Bulletin Article: February 9

This Sunday begins a series of three Sundays where the faithful prepare to enter into the season of Lent. These Sundays are still celebrated in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite and are known as Septuagesima Sunday, Sexagesima Sunday, and Quinquagesima Sunday. During these three liturgical days the celebrant will wear violet vestments and the Gloria will be suppressed at our 2pm Mass to remind us of the penitential season that we are about to enter into.

I draw attention to this because Lent will be here before we know it. Lent officially begins with our observance of Ash Wednesday which falls on February 26. With this in mind I encourage each of you to begin to think about your Lenten practices now. Traditional areas of concern should be fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. The Lenten season should assist us in coming to see Christ more clearly as we come to rejoice at the Good News of the Resurrection and thus the triumph over the tomb of sin and death.

To the men of our parish I invite you to join us for the February Evening of Recollection. This will be held February 11 at 6:45pm. It will include prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, an opportunity for confession, and a brief talk on the writings of Saint Josemaria Escriva.

In Christ,

Fr. Dustin Collins

Septuagesima Sunday Homily

Today falls Septuagesima Sunday which stands nine Sundays prior to the celebration of Easter. With that we are only seventeen days away from Ash Wednesday and the start of the Lenten season. For the next three Sundays our liturgical color will be violet which serves as a reminder of our need to undergo penance.

Our Epistle takes up this theme by reminding us that “every athlete exercise discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.” Our goal cannot be the passing things of this world, but rather it must be the Kingdom of Heaven. This is a kingdom which will never pass away. As an athlete trains to excel at a given sport, so must we as Christians strive to excel in living a life of virtue.

If we are to put vice to rest and go out in pursuit of virtue then we must come to see the importance of discipline. During the season of Lent we are given the perfect opportunity to grow in such a manner. Nevertheless, we do not always  allow ourself to be properly prepared. It so easy to wander into Lent, and even throughout this life on earth, without first undergoing proper preparation. Lent is not just another season, but it is an avenue which leads towards Easter and an encounter with the Risen Lord.

With that these final days which lay ahead, before entering into this season, should be used to our advantage. We should begin to discern how we will grow in virtue through practices such as prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Some enter into Lent without a true goal set in sight and thus when they come to celebrate Easter no change has taken place in their life. We cannot allow this to be said of us for our Blessed Lord is always inviting us to enter more fully into this reality.

This is seen in our Gospel when the landowner went into the vineyard to gather laborers. Here each laborer heard the call of the landowner and chose to follow after it. This is an analogy made to Heaven and how the Lord calls each of us to follow after Him. No matter the point in time when we hear this call we must follow after it in order that we may enter more fully into this reality. May the Lenten season be a time of renewal in our life in order that we may truly come to follow after the Lord who calls each of us by name.

5th Sunday of OT Year A Homily

The human body is truly interesting for its impressive ability to heal. If one falls and breaks a bone the body part can be placed inside of a cast and healing will take place. If one falls and scrapes a knee the skin will begin the process of healing. From the Prophet Isaiah we heard: “Your wound shall quickly be healed.”

We live in the midst of a world which is very much so in need of the healing mercy of God. We can see the effects that sin have raged upon society. With this we see injustices against different races, we see injustices made against the unborn, we see the breakdown of marriage and the family, we see a lack of fear for God and rise of a spirit of relativism.

Despite this our Epistle directs our attention towards the cross. Here Saint Paul pointed out that he “resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” If we want true healing to be brought about within our life and this world then each of us must come to make this same resolution. The cross of our Blessed Lord is important because through it He has come to snatch the world out of Satan’s grasp. The cross of our Lord teaches us to surrender all that we undergo in order that we may live for the Lord.

This makes me think of the Benedictine monk who enters into solemn monastic vows. Here he lays down, is draped with the funeral pall, the bells of the Church are rung as at a funeral, and the monks join together to chant the “Dies Irae” “”Day of Wrath” as would be traditionally used at a funeral. From here the monk rises into his new life which is similar to the new life that springs forth from the Resurrection where our Blessed Lord came to triumph over the tomb of sin and death.

Very soon we will enter into the sacred season of Lent. Here we will orient our sight towards the Good News of our Lord’s Resurrection. Here we will come to see the necessity for healing to take place within our life in order that we may better come to behold this reality. With that I invite each of you to begin to pray concerning Lent and the ways in which you will enter into the practices of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving in order to draw close to the Lord. It would be a mistake to enter into the season of Lent without first contemplating these realities. From realities such as these may we draw close to the Lord and allow Him to heal that which has been broken down by sin and death.

Friday of Week 4 OT Homily

Very soon we will embark upon the season of Lent. During this season we will draw close to the cross of our Blessed Lord.

In our Gospel we encounter the murder of Saint John the Baptist. Here I see an interesting parallel to the Passion of the Lord which will be proclaimed on Palm Sunday as well as Good Friday.

With that we were told: “the king was exceedingly sorry; but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her.” From the Passion we hear: “When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all, but that a riot was breaking out instead, he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. Look to it yourselves.”

Here we see the unwillingness to do something that one sees as wrong and yet despite this unwillingness they make the choice to do it anyway. So too with sin we must stay on guard in order that we rebuke it despite its effect upon us. To rebuke sin may keep us from being popular, following after the group, or being comfortable. We know that to embrace Christ can even bring about death as is seen through the witness of the martyrs. May we become convinced of this reality and thus proclaim Christ and Him crucified no matter the cost.

Thursday of Week 4 in OT Homily

The twelve were sent out by our Blessed Lord and “they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.” This brings us to one of the sacraments of the Church known as Anointing of the Sick. 

We receive further instruction concerning it in the Book of James. Here we hear: “Are there people sick among you? Let them send for the priests of the Church, and let the priests pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick persons, and the Lord will raise them up. If they have committed any sins, their sins will be forgiven them.”

To receive this sacrament one must be in danger of death from sickness or old age. This sacrament aids one in their sufferings by conforming them to the cross of Christ. It gives faith and trust in the Lord as one faces the possibility of their death. If it is conductive for one’s salvation it can bring about healing. The sacrament also forgives sins, but one should still prevail themself to the sacrament of confession in so far as they are able.

Let us pray for those who are sick and facing the reality of death. May we also be aware of the importance of this sacrament and make sure to notify a member of the clergy when we find ourself or one whom we love in a situation which would warrant the reception of this sacrament.