Week of May 19

Scripture: Jn 20:21-22 “So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you; as the Father sent Me, I also send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”

YouCat: 522—What does it mean to say, “Give us this day our daily bread”?

Question: What Feast are we celebrating this week…what’s it all about?

Virtue: Leadership – The ability to go before others and show them the way.

Saint: St. Peter

Announcements and Reminders:

Have you thought about what you are doing this summer?  Loads of fun coming your way through St. Joseph Youth Ministry…

Faith Tid-Bit: What a an amazing and powerful gift the Holy Spirit truly is!  By the gift of the Holy Spirit humanity becomes what God made us to be.  The Holy Spirit moves us to do the will of God and in living in Christ actually makes us more human, more whole, more concerned for others, more reflective of God’s goodness, mercy, joy, and love and, in short, more glorious!!

Week of May 12

Scripture: Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

YouCat: 525 - What does it mean to say,

“Lead us not into temptation”?

Question: Which feast will we celebrate after the Ascension?

Virtue: Knowledge – Acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles from study.

Saint: St. Catherine of Siena  “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”

Faith Tid-Bit: As glorious as Easter and the resurrection are, it might be wished that we would spend some of our energies celebrating the glory of the Ascension, too.  If we were left with just Easter, we would have a risen Lord, but still earthbound, making appearances to the disciples who would still be without the Holy Spirit or much understanding of what had happened, let alone any participation in the dying and rising of the Lord which the Spirit makes possible in us.  The Ascension of the Lord is the first instance of humanity going to heaven.  Jesus is truly human as well as truly divine, so it must be remembered that in him the first human person is joined to the Father in the eternal vision of God.  The human race is now reconciled forever with God in Christ. 

Another way of putting it is that the gates of heaven are opened by the ascension of Jesus. 

Announcements and Reminders:

Pancake Breakfast Sunday May 19^th – volunteers needed

Nun Run permission slips due June 1^st

For all youth in second year of preparation for Confirmation – please be sure to check in with Sarah to make sure you are set for the sacrament!

Scripture: Jn 14:23 “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.’”

YouCat: 519 “What does it mean to say, ‘Hallowed be thy name’?”

Question: St. Monica is the mother of another well-known saint – what is her child’s name?

Virtue: Kindness – Good or benevolent nature, considerate, helpful, humane, gentle, loving.

Saint: St. Monica – a beautiful example of how important it is to prayer for our family and friends

Announcements and Reminders:

Final Confirmation session was Saturday May 4^th – please contact Sarah if you were unable to attend

Youth in second year of Confirmation preparation – please be sure to sign up for your end of year check-in

Pancake Breakfast Sunday May 19^th – Volunteers needed

Sunday and Wednesday Faith Formation gatherings continue through May

Faith Tid-Bit: May is traditionally the month of growth in regards to nature.  It is extremely beautiful, but it is also important in the Church. May is traditionally the Month of Mary, where we recall the role of Mary in salvation.
She is the Virgin Mother of God, whose fiat (yes) allowed Our Lord to take human form. Because of her complete trust in God, she lived her life sinlessly. And, after her life, she was assumed into Heaven by the power of God and crowned as Queen of Heaven and Earth. She is, of course, not divine. We worship only Jesus Christ, but we honor Mary as a saint. We honor God by remembering the role of Mary in the beginning of our salvation. And, remember, Devotion to Mary always leads to Jesus Christ!

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Today at Holy Mass we follow the life of the early Church and the ministry of the Apostles.  As we make our way through the season of Easter, it gives us the opportunity to reflect on what the resurrection of Christ is all about.  The readings proclaim Jesus risen as “the Good Shepherd.”  This image is an important one.  To be a shepherd meant to give one’s life to protect the sheep from the wolves, and to make sure that the sheep are fed and are able to make more sheep.  That’s what the risen Jesus does for us:  He protects us to the world and the devil.  He feeds us with His Body and Blood.  And he gives us the freedom to bring other people to the Catholic faith and to increase our own numbers.  That is the job that Jesus has given us, and we shouldn’t take it lightly – we have an important responsibility to pass on our faith.  Likewise in our families we have a solemn obligation to protect our children from evil and bad and worldly things and to raise them to be strong Catholics.  If we don’t do this we are seriously offending God and not living up to our responsibilities.

