I suspect that my regular readers are thinking that from the title of the blog, this must have something to do with the Spring meeting of all U.S. bishops being held as I write this in Atlanta. It does not, but the next blog entry will for sure. The title here refers to the fact that on Monday night of this week, I finished my last public event until August, that being the graduation ceremony for seventeen hardy lay people of the diocese who completed their four year study in the Lay Pastoral Ministry Institute (LPMI) program. More about that, including some photos, in a few moments.

Statistically, I had celebrated the sacrament of confirmation about thirty times this year, had six high school graduations and/or baccalaureate Masses, presided at about five anniversaries of priestly ordination, one priesthood ordination, five geese a laying and a partridge in a pear tree – or something like that. Anyway, it is always a work-out for me beginning right after Christmas and ending sometime each year in mid-June. When I was younger it was a sleigh ride, but as I get older, I must admit it gets tougher. For the future, we are working hard to attempt a confirmation schedule which will utilize Tuesday and Thursday nights and Saturdays and Sundays and work very hard to control the number of Sunday requests to one each week. Arranging my schedule is always a challenge for my faithful assistant, Vivi Iglesias, and she tries hard to protect me from too many obligations only to have me approached by a priest and then I stroll up to her and tell her to violate my own admonitions. May is the toughest month for sure. Now, I make no pretense that I work harder than anyone else, especially my hard-working priests. I do suggest, however, that I must travel farther to do what I do and am often out later in the evening.

My illness of three years ago requires that I control food intake until I am almost home each night so there is that and my staff is terrified of me driving around at night, in the dark for heaven’s sake, so they push me to have someone drive me – like Miss Daisy, if you know what I mean. I feel very guilty about having someone drive me and see me back to my residence around 1030pm every evening and then have to drive another thirty or forty-five minutes to their own residence. I have never utilized a priest to assist me as either a full-time secretary,driver, and/or master of ceremonies. I will stick to that as long as I am the bishop. This year our four seminarians on pastoral year met me at the parishes where I was to do something (confirmation, installation, etc.) but they did not drive me. Next year, Father Carl Melchior, our full-time Assistant Vocation Director will help with the driving and MC’ing which he began in earnest a few weeks ago. All of this is a way of publicly admitting that I was thrilled to be done for a few months and can now spend some time thinking about a less demanding schedule and some time away for rest and relaxation. As hard as it can be and as physically demanding as it is, I still love what I do and I hope and pray that is reflected in my presence in the life of this Church.

Now, about the Lay Pastoral Ministry Institute and its graduates. Seventeen lay women and men completed the required course of study and it was an honor for me to acknowledge their accomplishment on Monday night. I’ve included a few photos from the Evening Prayer and Commissioning Ceremony below, but you can see more photos by clicking here.

The 2012 graduating class of the LPMI. Photo kindness of Maria Mertens.

The 2012 graduating class of the LPMI. Photo kindness of Maria Mertens.

Leading the family and friends who attended in a standing ovation to recognize the 2012 LPMI graduates.

With the 2012 LPMI graduating class. Top Row (from left to right): Dolores Hazard, Christine Grieco, Bob Christensen, Noel Negron, Denise Moyer, Edward C. LaRose, Julian B. Weglarz, John Ustick. Bottom row (from left to right): Gretchen Robens, Bonnie B. Ussery, Barbara Ferreris, Nellie Negron, Linda McCarroll, myself, Darlene Jones, DO, Janet Trinidad-Weglarz, Beverely Wiebeld, and Marla Ustick. Photo kindness of Maria Mertens.

Among those graduating was one judge, one doctor, and three married couples. That they love their Church so much that they would give up all those evenings for four years to journey to the Bethany Center for class is humbling and makes all my ruminations above seem trivial. I get paid to do what I do. They did what they did and do for the love of Christ and His Church. Congratulations, graduates, and may your work on behalf of the Gospel be pleasing to the Lord.

