Bulletin Article: October 25

Next week we come to celebrate two important days. Firstly, November 1, is our celebration of All Saints Day. On this day we come to venerate all the saints of Heaven who are known by name as well as those who go unknown by name. Through our veneration of these holy man and women may we also strive for the Kingdom of Heaven.

Secondly, we come to celebrate All Souls Day on November 2. Normally a priest would only be able to say a maximum of two Masses a day outside of a Sunday and holy day, but on this day Pope Benedict XV allows priests to say three Masses if they are offered for three specific intentions which he had assigned. Therefore this parish will have 5 opportunities for Mass: 7am, 8:30am, 1:30pm (in cemetery), 5pm (Extraordinary Form), and 7pm (Spanish). Let us never forget to pray for the souls of the faithful departed.

Lastly, please remember that we have our Drive Thru Trunk or Treat on October 30 from 6pm-7:30pm. For this event we need people who are willing to volunteer to decorate their trunk and hand out candy. If you would like to volunteer please email Danute Cline (clinenob2000@yahoo.com) OR Eileen Quesenberry (bubblyqmommy@gmail.com) by Wednesday, October 28. We are also taking candy donations from anyone who would like to drop bags of candy off at the parish to use during the event. Finally, we invite families to dress up and drive thru our trunk or treat on October 30.

In Christ,

Fr. Dustin Collins

Feast of Christ the King Homily

Today we come to celebrate the Feast of Christ the King.

Every king has their kingdom which has been entrusted to their care. To follow Christ is to chase after the Kingdom of God. At the same time the scriptures warn us against the prince of this world. This earthly prince is Satan and he wants nothing more then for us to believe in his lies which lead us astray from the one true King and His Kingdom. Of the many titles given to Satan we should also remember that one of them is the father of lies.

This leads us to an option. We must choose to serve the Kingdom of God or to serve the kingdom of this world. It impossible for us to serve both of these kingdoms. The kingdom of this world being the pursuit of sin and death. As Christ came to be tempted, so too are we by these lies which make us believe that we need something more in order to be happy.

As Pope John Paul II wrote in his encyclical, The Gospel of Life: “God proclaims that He is absolute Lord of the life of man, who is formed in His image and likeness. Human life is thus given a sacred and inviolable character which reflects the inviolability of the Creator Himself. Precisely for this reason God will severely judge every violation of the commandment “You shall not kill,” the commandment which is at the basis of all life together in society. He is then Goel, the defender of the innocent. God thus shows that He does not delight in the death of the living. Only Satan can delight therein for through his envy death entered into the world. He is “a murderer from the beginning.” He is also “a liar and the father of lies.” By deceiving man, he leads into projects of sin and death, making them appear as goals and fruits of life.”

The goals and fruits of this life should not be sin and death, but everlasting life. In this earthly kingdom we are so often led to believe that we need something more in order for us to be happy. People thus get lost in their pursuit of vice and no longer act as if they are free. It is only when we choose to serve Christ that we are liberated. The outsider would say that a Christian is a slave to religious law, but in all reality through embracing it we are truly set free. Those who engage in carnal desires act as if they are an animal and take another and lower them to the position of an animal and thus they become a means to an end.

In this fallen world we can see the many ways in which we have turned away from God and His Law. Life thus becomes rejected in the sin of abortion because one see a “choice” to be more important then life. We desire to redefine the definition of marriage as is seen by the fake news’ coverage concerning new “papal dogma.” What takes place on an airplane, interview, or documentary does not change teaching which has been handed down to us by Christ our Lord. Nevertheless, there are those who are charlatans who rejoice in created a new church that will live in service of this world and thus making sin and death seem as if they are the goals of this life. 

Truly, my brothers and sisters in Christ we must serve Christ the King always. Let us never compromise on living out the truth which are contained within the Gospels. Let us always desire to pursue the Kingdom of God thus rejecting Satan’s earthly kingdom always.

30th Sunday of OT Year A Homily

Each Thursday I make a visit to the various classrooms in our school to answer questions from the students. These questions range from something as simple as my favorite color to something more complex such as explaining the Church’s teaching on the Eucharist. Recently, our first grade class has been transfixed upon the concept of creation. Therefore, I undergo a battery of questions such as: how did God create trees, how did God create the ocean, how did God create animals, how did God create us, and this list goes on and on. To each of these questions I give the simple answer that God created us out of love and therefore everything which He has created is related to that love.

If we think about it God did not have to create us and yet He did because God is love. This Love which is known to us as God is a love which is infinite and flowing over. In the Baltimore Catechism the question is asked,  why did God create me? The answer is given: “God made me to know Him, love Him, and serve Him in this life, and to be happy with Him in the next.”