One of the things that always strikes me about the Resurrection is the dramatic change in the lives of the disciples and the other people who encountered the risen Christ.  Everyone who encountered the risen Christ underwent a profound conversion that changed their lives forever.  Think of the apostles, who turned from being full of fear and trembling at the death and burial of Jesus to zealous disciples who proclaimed the risen Jesus as Lord and Savior and were willing to undergo being thrown in prison, persecution and even death for the faith.  Or think of St. Paul, who as Saul was commissioned by the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem to travel to Damascus to destroy the Church there and imprison all the Christians.  He encountered the light of the Resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus and was converted and was baptized – the greatest persecutor of the early Church became the Apostle to the gentiles.  What explains all of this?  What explains this is the Risen Christ, and the encounter and revelation of His Lordship and Power and Love which so transformed them that their lives were filled with total Faith in Him and His mission of salvation to the world.

The readings from the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 13, tell us that Paul and Barnabas did just that in their missionary journey to Antioch in Pisidia.  “Many Jews and devout converts followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to hold fast to the grace of God.  The following Sabbath, almost the entire city gathered to hear the Word of God.”  Because of the crowds, the local leadership became jealous and persecuted Paul and Barnabas, kicking them out of the city.  But Acts tells us, “So the two shook the dust from their feet in protest and went on to Iconium.  The disciples could not but be filled with the joy and the Holy Spirit.”  What is the difference between happiness and joy?  The difference is that happiness is an emotional state that can come and go:  We have good days and bad days.  Happiness depends more on what happens to us and how we react to things.  Sometimes we can mistakenly think that the Mass is there simply to entertain us and to make us feel good about ourselves, but nothing more.  But that’s not really what the Mass is for.  The Mass is the presence of the Risen Jesus who suffered and died on the Cross.  His sacrifice is united to the offering or sacrifice of our lives every time we gather for Mass.  So sometimes we have good days, other times bad days.  God takes us where we are at.  We are different and have different needs and experiences from week to week.  The Eucharist takes all of what is going on in our lives – good and bad – and offers it in union with Jesus, and we receive the Body and Blood of Christ from God.  We should always remember this, because the Eucharist involves the entirety of our lives, not just the entertaining experiences.  It is prayer.

Joy, on the other hand, is a deep and abiding feeling of gratitude and satisfaction that you are at peace with God and doing His will and living up to your calling and full potential.  We hunger for joy in our lives but oftentimes just settle for less.  We can only discover joy when we first put our lives in God’s hands, and no matter what ups or downs we experience through life – even persecution and suffering for the faith – we know that we are apostles and witnesses to the Risen Christ.  And it is joy, not just happiness, that we can experience in Mass, if we are open to it.

The joy and fullness of the Holy Spirit of the apostles also came from them knowing their Faith and being good shepherds to other people in teaching the faith.  They were following the example of the Good Shepherd, the Risen Christ, who teaches us the fullness of the truth and leads us to the heavenly Father.  But this is not limited to the apostles of the early church.  We too have a very important responsibility of teaching the Catholic Faith, especially to our children.  It is one of the difficult things to see in the Church people who don’t care about teaching the Faith to their children or bringing them to Mass to be with the Risen Christ in the Holy Eucharist.  We all have to understand that if we have children our main responsibility is to expose them to the Truth of the Catholic Faith and to raise them in such a way that they will not be tempted by evil and sinful influences or people.  Yet how many people don’t take the Faith seriously, or just see the sacraments as opportunities to dress up or have a party?  Don’t get me wrong – I like parties as much as anyone else, but that’s not the main reason why the church exists or why we celebrate the sacraments.  Yes, we should celebrate and have a feast, but we should do so only because it’s an expression of our Faith in the Risen Christ and what he has done for us and continues to do for us.  And handing on the faith is a tremendous responsibility.  This is why, as parents and adults, we need to constantly pray, study, learn, and strive to be excellent in living out the Catholic life.  Here’s a practical thing – how do I and my family prepare for Mass?  Am I too casual or just come to Mass out of a sense of habit, but my mind and heart are not into it?  We need to remember that the proper celebration of the Mass involves all of us, not just the priest – this means that we have to prepare our bodies by staying free from violence and abuse and by fasting.  It means that we have to prepare our souls by being free from mortal sin, going to Confession, and in a prayerful attitude when we come to Mass.  This also means that we need to shut off any distractions – like texting on our cell phones, chewing gum, talking to our friends, not listening to Jesus in his prayers and readings, and having a bad attitude.  All of that needs to be left outside the Church.  Mass is a time to be with Jesus, and you can’t be with Jesus anywhere else as you are with him here at Mass.  Take the Mass seriously and Jesus will take you seriously.

This time of the year after Easter, when many of us are preparing for first Communions, Baptisms, Confirmations and Weddings, is a special time of grace.  Let us make it a time of knowing our Faith better, of taking on the responsibility of handing on the faith with greater care, and setting a good example to one another of what it means to live in Christian community centered on the Risen Lord in the Holy Eucharist.  It’s only in our response to the call of Faith that the world will come to know the risen Christ.