+RNL

If you read my previous entry on the death of Bishop Agustín Román, Auxilary Bishop of Miami last Wednesday evening, you will likely not be surprised that I still carry the image of that loving and deeply caring bishop with me. On Saturday, the Church and the people whom he loved and served said good-bye to him in a style and manner which would have clearly been an embarrassment for him. After long hours of people passing by his body which laid in rest at his beloved Ermita de la Neustra Señora de la Caridad (Shrine of Our Lady of Charity), his body was driven through the streets of Little Havana to the Cathedral of St. Mary for the funeral Mass and hundreds lined the streets throughout the procession route.

I was able to be present only by deeply disappointing the parents of and confirmandi at the first county-wide celebration of Confirmation in Citrus county history. Since I had asked for the favor of a combined ceremony, it was deeply embarrassing to miss it and I apologize to the parents, sponsors, confirmandi and priests of the county. But I felt I needed to be in Miami to prayerfully say farewell to a great man, priest and bishop. The liturgy was lovely, totally in Spanish, and the Cathedral full to overflowing. The relatively newly appointed Papal Nuncio to the United States of American, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò was also present representing the Holy Father which is unusual for anyone other than cardinals and archbishops of larger sees who die.

When the casket was carried into the Cathedral, the congregation welcomed it with vigorous applause. Several times during the homily of Archbishop Thomas Wenski, the congregation responded with sustained, prolonged applause for their dear bishop. I gazed at the body lieing on the floor of the sanctuary and thought to myself, +Agustín, your legacy is guaranteed and your love will not soon be forgotten.

In the earlier blog, I wrote one of many stories in my mind about the bishop being out very late at night. There was another time when the Spanish Cursillo group would hold large Masses in the Chapel of St. John Vianney College Seminary where I was Rector on Sunday nights. They filled the place every time and when it rained as it often does in South Florida, they thought nothing of driving their cars straight up the lawn from the front entrance to let off or pick up their family members leaving deep tire tracks embedded in the lawn carefully manicured and cared for by the seminarians on their work-list days. One night I had had quite enough and with umbrella in hand I was out scolding those driving on “my” lawn. I knew it would make little behavioral difference but I sure felt better. Bishop Román, the celebrant that evening watched me rant at the cars turning my lawn into a mudpit and when they had left he searched me out in my room to first apologize and then said, “but Bob, remember that grass grows anytime here but the faith was being cultivated tonight and it might not last past your upset.” He was right, as always, and gently chided I took to heart his words and never again thought about whatever they might or might not do when they came to clausura on their (not mine) seminary property. In a quiet moment, I looked down at his casket before the altar and on the floor and quietly said, +Agustín, come to rest whereever you wish.

I needed to be back in St. Petersburg by 6:30pm so a four o’clock return flight was essential. I could not stay with him through the final commendation and transfer to Mercy Cemetary. I shall always regret that in my remaining years. In the first year I was ordained a priest (1978), the crusty old Rector of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Miami, Monsignor John Donnelly, said to me once, “young man, you really find out who your friends are if they come to the cemetary. The funeral Mass is easy but the cemetary – there your true friends gather.”

Bishop Román was a saint. He likely will never be officially declared this by the Church but everyone who knew him, was around him, was ministered to by him – we all know it. He sets a standard for episcopal ministry so high that most of us do not have even a chance. I shall always be grateful that even if only for a short while in my priestly life, in Miami, he and I walked the same aisles, myself unworthy even to tie his shoe. Rest in peace, +Agustín.

+RNL

Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy, then the second Archbishop of Miami, ordained me a priest. He was an incredibly fine man, almost a kindly uncle to me and to most of the other priests in the Archdiocese. His primary way of communicating with the people of the Archdiocese was through an occasional column in THE VOICE  (the weekly Archdiocesan newspaper)and later the FLORIDA CATHOLIC which he entitled “Devotedly Yours”. Every time it would show up, we knew the Archbishop was writing at “altitude” or above 30,000 feet on an airplane going to someplace or coming home. Laptops were not available in those days so the Archbishop would take out a brown pen and write on the back of the air-sickness bag, a piece of hotel stationary – anything he could get his hands on and his wonderful secretary would transcribe it on a typewriter prior to submission for publication. Priests can sometimes be quite “catty” and occasionally when someone would read one of his “Devotedly Yours” columns, some crack would be made about a lack of oxygen at altitude. But those columns were very personal and one never had to struggle to discern what the great man meant.

