Bulletin Article: September 29

On this Sunday where we offer the Blue Mass I want to personally thank all first responders for what they do to serve our community. May we continue to keep each of them in our prayers. Next Sunday, we will have the Red Mass for those who serve in the legal profession. This Mass will be at 10am and I want to personally invite you to this Mass. Please spread the word to any among your family or friends of whom this Mass might be of importance.

At the past Parish Pastoral Council Meeting we set the date for the next Parish Town Hall as January 13. This event will begin with a Pot Luck Meal at 5:30pm with the Parish Town Hall beginning at 6:30pm. Please mark your calendars and attend if you are able.

In Christ,

Fr. Dustin Collins 

Dedication of St. Michael Homily

Today we come to celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of Saint Michael the Archangel. 

If you were to put a dot at each of the seven sanctuaries of Saint Michael which stretch from Ireland to Israel you would end up with a straight line. This straight line is known as the sword of Saint Michael. This sword represents the final blow that Saint Michael inflicted upon the devil which sent him to Hell.

The Sanctuary of Monte San’Angelo sul Gargano is located in Italy. It is said if you are to make a pilgrimage to the shrine of Padre Pio that you are to complete your pilgrimage with a visit here.  This cave is said to be so holy that Saint Francis felt unworthy to enter and so stayed on the outside in order to pray. The dedication that we celebrate today concerns itself with this location.

Saint Michael appeared to the local bishop and asked him to consecrate this cave as a church. Repeatably the bishop did not heed Saint Michael’s request. Eventually Saint Michael dedicated this basilica for himself. If you were travel here you can still see the footprint of Saint Michael which was left behind in the rock of this cave which now stands as a basilica.

This takes us to 1656 when a plague broke out in Italy. The local bishop petitioned for the aid of Saint Michael and his prayers came to be answered. During his morning prayers a great earthquake broke out and Saint Michael appeared to him. Saint Michael commanded that he go to this cave and bless the stones found therein. Saint Michael promised that those who possessed a stone and kept it with great devotion would be preserved from sickness. Following this miracle a monument was erected to Saint Michael which reads: “This monument is erected in eternal gratitude to the Prince of Angels, Vanquisher of disease, our Patron and Protector.” To this day these rocks are still collected at this shrine and many of the faithful take them with them from here to invoke Saint Michael’s protection.

So too we are in need of the protection of Saint Michael. Thankfully, following every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that is offered within this diocese we have the opportunity to recite the prayer which is offered to his intercession.

We know from Sacred Scripture that a war broke out in Heaven and Satan was cast off from its midst. So too around us Satan continues to tempt and lead us astray from the straight path which leads to God. So awful is the soul which allow themself to give into these temptations. Rather, we must remember that we have this great patron which we can invoke to come to our aid in order that we may be delivered from the attacks of the devil.

As this great church was dedicated to the honor of Saint Michael, so too must our world and our life. The devil truly prowls about like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. We must come to resist him solid in our faith by calling upon the protection of Saint Michael and all of the Heavenly host.

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle!

26th Sunday of OT Year C Homily

In Saint Paul’s words: “Compete well for the faith.”

If one is to compete well at something they must continue to practice each day at their craft. An athlete would be unable to compete well if they did not first commit their self fully to their sport of choice. One would not simply wake up and find themself playing in the NFL or NBA if they had not first prepared themself to compete.

This rule also applies to our pursuit of faith. Saint Paul lists a whole slew of virtues for us to excel at. He mentions: “righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.” Despite this how many of us truly set out to master these virtues in order that we can be numbered among the saints?

The Prophet Amos makes it known that there are those who have grown complacent. They have allowed themself to be surrounded by comfort and excess and they see no reason to be put into action. This rings true with many who see no urgency to excel at their faith. On September 11th the Twin Towers came tumbling down. With it came a great urgency which filled churches, but as time went by the numbers only decreased.

To live out our faith properly we must transcend urgency and it must become something that is put into practice daily. We must remember that as Christian we are called to live within the world, but not be of the world. This notion is further summed up for us in today’s Gospel passage. Here we came to encounter the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man lived in the world, but he also lived of the world. On the other hand, Lazarus lived in the world, but he did not live of the world. The rich man came to be punished for his ways while Lazarus, in his poverty, was taken into the bosom of Abraham.