Whenever a Pope, a Bishop, an Abbot or a President of the United States is chosen for leadership, there is always a period of happiness, because we are looking for hope, we are looking for someone who will make things better. Those elected are excited about the possibilities for the future. However, that “honeymoon” period can be very short. When the celebrating is over, reality sets in and the burden of responsibility can become heavy indeed. I have Good News and bad news. The Good News is, Jesus is Risen and has saved us from our sins. The bad news is the “honeymoon” is over. It is time to pick up our cross and follow Jesus by boldly living and proclaiming the Gospel.

Throughout the year, we must never lose sight of the Resurrection and Pentecost. From these we receive the Eucharist and the Holy Spirit, without which we cannot proclaim and live the Gospel. In the first reading, we see Peter proclaiming the Good News with courage. When he was threatened, he replied, “We must obey God rather than man.” For Peter, the honeymoon was over. He was a bold and fearless proclaimer of the Gospel. He went completely against the culture of the time. He was told not speak the name of Jesus in public. Sound familiar? Look at how successful non-believers have been in removing God from the public arena. Our honeymoon is over. It is time to get to work. We are called to proclaim the Gospel with the courage of Saint Peter.

At Archbishop Sample’s installation Mass he said, “We must move beyond the days of doubting and questioning our Catholic faith. How will we ever convince the world of Jesus Christ if we ourselves are not convinced?” He challenged us to be bold like St. Peter. He said, “with hearts filled with joy, love and mercy, we must proclaim the Good News”.  The Gospel calls us to act with love and mercy when we proclaim the Gospel, which the world is becoming more and more hostile toward. He pointed out that in order to do this, holiness is required. You and I are called to be modern day saints. We are called to strive for holiness.

What does this mean for you and me? It means that the “work” of the Church is not just for the hierarchy and leaders in the Church. In order for the Church to be a “Light to the nations,” all of us must be active participants in the Mission of the Church. As Archbishop Sample said, we are faced with an “almost unprecedented and radical secularism that seeks to push God out of the picture.”

We must ask ourselves, are we like the apostles who rejoiced that they were found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of Jesus’ name, or are we ashamed to stand up for the Gospel and to proclaim it to  the world? Imagine if all who claim to be Christian in this country stood up publicly and denounced abortion and demanded to have the man-made laws replaced by God’s, what a difference it would make. Instead, we have millions of Christians hide behind a position, which has clearly been rejected by the Church as invalid. That position is, “personally I am opposed to abortion, but I think a woman has a right to kill her unborn child.”  Saint Peter would probably call that person a coward had he not been a coward and denied Jesus before he saw Truth. We are not imposing our moral and religious views on anyone. We are defending God’s Law. It is the abortionists who are imposing their immorality on the unborn child. Are you up to the challenge to proclaim the Gospel boldly, like Saint Peter?

Did you know Planned Parenthood is in two of our Salem schools teaching sex education? They are still there because there has not been an outcry against them. Who would have ever thought that the largest destroyers of unborn children would have such access to our youth? We need modern day saints who will proclaim the Gospel. Will you be one?

Our government, with the support of our President, has put in place a mandate that disregards our religious beliefs and this Fall will impose upon us laws that would force us to go against our conscience. As our Archbishop said, we are threatened with a radical secularism. Are we going to sit by quietly and let the government dictate what we must believe? Will you be a modern day saint?

We are in a world that has redefined marriage. The new definition has nothing to do with the unitive and procreative dimensions of marriage, as has been understood and accepted for centuries. Instead, there is no definition, other than love. We will be forced to accept this new law or face penalties. If written into law, we may be forced to teach this lifestyle in our Catholic schools. St. Paul warned against “Lukewarm Christians”. Have we become one of them?

In the Gospel, we have that warm exchange between Jesus and Peter. Three times Jesus asks Peter if he loved him. It was Peter’s opportunity to reverse the three times he denied Jesus. Peter finally understood who Jesus is and now loves Jesus to the point of giving his life for him. Jesus commands Peter to feed his sheep. We, too, as Jesus’ disciples, are called to feed His sheep. We are called to protect the unborn, our youth from deceitful lies from the likes of Planned Parenthood, to defend marriage between a man and a woman, to feed the poor, to love the lonely and forgotten. We must work for justice that promotes the true common good and the dignity of every human person, from conception to natural death.

The honeymoon is over. It is time to answer Jesus’ call. We need to wake from our slumber. We need to be bold like St. Peter, who we know was crucified for his boldness. We can accomplish this mission with joy, as did the Apostles. With the help of the Holy Spirit and the nourishment of the Eucharist, we can be modern day saints. How will you respond to Jesus’ call today when he invites us, “Follow me”?

