Bulletin Article: February 27

All are invited and encouraged to participate in our next Parish Open Forum which will be February 28th from 7pm-8pm using Zoom. These are scheduled roughly four times a year to provide the parish with an opportunity to discuss together what is taking place at our local parish, the community, and the world. These sessions should help us to work together to achieve common goals as well as provide input that can be discussed among the Parish Pastoral Council for the good of our parish.

Ash Wednesday is this Wednesday, March 2nd, and is a day of fasting and abstinence from meat. This is not a Holy Day of Obligation, but is the perfect way to begin the Lenten season of Lent for it reminders us that we must repent of our sin. Mass opportunities will be 7am, 8:30am, 6pm, and 7:30pm (Spanish). There will also be an Imposition of Ashes service (not Mass) at 12:15pm.

Friday is an important day throughout the year because this is the day that Jesus died upon the cross. For this reason we are abstain from meat on all Fridays during Lent. The Stations of the Cross will also be prayed in common each Friday during the season of Lent. Stations are at 6pm (English) and 7pm (Spanish). The Knights of Columbus will provide their fish fry on the Fridays throughout Lent from 5pm-7pm.

Lastly, I ask that you please mark your calendars for our Lenten Day of Recollection which will be April 9th from 9:30am-12:30pm. This will be presented by Father Michael Hendershott who is the parochial vicar of Holy Ghost Parish in Knoxville and who was once assigned here as a seminarian. He will be presenting on being sent out as we were told at the Great Commission, “Go therefore and make disciples all all the nations.”

In Christ,

Fr. Dustin Collins

8th Sunday of OT Year C Homily

It is hard to believe that Lent will start this Wednesday. It will be on Ash Wednesday that we will be told, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return” as the minister traces the cross upon your forehead through the use of ashes.

These should be striking words because they make reference to the reality of death. As Christians we should approach the reality of death through the lens of hope. Nevertheless, despite the hope that we have death is still something which is scary, there are those who see no hope within it, and those who want to ignore it at all costs. No matter how hard that we try to escape it’s grasp it is something that we can never escape. As the Latin phrase goes “memento mori” “remember your death.”

As Sacred Scripture informs us, “Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” These words give new hope to the reality of death. To think if all we knew was the sin of Adam and Eve. If this were the truth we would have nothing to hope for. It is through Christ and what He offers upon the cross that redeems us. It is due to the cross and eventual resurrection that we are given hope. The gates to the Kingdom of Heaven are opened wide due to the fact that Christ has died for us.

Saint Paul further reminds us that “the sting of death is sin.” We must remember this reality as we head into Lent. If we live for Christ there is nothing for us to fear for we have directed our life on this earth towards the coming of the Kingdom. Others allow themselves to live for the here and now and allow the reality of sin to creep into their life. No matter how deeply entrenched a sin may be within our life through Christ there is always the hope of liberation. To die in the state of grace is to move towards the Kingdom of Heaven. Truly, death has no sting for those who truly live their life for Christ.

Lent serves as the perfect opportunity to redirect our life towards Christ. After all Christ entered into the baroness of a desert in order too fast and pray. Despite the baroness of the desert true life came to be known for Christ rejected temptation, entered into His public ministry, and came to die for our salvation. Throughout Lent we should also come to fast, pray, and give alms in order that we may separate ourself from sin and live for Christ.

It is sin which brings about the reality of death, but through living for Christ Jesus we have the hope of Heaven. The very fact that from the tomb sprung forth the Resurrection of the Lord signals to us the same hope of the life which is to come. Let us use this time which has now been set before us in order to live not for the world, but for Christ Jesus. If we reform our life and live for Christ Jesus death will have no victory and it will have no sting. Let us live for the Lord always and put to death all that keeps us from Him.

Bulletin Article: February 21

Next weekend will be our annual school dinner and auction. Andrew Cooper, members of Home and School, and others have worked diligently at organizing this event. I thank them for all of their efforts it making these evening possible. I hope that you are able to join us for this beautiful evening. 

Our next parish fraternal event will be March 1st from 5pm-7:45pm. This will be our parish Mardi Gras dinner. All are invited to attend this event. I especially look forward to seeing the shoebox float parade that will be provided by the children of our parish. I thank all volunteers who will be assisting with this evening.