Well, I am tonight at altitude, on board a small United Airline plane bound first for Denver and then I must switch to their fiancée in the airline business, Continental for the remainder of the trip to Seattle. Having left Tampa on Pentecost night at 710pm EDT, I will arrive Seattle at 235am EDT (1135pm PDT) and probably climb into my Hyatt hotel bed about 4 am by my body time. The Catholic bishops of the United States are holding their spring meeting this month in Seattle. You may recall that last June they held a longer assembly in St. Petersburg which they loved enough to talk about coming back again. How I wish I could once again drive down the street for twenty minutes to attend the meeting.

The actual meeting begins on Wednesday morning and ends on Friday evening but I must leave Seattle at 545am on Friday to return for the celebration of a “Blue Mass” for policemen and firemen on Saturday morning and the second and last wedding of my summer later Saturday. On Tuesday, however, the Search Committee on which I serve for a new CEO/President for Catholic Relief Services will present two candidates to the CRS Board of Directors for their ultimate decision. I am no longer able to fly coast to coast and start a meeting the next morning without some kind of rest day in between. How I hate being 70 (except that on Saturday I was called for Jury Duty in Pinellas County and discovered that if you are over seventy you do not have to serve – the first “bene” from being ancient!)

On these two very long westbound flights I have been able to read the documentation, which precedes each meeting. The most important thing I find on the public agenda is a discussion of the Dallas Charter, which was passed in 2002, and deals with how the Church will handle accusations of sexual misconduct with a minor or vulnerable adult. I have written an “Op-Ed” piece at the invitation of the editorial board of the St. Petersburg Times for today’s paper in which I outline the experience in our diocese in the last ten years. It is possible that this agenda item will receive more than its share of media attention this week, but reading the changes, which are being recommended to the bishops to me indicates that there will not be a wholesale re-working of the Charter but some tightening up and tweaking. There will be a first discussion of a new document of the Conference on physician-assisted suicide entitled “To Live Each Day With Dignity, another seeking permission to develop a document on preaching, and some liturgical matters all dealing with the liturgy in Spanish. Once again it is not a particularly heavy or burdensome agenda.

So as I chase the sun west tonight on a never ending evening, I recall celebrating Pentecost this morning at St. Jude’s Cathedral and a lovely confirmation of about seventy-five young people. What a great day to confirm! Pentecost, the birthday of the Church which is the body of Christ. Have a great week and stay tuned – I intend to interrupt any boredom which may occur with blog posts.

+RNL

Stained glass window at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish, Waimauma. Photo courtesy of John Christian

This day before Pentecost was quite a day for me. The morning began with a large confirmation at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish in Wimauma where I confirmed 64 young people, almost all of whom were Mexican. Readers who are unaware of local geography in the Diocese of St. Petersburg need to know that southeastern Hillsborough county is home to many migrant workers who live in the camps or low cost housing. This part of what is too often thought of as “Tampa” is agricultural and thus the presence of our largely Mexican brothers and sisters. Most of the confirmation was done in Spanish although the generation I confirmed was clearly more comfortable in English than Spanish. However, the sponsors with their hands on the confirmands’ shoulders seemed very grateful to hear the words spoken in Spanish. Over the fifteen years I think my spoken Spanish has improved even if it remains a challenge to extemporize.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is probably our second largest concentration of Hispanics in the diocese, following only St. Lawrence parish in Tampa which has the highest concentration of Hispanics per square mile than anywhere else in our five counties. Father Demetrio Lorden, a native Spaniard, has been the pastor in Wimauma for slightly longer than a decade and he spends himself for his people. Any ceremony there must leave the Anglo propensity for good order at the vestibule door but I love celebrating the liturgy and confirmation before this very lively and grateful community of people. The music was good, the children were all over the place which was also fine, and the young people well prepared to receive the sacrament.