- Deacon Allen Vandecoevering

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Minister Schedule April through June 2013

The Director will operate all aspects of the daycare program and will report to the school principal. The position is responsible to establish and maintain compliance with the Child Care Division of the State of Oregon, including program files, and requires the ability to work independently, supervise staff, and use good judgment.

Interested applicants should send a resume to St. Joseph School office:

373 Winter St. NE
Salem, OR 97301

Call 503-581-2147 for more information.

The Church concludes the Octave of Easter with the celebration of the 2^nd Sunday of Easter, now known as Divine Mercy Sunday.  This is also a special Sunday as the church is celebrating our new Pope, Pope Francis, and our new Archbishop, Archbishop Sample.  This time of newness and transition in the Church coincides with the new life that we receive through our Lord’s resurrection.  This feast of Mercy, especially as we hear it in the Gospel from John, focuses our reflections on the sacrament of reconciliation, which flows from the Risen Lord:  “Jesus breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.  Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’” This reminds us that while the Church only exists as the body of the risen Lord and we are made members of the Church through our immersion into the Death and resurrection of Jesus in our Baptism, she is also composed of saints and sinners.  And we can even say that we are all sinners, even the saints, in the sense that none of us can claim any special privileges from God, or that we have somehow “arrived” at total sanctity and perfection during our journey of life.  The sacrament of reconciliation recognizes that sanctity, holiness, is an ongoing process of total conversion to Christ in his new life, and that for the Baptized, our journey of faith and spiritual growth is something that is more at the beginning stages rather than at the end of the journey.

I believe that one of the keynotes of Pope Francis’ papacy will be to call all of us to overhaul our lives and be open to a radical conversion to the risen Christ – to give all to Jesus and serve the poor and marginalized, as is the mission of Jesus in the world.  To be yet to be a saint does not mean a person was perfect or did everything perfectly.  This reminds us that the call to holiness that issues forth from the Risen Lord does not automatically eliminate our weaknesses and shortcomings.  These need constant purification and reform, and the saint knows that very clearly in his or her own life.

We can then see the appropriateness of the sacrament of reconciliation in our lives as disciples of the Risen Lord, as we  commemorate Divine Mercy Sunday – this feast as a way to highlight the Mercy of God that is offered to our sinful world through our Crucified and Risen Lord.  It is from the wounded side of our Lord that the waters of Baptism and the Blood of the Holy Eucharist flow to all of us for our cleansing of sin and bathing in the Divine Mercy of our Lord.  It is important to note that in the early Church the sacrament of reconciliation was actually celebrated at the beginning of the Holy Eucharist, and it was only later that the celebration was celebrated at a distinct time because the growing number of confessions led to longer Masses that became impractical from the point of view of time.  Yet it is important to see, as the early Church saw in faith, that the Eucharist is really the sacrament of pardon.  It is the sacrament from which Divine Mercy ultimately flows, and we see the remnant of that in the Penitential Rite at the beginning of Mass where we call to mind our sins and receive absolution from our venial sins.  It also is the reason why we have the practice of going to Confession before Mass and having sins absolved before receiving Holy Communion – the apostles and disciples of the early Church knew very well the connection between being cleansed from sins and having a clear conscience when receiving the Body and Blood of our Lord.  So the whole Baptismal – Eucharistic – Reconciliation superstructure is designed by our Lord and the practice of the early Church to facilitate our deepening of devotion and faith in Christ and growth in our spiritual life.

All of this flows from our encounter with the Risen Lord, for He is Divine Mercy.  This devotion, originating in Poland through the visions received by St. Faustina Kowalska, was embraced by Pope John Paul II as a necessary focus of our faith in the Resurrected Lord.

The Risen Lord is Divine Mercy itself, and this is what God the Father imparts to each of us and invites us to respond to in Faith.  The resurrection of Jesus is no mere resuscitation of a corpse, nor is it a grand deception by the disciples to hide the Body of Jesus after His burial, nor was it a consequence of a great delusion.  Something profound was encountered by the disciples that radically altered their lives from being fear-filled followers to being bold witnesses to the Risen Lord.  Divine Mercy is not limited to forgiveness of our sins, as important as that is.  It is also God showing us that with faith in the Risen Lord we share in His life now, new life; we become a new creation full of grace and purity.  We are restored in our communion with God in such a way that not enables us to continue what Jesus began in His public ministry, but we are able to do “greater things” than Him because we are filled with the Risen life of Jesus.  Let us enter into this renewal of Divine Mercy today as we celebrate Holy Eucharist in union with our new Holy Father, the apostle of God’s Divine Mercy for us.