Now that we know this infinite reality that is God’s love we ought to desire to enter into this love to the point that we share this same love that we receive with others. There are some who claim that they love their neighbor, but have no use for love of God. There are others who claim to love God, but fail to love their neighbor. We cannot love God if we fail to love our neighbor and we cannot love our neighbor if we fail to love God.

If you think concerning the complexity of the Law with its some 600 commands in the Law of Moses, Christ makes things pretty simple, and yet so difficult and we are thus instructed: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

As we look ahead to next Sunday we glance into the lives of the Saints as we come to celebrate All Saints Day. These are the many holy men and women who walked this earth, died in the state of grace, and are now in Heaven. Of them we can say that they came to love God and shared this love that they received with others not for their own gain, but for the glory of God. We build up so many idols for ourself which lead us away from love for God and our neighbor. As Saint Paul came to say in our Epistle: “so that you became a model for all the believers.”

The saints truly serve as models for us for they teach us to love God and neighbor. I encourage each of you to study the lives of the saints and to strive to be like them. If we strive to be like them then we are striving for the Kingdom of Heaven. If we strive for the Kingdom of Heaven then we are striving to enter into that abundant love of God which transcends all things. It is from the abundant outflowing of love that we are sent forth to share with others.

When we consider vice and sin we can see how things such as these do not lead us to love of God nor do they lead us to love of our neighbor. Instead falling into such realities lead us away from God and lead us towards abusing our neighbor for something other than love. If we desire to be saints then we must be willing to enter into this Divine Love by being willing to let go of such realities in order that we may live for the greater glory of God like the saints who have gone before us into life eternal. If this be true we must ask ourselves what we are willing to strip away to grow in this love and what we want to latch onto despite it detracting from that love. Hopefully there is nothing that is more important for us than growing in our love for God and our neighbor.

Bulletin Article: October 18

I welcome Maria Macriola to our parish staff as the new parish nurse. She will continue to oversee our homebound lists. She will be available after 8:30am Mass Monday-Thursday for anyone who would like to have their blood pressure checked. She has also lined up a flu shot clinic on October 21st from 9am-11am.

Lastly, after further discernment David Arwood has resigned as principal of Saint Mary School. He desires to return to teaching in order that he may have more time to be with his family. We thank David Arwood for his service to the school and pray for the best concerning his future endeavors. Moving forward Becky Frye will transition from interim principal to the role of principal of Saint Mary School. We would like to thank Becky for all that she has done and please continue to pray for her and support her in her role as principal.

In Christ,

Fr. Dustin Collins

20th Sunday After Pentecost Homily

There are only 24 hours that exist in the course of a day. That would be 168 hours per week and 8,760 hours per year. Of this time that has been allotted to us how much of it do we use for God and how much do we waste away on other activities? In 2017 the average American adult used in the course of a month 185 hours for television, 35 hours on their phone, and 27 hours using the internet. The same adult only averages roughly 7 hours per month for anything related to God.

Our problem is not a lack of time, but a lack of making a priority for God. There is so much that we make priority for which comes at an exclusion of this relationship to the point that we push it back as if it is of the least of our priorities. When we are speaking of God who created us out of love it is mind boggling that people could be so nonchalant at such a reality. Everything which exists around us is wasting away, but God is the one reality which remains tried and true.

Our Epistle reminds: “See how you walk circumspectly, not as unwise, but as wise; redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Indeed there is a necessity for us to redeem that time that has been set before us. If we continue to not make priority for God then we will continue to put other things before Him. It is true that the world in which we live is a busy place, but despite this busyness God must be a first and foremost priority.

Verse 18 of our Epistle specifically calls to mind those who make overuse concerning drink, of them it was said: “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is luxury: but be ye filled with the Holy Spirit.” Therefore, we should practice temperance and moderation in all that we do. If we think about the over abundance of our time which is wasted away we can see our failure to make God a priority. Wherever overabundance is practiced we engage in something to point that it holds us enslaved. This can be true of drink, food, and our use of time among many other things.

In all reality our first and foremost relationship ought to be God and from this relationship everything else should flow. In the vein of stewardship we are reminded of giving the first ten percent unto God. Do we give the first ten percent unto God when it pertains to the use of our time? If we were to devise a graph chronicling our use of time how small would our segment attributed to God be compared to the others?