And so with this in mind it would be a grave mistake for Christians to allow their eternal destiny to become overshadowed by their worldly preoccupations. In the words of Cardinal Sarah from his newest book, The Day is Now Far Spent: “Faith is therefore a Yes to God. It requires a person to leave his gods, his culture, all human assurances, and riches in order to enter the land, the culture, and the inheritance of God. Faith consists of letting oneself be guided by God. He becomes our wealth, our present and our future. He becomes our strength, our support, our security, our unshakable rock in which we can rely.”

I hope that we can see that faith is more then a word. It is a way of life. It is something that we must set out each day to grow in. Each of us are called towards Heaven and yet so many do not heed this call. We have been called to “compete well for the faith.” We have been called to grow in our pursuit of virtue. We have been called to allow God to become our strength in the midst of all that we encounter. May we come to heed this call.

26th Sunday of OT Year C: Blue Mass

I welcome those men and women among us who serve or have served as first responders. Today we pray for each of you in a special way at this Holy Mass. Following our celebration of these Sacred Mysteries there will be a lite reception in our gathering hall to thank each of you for your service to our community. Ordinarily, the 29th of October serves as the Feast of the Archangels. One of the Archangels is Saint Michael who serves as the patron saint of police and paramedics. Therefore, this Blue Mass falls upon a very timely day. 

Our readings this morning call us out of our complacency and into action. The Prophet Amos frames this together by giving us the image of those who live in great comfort. In our Epistle Saint Paul reminds us that we are called to something greater. He goes as far as to say “compete well for the faith.” He instructs us that we are to grow in the virtues of “righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.” By perfecting these virtues within ourself I can say that there will be nothing which is found complacent within us.

In our Gospel we encountered the rich man. He grew complacent in his wealth and through it he lived not only in the world, but of the world. Lazarus was a poor man and yet despite living in the world, he was not of the world. Lazarus was found to be far from complacent. Lazarus allowed himself to remain humble of heart and thus he came to compete well for the faith.

If we think for a moment about those who serve us as first responders we know that they have answered a call that has taken them out of the complacency of everyday life. Through their willingness to serve us they put their life on the line. If they are to serve with true justice then they must come to practice Saint Paul’s plea of growing in “righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.” These virtues make them true servants of the people whom they serve for they do so out of love for others and serving the common good.

So too, here all of us are called to live likewise. We are called to strive to compete well for the faith. This means that we are to strive to become saints. Saints who have taken up the Gospel message in order to follow after Christ. Saints who desire not to be complacent, but found active in our practice of faith. Saints who live in the world, but are not of the world. Saints who excel each day at virtue and grow in “righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.”

Let us “compete well for the faith.”

Bulletin Article: September 22

I want to remind you of our upcoming Blue Mass which will be held on September 29 at 8am. The purpose of the Blue Mass is to pray for those who serve us as police, firefighters, and EMTs. Please spread the word to your friends and family, especially if they serve in this area. If you are a first responder please plan on attending this Mass if you are able. There will be a reception to follow to thank them for all that they do for our community.

Secondly, I return to the topic of our Parish Town Hall which was held this past week. Here it was discussed that it can be confusing at times to know what ministries exist at our parish. An idea was brought up to have the various ministry leaders come together to share their ideas and hardships with one another. It was highlighted that the parish has been stagnant with membership growth for some time. This stagnant period has effected parish finances, but through our participation in the OSV program we have great tools at our disposal. This directed our conversation to the need of a missionary spirit. This missionary spirit includes the need to continue to educate not only our youth in the faith, but also adults through various bible studies and studies of our faith.

Our youth programs were also highlighted during our discussion. This included mentioning the importance of our parish school as a ministry to our parish and community. It was mentioned that we need find ways to support Stephanie and invest in the youth of our parish. We also thanked Judy for the wonderful job that she does with our faith formation program.

The above is only a small sample of our discussion. I invite you to join us at future Parish Town Hall Meetings in order that we may continue to expound upon these ideas and other ideas which will bring us together as the Body of Christ and send us forth into the world to bring other souls into an encounter with Christ.

In Christ,

Fr. Dustin Collins