Finally, please remember that our next Parish Open Forum will be February 28th from 7pm-8pm. Log in information for this will be provided in next week’s bulletin.

In Christ,

Fr. Dustin Collins

Sexagesima Sunday Homily

The sower goes out to sow his seed. Some of this seed falls upon the wayside and is trampled upon. Likewise, there are many evils which threaten our eternal salvation in the midst of this world. These temptations come upon us and attempt to hold us captive. Saint Paul stated “For you suffer if a man bring you into bondage.” It is through sin that we are brought into this bondage. It is Christ alone who liberates us from this reality that holds us captive. Through what He offers for us upon the cross we have been redeemed and have been set free from both sin and death.

We continue this brief season prior to Lent which reminds us that the Lenten season is quickly approaching. It is hard to believe that in a week and a half we will be in the Lenten season. Here we are reminded that we need to set out in order to take full advantage of Lent in order that it may assist us in coming to love the Lord our God more fervently. Evil continues to enter in and attempts to hold us captive, but we must realize that Christ is indeed the one who sets us free from this reality. Evil has no power over us if we learn to place our trust in the infinite mercy of the Lord which is found to be without end.

We should allow ourself to reflect upon the importance of our eternal salvation. In doing so let us ask what good it would be if we were to obtain the world if it was achieved at the peril of our own soul. Adam and Eve were given a choice within the garden and they used their choice to their own peril. The devil came in order to tempt the Lord and to promise Him the world, but the Lord would not allow Himself to be tempted. So too we must set out in order to draw close to the Lord in order that He may be the source of our strength in the midst of every temptation that comes our way.

As we come to petition in the Our Father, “Lead us not into temptation.” Temptation is not something that we go out in search of. Temptation is not something that we play with. The more that we consent to temptation the easier we will enter into sin and more entrenched will it’s hold over us be. It can grasp ahold of us to the point that we are being held captive. In such manner we will be like seed that is trampled upon or found among thorns which choke it out. We must turn away from temptation and it’s pull upon us in order to allow this seed to grow to its full potential with the assistance of God’s grace.

As Saint Paul stated to the Ephesians, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Through putting on the armor of God we invite God’s grace into our life and open ourself up to it to the fullest degree. In order to fight against temptation we must be found willing to recognize our tendency towards sin, we must come to study Sacred Scripture, we must commit ourself to the sacramental life of the Church, we must find assistance from those around us, and we must be willing to repent immediately of all wrong doing that we have committed. In such fashion we invite God to enter into our life and assist us and thus allow the seed to fall upon the good ground which will bring forth good fruit.

7th Sunday of OT Year C Homily

Saint Luke’s Gospel instructed us to “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.” In a week and a half we will arrive at the sacred season of Lent and thus draw closer to the cross of our Lord. It is my hope that we will be found prepared for this time which will soon be upon us. It was upon the cross that our Blessed Lord spoke of the importance of forgiveness, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Here our Blessed Lord is equating one’s ignorance to forgiveness. With every given situation we look at the problem at hand through the lens of our own eyes. We fail to dare to look into the eyes of the one that we cannot forgive in order to see where they may be coming from. Every one of us has our own point of view concerning everything that we do. No one has the perfect picture of this reality except for the Lord. So often we dare to judge another without getting the full picture of one’s given motives.

Fulton Sheen stated of forgiveness, “We know nothing about the inside of our neighbor’s heart, and hence we refuse to forgive. Jesus knew the heart inside out, and because He did know, He forgave. Take any scene of action, let five people look upon it, and you will get five different stories of what happened. Not one of them sees all sides. Our Lord does, and that is why He forgives.”

We should dare to point the finger inward upon ourself before we point it outward towards another. We can sit around and think that the Church or this or that would be better without that individual, but the true answer lies within ourself. We are the reason why others do not flock towards the Lord and His infinite font of mercy. This requires a true sense of humility within us for without humility we will always desire to be exalted.

Let us begin to cultivate among ourselves a true spirit of understanding. Understanding does not mean that we except sin as good nor injustices as something that are right and just. Understanding looks into the depths of the heart of another and desires to discern what may be taking place within them. We are so willing to judge, but so unwilling to forgive. We are so willing to criticize, but so unwilling to understand.