In our Gospel the ruler who had a sick son came to place his trust in Christ. He came to Him with faith and in return his son came to be healed. So too we are given such a wondrous gift in the faith that we profess, but we so often rush by this great gift instead of stopping like this ruler and praying. No matter how busy that we are there is enough time for us to pray and build up a relationship with God, but we first must make it a priority and continue to foster this life giving reality no matter the excuse that may give rise in our life. No matter how challenging or difficult it may prove to be we must continue with a spirit of faith. No matter how inconvenient or boring that it may seem to be at times we must continue with a spirit of faith.

With a spirit of faith may devote our time and life unto Christ. From relationship may everything else flow to the point that we come to mold and order our life after His.

29th Sunday of OT Year A Homily

“Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” This verse often goes misunderstood and is used as an argument that the religious realm is to be kept separate from that of the political realm. Instead of using this verse to segregate our practice of religion from who we are in other aspects of our life we should instead realize that is God is God who is not a being in or above the world. Instead God is Love and from this Love everything else flows. There is no way for us to segregate ourself away from the love which is made manifest in the Godhead. This love transcends everything which exists in creation for creation itself flows from it.

We cannot fall into this philosophy that religion and politics do not mix. Others will say that religion and what I do at home are separate realities. Others might proclaim that religion and what takes place at work are to be kept distinct from one another. From the encyclical letter “Deus Caritas Est” “God is Love” we are told by Pope Benedict XVI: “The two spheres are distinct, yet always interrelated...Justice is both the aim and the intrinsic criterion of all politics...here, politics and faith meet.” Therefore, as disciples of the Lord we are called to follow the Lord at all times. We must remember that it was of Nathaniel that it was said by our Lord: “There is no duplicity in him.”

This word duplicity comes from the Latin word which means “double” or “twofold.” In other words one who is duplicitous is divided in what they present on the outside and what is going on within them. Nathaniel was through and through a good man who came to love the Lord dearly to the point that all his actions came to follow after Him. This brings us back to those who live out a life of duplicity. Those who call themselves Christian and yet want to separate their identity as Christian from everything else that they do as a human person.

To put this Gospel into further context we must understand that the Pharisees were attempting to trap Jesus in His Words. He was trapped because on one side there was those of the Jewish faith who had now been occupied by the Roman army and have lost their freedoms and the Herodians who were willing to cooperate with Roman law. The Romans who were represented as Caesar imposed taxes on the Jewish faithful which they refused to pay. If Christ were to say “pay the taxes” He would be telling the Jewish faithful to accept domination by the Romans and if He were to say “don’t pay the taxes” then He would upset the local authorities.

Therefore to state, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” is to state that God’s realm is everywhere. This is to say that we are to give every aspect of our life unto God. When we segregate our life into quadrants which stay distinct from one other we are doing a great injustice unto God. God and our faith and what is handed down to us from it cannot simply be put into a category which is distinct from the other aspects of our life.

At this time it should be no secret that another election year is now upon us. We see this through the countless array of signs which align people’s yards and our roads and we know this through the large lines which are have been lined up at our polling stations. When one votes they should do so through the discernment of prayer and through reflection upon the moral teachings of our faith and how these will come to be made manifest in a particular candidate. Truly, God is the ultimate truth to which all things flow. We cannot cut away this reality in any aspect of our life, but instead must allow this very aspect to lead and guide us in all that we do.

Bulletin Article: October 11

I thank each of you for your generous support during our parish stewardship weekend. Stewardship is made up of our time, talent, and treasure. Through the giving of these gifts a lot is able to be accomplished for our parish community. I take this opportunity to thank our many parish volunteers who generously give of their time to accomplish so many tasks for our parish. As a reminder we will have our Fall Cleanup on Saturday, October 17, from 9am-3pm. This will be a great opportunity to bring our parish community together in order that we may give our time and talents. The Knights of Columbus will provide meals in to go containers for those who assist in the Fall Clean Up. Finally, I ask that our parish fast and pray for a special intention.

In Christ,

Fr. Dustin Collins

28th Sunday of OT Year A Homily

This weekend our parish comes to celebrate its Stewardship Weekend. Our reading from the Prophet Isaiah reminds us of the abundance that God gives to us by providing for the needs of all peoples. Our Epistle also attests to this abundance where God comes to supply all our of needs. This realization is at the heart of stewardship for from the abundance that we receive we are to give.

When I say the word “stewardship” I believe that it leads many to being uncomfortable because we often equate stewardship solely with the giving of money. Therefore, it may be commented that the Church wants money again and I am sick and tired of hearing about it. The concept of stewardship may lead others to a spirit of anxiety because they only have so much that they can give and the Church is yet again asking for more. Others are ready to run for the doors with no intention to return again because they heard the dreaded word “stewardship.” All of you are still here, so hopefully we are safe to proceed.

