from the January 2010 edition of St. Anthony Messenger.
  
  

  The wise travelers from the East, who brought gifts to the Christ Child, displayed great life skills anyone can emulate throughout the year.
  

• Catholic Beliefs About Mary December 31, 2011

  Over the years, few Catholic beliefs have caused Protestants and prospective converts problems more than our beliefs about the Mother of Jesus. The only reason the Catholic Church honors (not worships) Mary is because God honored her in a unique way...

• Returning to the Sacraments December 23, 2011

  Recently, I was blessed to meet Kate Midden who had quietly started to return to church this past summer. After listening to Kate’s story, I told her I believed that her journey home to the church could touch many others, and asked if she would be willing to put her story in our Christmas bulletin. Kate agreed. Here is her story.
  
  

  My father was raised a Catholic and my mother converted to Catholicism when they married. My six brothers and I went to church every Sunday and Holy Day, confession every week, attended Catholic school when we could and CCD when Catholic school wasn’t available (my Dad was in the military so we moved often). I was a joy to my parents. I was proud of being a Catholic and I considered being a nun when I grew up.
  

• DAVID, PAUL AND MARY December 16, 2011

  I assume you have heard of the famous singing trio— Peter, Paul and Mary. Today’s scriptures feature another prominent trio—David, Paul and Mary—on whom Fr. Steiner has written the following reflection:

  
  
  David, Paul, Mary. Each name elicits awe and respect. Comparing ourselves to them can make us feel humble, but we should not feel the lesser with comparison. Instead, comparing ourselves to them should create within us a sense of relief about who we are. David, Paul and Mary stand as convincing examples that we, too, can be participants in God’s plan for the world.
  

• Reflections on Sin and Guilt December 9, 2011

  In the April 2005 issue of U.S. Catholic, Jim Forest had a very thoughtful article entitled Omission of Sin, an excerpt from his book Confession: Doorway to Forgiveness (Orbis Books). Forest writes:
  
  Thousands of essays and books in recent decades have dealt with human failings under various labels without once using the one-syllable, three-letter word that has more bite than any of its synonyms: sin. Actions traditionally regarded as sinful have instead been seen as natural stages in the process of growing up, a result of bad parenting, a consequence of mental illness, an inevitable response to unjust social conditions, pathological behavior brought on by addiction, or even as "experiments in being."
  

• DEALING WITH GUILT - HEALTHY AND UNHEALTHY December 1, 2011

  In today's first reading, we listened to God speak through the prophet Isaiah in the following words:
  
  "Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated."
  
  With the exception of the psychopath and the most hardened of hearts, all of us feel guilt on a fairly regular basis. If we have a scrupulous conscience, we live in a constant state of guilt. Guilt is that unpleasant feeling we get when we realize that we have done something we believe is wrong or when we fail to do what we know is right.
  

• A New Mass Translation for a New Liturgical Year November 25, 2011

  This weekend, the First Sunday of Advent, is the official and mandated date for the introduction of the new Roman Missal into the parishes in English-speaking countries. Until now, the big red book from which the priest reads at daily and Sunday Masses was called a sacramentary.
  

• Reflection on the Great Sermon November 20, 2011

  On this feast of Christ the King, we close out our reflections on the Gospel of Matthew and Cycle A readings. Next weekend we will begin the Year of Mark and Cycle B readings. The following are some miscellaneous reflections on one of the best known gospels in the Bible, Matthew 25:31-46.
  

• Financial Report for Fiscal Year 2010-2011 November 11, 2011

  This is the time of the year when most, if not all, parishes in Florida share their Financial Report with their parishioners so that their many winter parishioners can read it. You will find the Report on page 5 of this bulletin. Information on electronic-giving or by credit card may be found on page 4 of the PDF.
  

• LIVING A STEWARDSHIP WAY OF LIFE November 4, 2011

  Stewardship is a core belief in the gospel and it is one of my own core beliefs. I believe that as we embrace a stewardship vision of life, we:
  
  

  • gradually become the person God created us to be.
    
  • become a blessing to our own family, co-workers, neighbors, church family and other communities we may belong to.
    
  • journey on a path that will lead to the wonderful inner feeling that comes with giving of ourselves to God and others. A life of stewardship is a key to happiness.
    

• Responsible Investing - Making Economic Choices November 1, 2011

  The following article was written by Adam Kanzer and appeared in the September 2011 edition of Liguorian Magazine. Imagine that you are a poor Brazilian peasant, desperate for a good job to feed your family. You accept what appears to be a good offe...