As the Lenten season soon comes upon us let us look for ways in which can come to forgive. The cross is about forgiveness. Without the cross none of us would be redemeed. The Lord died upon the cross in order that we may be forgiven of our sins. He did not come in order to die for the righteous who are found without sin, but for the sinful who were in need of redemption. In like manner let us come to refrain from judging other, refrain from condemning, and learn to forgive. When we are able to do this we will better come to emulate our Lord and what He offers us from the cross.

Bulletin Article: February 13

Despite being in the midst of Ordinary Time we must remember that Lent in quickly approaching. March 2 is the first day of Lent and is Ash Wednesday. Masses for that day will be 7am, 8:30am, 6pm, and 7:30pm (Spanish). There will also be an imposition of ashes (not Mass) at 12:15pm. Now is the time to think about Lent and the sacrifices that you attend on making in order to be a better follower of Christ. What ways can you grow through acts such as fasting, prayer, and almsgiving? If we do not begin to think about these things now it will be easy to wonder into Lent without a proper plan of where we are headed.

In Christ,

Fr. Dustin Collins

Septuagesima Sunday Homily

We have now entered into this time that has been set beside before Lent to better assist us in our preparation for the Lenten season. Therefore, we notice that the priest already begins to wear violet vestments, that the Gloria has been suppressed, and that we no longer use the Alleluia. These all serve as reminders that very soon we will arrive at the season of Lent where we will come to fast and to offer sacrifice. There should be no shock and lack of preparedness on the behalf of the faithful when we arrive at Ash Wednesday because we begin to prepare our heart and soul now for this encounter now.

As we were instructed in our Epistle: “I so fight, not as one beating the air; but I chastise my body.” It also stated, “And everyone that striveth for the mastery refraineth himself from all things: and they indeed that they may receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible one.” This Epistle attests to the importance of the Lenten season. Fasting is more then developing self control because it is a means towards spiritual and physical purification. The one who fasts begins to order their body unto the Lord and thus that incorruptible crown of Heaven.

So often we are afraid to do what is necessary to obtain the Kingdom of Heaven and to place it first within our life. There are those who are so entrapped that they see no way forward in the midst of this vale of tears. There are those who are so caught up that they do not realize that the Lord is calling them towards something greater. Our Gospel perfectly attests to this and encourages each of us towards the virtue of hope, the reality of something more, and the importance of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Therefore, in this Gospel we see those who were called at various stages of life, but all received the same wage. In other words those who have repented, came to know the Lord, and died serving Him in this life. They were given the incorruptible crown of Heaven. With a true spirit of hope and love we must also strive for this same incorruptible crown. In doing so we must ask what keeps us from obtaining this incorruptible crown and thus where must we grow in the spiritual life?

Lent serves as the answer that arises due to this question. So often we minimilize Lent to something simple that requires no thought on our part or we just forgot about it entirely. Hopefully this will not be so of us as we embark upon this sacred season of Lent. In 17 days time we will arrive at Ash Wednesday and thus the Lenten season. It is this season which serves as a spring time of faith for us and all those who enter into it. May we fully come to prevail ourself to this season and allow it to transform our life in Christ Jesus and to orient us towards the Kingdom of Heaven.

Bulletin Article: February 6

I thank each of you for your participation in the parish portion of the Synod. The survey has now been closed. Our parish had 354 who participated in the survey. Our parish synod team will not work on producing their one page document which will go to the Diocese of Knoxville. The diocese will then work on producing a ten page document based upon input from all parishes in the diocese.

We had wonderful participation from our Synod listening sessions. On February 28th we will have our next Parish Open Forum at 7pm. Hopefully we will build upon the conversation that we have at our lessening sessions and work together for the good of our parish community.

Our parish school will host it’s annual dinner and auction on February 26th. In the weeks to come tickets will be sold following Mass. There will also be an online offering of the auction that will be offered this year. This evening is the perfect opportunity for fellowship and helps in the running of our school. I consider this event to be the parish fraternal event for the month of February.

In Christ,

Fr. Dustin Collins