It is my hope that we can change that understanding of stewardship and do away with these unnecessary anxieties that plague us whenever that word is mentioned. After all, stewardship is made up of not only money, but also of our time and talent. Sadly, in the minds of many concepts such as time and talent are not considered to be a form of stewardship because we are so transfixed upon that mindset of treasure. In other words, it is my hope that we may begin to see stewardship not as money, but instead as a way of life.

If we are to allow stewardship to become a way of life we need to grow in the four pillars which build up and support this way of life. These four pillars being: prayer, hospitality, formation, and service. Please note that one of these pillars is not how much money one gives to the Church.

Prayer is the first and foremost gift that we can give to God. It is prayer that connects us together and prayer that draws us closer to God. There is nothing more important than joining together for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass where Christ is made present Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. As a parish outside of the confines of COVID-19 we have a perpetual adoration chapel which brings parishioners to kneel at the Feet of Jesus present with us in the Eucharist. The more we enter into prayer the more we come to hear and respond to the voice of God and to integrate this understanding of stewardship into who we are as a Christian disciple. It is for this reason that we will end our Stewardship Weekend with the public recitation of the rosary at 3:30pm. 

Hospitality is important because we must be known as a parish who in the Rule of Saint Benedict,  “Welcomes all guests as Christ.” The more welcoming that we can become to our guests, not only those who are new, but also those who have been here since day one,  the easier it becomes for us to draw others into being engaged in the day to day life of our parish.

Formation is a pillar which builds up stewardship because it causes us to learn about the faith that we profess in order that we may share it with others and come to faithfully live it. How blessed we are to have a parish school which forms our youth in the faith. We also have other areas of education for adults as well as our youth. The more parishioners who are tuned into these programs and become more on fire for the faith the more we will grow as a parish community.

Service is the final pillar which is so important for it connects to the cross Christ and His sacrificial love which is made manifest from it. Service causes us to give out of love as Christ poured forth all out of love from the cross. Service includes our many volunteers who give of their time and talent to help build up our parish community. This weekend was chosen to be our Stewardship Weekend out of hope of it leading into our Fall Clean Up Day which gives us an opportunity to come together in a spirit of unity.

At this time I as pastor of Saint Mary Parish I thank each of you for your generous support to our parish community. I thank all of you who are good stewards to God’s many gifts to us. I thank those who have returned their appeal card and ask for those who have not done so to please send it in or bring it with you next week. If you are in need of an appeal card I ask that you speak with one of our ushers on your way out of Mass and they will get you an appeal card. May we come to realize that stewardship is not a bad word, but instead is a way of life. As disciples of the Lord may we come to embrace this way of life and come to integrate it into who we are as a human person.

St. Mary’s Men Evening of Recollection Sermon XI: Charity

Today we consider the virtue of “charity.” As we are told concerning this virtue from Saint Josemaria Escriva: “Charity is not something we ourselves build up. It invades us along with God's grace, 'because he has loved us first'.”

Therefore, at the heart of charity is love. Our English word “charity” comes to us from the Latin word “caritas.” Caritas means to love. This is not just any type of love, but a very deep and intense form of love. This love is most perfectly seen in the Most Holy Trinity where God’s love is so perfect that it is mutual and flowing over. 

When a couple is preparing to enter into marriage I always ask them why they are getting married. The answer that I expect is because we love each other, but what does it mean to love each other? For many this love goes no deeper then existing at face value and thus when life gets difficult it becomes so easy to move on from it and to attach ourself onto to something else.

At the heart of charity is sacrifice. If we look to the cross we will see Christ’s ultimate sacrifice where He pours Himself out entirely out of love for us. In the words of the Marriage Exhortation: “And so not knowing what is before you, you take each other for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death. Truly, then, these words are most serious. It is a beautiful tribute to your undoubted faith in each other, that recognizing their full import, you are, nevertheless, so willing and ready to pronounce them. And because these words involve such solemn obligations, it is most fitting that you rest the security of your wedded life upon the great principle of self-sacrifice.” “Sacrifice is usually difficult and irksome. Only love can make it easy, and perfect love can make it a joy. We are willing to give in proportion as we love. And when love is perfect, the sacrifice is complete. God so loved the world that he gave His only-begotten Son, and the Son so loved us that He gave Himself for our salvation.”

From all of this we can see the true meaning of marriage, love, and charity. If we want to grow in our ability to love we will come to embrace the cross during all the difficult moments of our life. At the sight of the cross the easy option is always to run from its grasp, but we should learn to move towards it. The opposite of charity is greed and thus we want nothing to do with sacrifice and instead only desire to please ourself and our needs. If everything is all about us and others meeting our desires love will never be found because love is to lay down our life for another as Christ laid down His life for us upon the cross.

As we head away from here may we find ways to embrace the cross. When something irks us let us embrace it with the spirit of charity. When we have been wronged let us embrace it with the spirit of charity. When someone is in need let us come to embrace it with a spirit of charity. In the words of Saint Josemaria Escriva: “Selfish. Always looking after yourself You seem incapable of feeling the fraternity of Christ. In those around you, you do not see brothers: you see stepping stones. I can foresee your complete failure. And when you have fallen, you will want others to treat you with the charity you are not willing to show towards them.”

Through the cross let us grow in the virtue of charity.

Bulletin Article: October 4

Next weekend our parish will hold it’s annual stewardship weekend. When one hears the word “stewardship” their mind often goes to money. In reality stewardship is to invest oneself into the life of the parish using their time, time, and treasure. Stewardship is a grateful response which is given as a Christian Disciple who recognizes and receives God’s gifts and shares these gifts in love of God and neighbor. I therefore ask that you prayerfully fill out the form that you received by the mail and return it in the collection basket or send it back via mail. For those who did not receive the stewardship form we will have them available prior to Mass next weekend.

Please note that October 17th will be our Parish Fall Cleanup Day and will last from 9am-3pm. This is the perfect way for our parish family to come together in a spirit of stewardship and fraternity. Also, please note that next Sunday, October 11th, there will be a community rosary at the statue of Our Lady of Fatima at 3:30pm. If weather does not permit to be outside this will take place within the church. I ask that if you and your family are unable to come that you join together at this time wherever you may be to pray the rosary for the good of our parish community. It is this Sunday which is prior to October 13th which served as the day of the Miracle of the Sun and thus the closing of the apparitions of Fatima.

Finally, at the end of this month our parish will hold a drive thru trunk or treat on October 30 from 6pm-7:30pm. We are therefore in need of people to decorate their trunks for this occasion. If you are interested please contact Danute Cline (clinenob2000@yahoo.com) or Eileen Quesenberry (bubblyqmommy@gmail.com) by Wednesday, October 28th. 

In Christ,

Fr. Dustin Collins

18th Sunday After Pentecost Homily

Pope Benedict XVI stated: “There is a close link between holiness and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The actual conversion of heart, which is open to the transforming and renewing action of God, is the “engine” of all reform and translates into a truly evangelizing force. In the confessional, the repentant sinner, by the free action of the divine mercy, is justified, pardoned and sanctified; he leaves the old man to put on the new man. He who has been profoundly renewed by divine grace can’t but carry in himself, and therefore announce, the newness of the Gospel.”

Our Blessed Lord is concerned with the wellbeing of one’s soul. He fed the multitude not only because they were bodily hungry, but for the benefit of their soul. Therefore He desires that sins be forgiven. Each of the seven sacraments of the Church have been established by Christ our Lord and one of the sacraments in which He has left for us is that of confession. He breathed upon His apostles and said, “Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.”

As Benedict stated: “There is a close link between holiness and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.” It in mind boggling to think that there are those who want nothing to do with this sacrament when it pertains to holiness and the mercy fo God. It should be no secret that Protestants and sadly some Catholics make objections against this sacrament. Therefore we have probably heard a few if not all of these statements before: (1) Only God can forgive sin, (2) a man cannot forgive sin, (3) I do not need a priest because I go directly to God, (4) one only needs to be saved, and (5) sacraments do not work, but instead enable one to continue to sin.

Each of these statements are total rubbish and are far from the truth. It is God who has the authority to forgive sins; this is not being objected to by the Church. Christ has given that authority to His priests who in the sacrament of confession do not act under their own authority, but act in persona Christi (in the Person of Christ). When one is absolved of their sins in the sacrament of confession it is Christ who absolves them through the use of His priest. If the priest were not ordained nor acting in the sacrament of confession then they would be unable to forgive sin.

Confession as well as the other sacraments impart grace upon the receiver. Grace is a gift which comes to us from God which we cannot give to ourself under our own merit. The confessional is not frequented in order that we can sin, but is frequented in order that we may be forgiven for we have fallen into sin. In the Sacrament we draw close to the priest and through the authority given to him by Christ imparts the prayer of absolution which cleanses us of its grasp.

We should desire to grow in holiness in our everyday life. The only way that we will excel in this task is through the outpouring of God’s grace. Therefore, make use of the sacrament of confession and receive the infinite mercy of God. Never allow excuses to get in the way of participating in this sacrament. This sacrament goes hand and hand with the Eucharist for confession prepares our soul to receive the most wondrous gift which is Christ made present Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Most Holy Eucharist.