Where serendipity or Divine Providence comes into play is that by some application of the unexplained, at four o’clock this afternoon I said Mass at Old St. Mary’s parish in downtown St. Petersburg for the Vigil of Pentecost and then I officially blessed and inaugurated a lovely new shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Here the congregation was totally Anglo. It seemed to me appropriate, however accidental, to dedicate a shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe on the Vigil of Pentecost. While Scripture is silent on whether or not Mary or any other women were present at the Last Supper, the same scriptures are very clear that she was present with the apostles in the Upper Room for the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Having given birth to Jesus at the moment of the Incarnation, she was present for the birth of the new body of Christ which came about on Pentecost in the form of the Church. The Church is the new body of Christ. I think I was able to meld the Pentecost reality with the presence of Mary both on that occasion and in our new Shrine to her under the patronage of Our Lady of Guadalupe in my homily which I will share with you below. You can form your own opinions about my success or failure.

The shrine was a gift of Federal Judge Elizabeth Kovachevich in honor of the late Monsignor John McNulty who was diocesan director of Pro-Life Activity for years and her parents, one of whom was an active parishioner of St. Mary’s while the other, her mother was loyal and dedicated to St. Paul’s. The judge’s desire was to place the shrine in such a manner on Church property that it could easily be seen from the adjacent and huge ALL CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL just to the west. A parent worried about the birth of a child or the health of a child could go to the windows facing east and toward the Church, see the Shrine to the patroness of pro-life causes and seek her intercession with Jesus on behalf of their child. It works. I wish to thank Father Cletus Watson and the Third Order Franciscan Friars who staff St. Mary’s for their toleration of this project in their property. For myself, in addition to the Judge’s pro-life concept, I wanted a place in Pinellas county (St. Petersburg and Clearwater among many communities) where anyone could come at any hour of the day or night and pray to Our Lady of Guadalupe. I hope and pray that it will be a place of short pilgrimage for all who seek her assistance.

The Prayer of Blessing of a Shrine Photo Courtesy of Vivi Iglesias

So today was devoted to the Mother of the Redeemer under the banner of the Patroness of the Americas, Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe. All in all, a high gear run up to tomorrow’s Solemnity of Pentecost. Happy Birthday to we Catholics who have for millenia acknowledged that the Church was born when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and they began their missionary effort.

The Shrine in the rear of Old St. Mary's, downtown St. Petersurg - Photo courtesy of Vivi Iglesias

THE VIGIL OF PENTECOST AND THE BLESSING OF THE SHRINE TO OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE
St. Mary’s, St. Petersburg June 11, 2011

This evening the Church gathers in Vigil before the celebration of the solemnity of Pentecost, the birthday of our Church, the day on which all lethargy and lifelessness was cast aside with the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Christ. In some ways it is a shame that this most important moment in the life of the Church does not usually get the attention accorded Christmas or Easter. In other places, families are not gathering to celebrate this Feast and the limited confines of space in our Churches is not challenged by overflow crowds who stand twice a year but not tonight or tomorrow.  Pentecost, the moment of making for the Church will this year come and go with only limited attention paid to it. It is a shame because it is indeed the birthday of the Church.

Among the apostles, the waiting game is over with the coming of the Spirit. From the Ascension to the moment of coming of the Spirit, Acts and the Gospels infer that they remained together in prayer, waiting for the next shoe to drop. When they signed up to follow Jesus, they surely did not expect Him to die an ignominious death. But then, despite his predictions, they did not expect him to rise from the dead either. In those precious days between Easter and the Ascension, he several times told them that he would send the Spirit, the Paraclete, who would mission them to spread the Gospel throughout the world. He told them that He would need first to ascend to the Father before the Spirit would come. They listened but they were never quite sure.

Then with the roar of the wind and with the symbol of fire God visited the earth once again, this time in the form the Spirit, the third person of the Trinity and in a few short moments, they had both the gifts needed for and the mission to preach Christ to all. There was among them, however, one person who never doubted, who waited with equanimity and patience, because she had already been gifted with the Spirit. Her name, Mary. Luke in Acts tell us that prior to the day of Pentecost, “persevering with one mind in prayer and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren” the apostles were graced by her presence.  She who had given life and breath to Jesus prayed for the coming of the same Spirit so that the Church, the remaining body of her Son on earth, might be born.

Integral and essential in God’s plan for the birth of His Son on earth, Mary remained integral and essential to God’s plan for the birth of his Church. Amazingly all this took place in the same room in which Jesus Himself gave birth to the Eucharist. Thus in this place she was to give birth to the new evangelization and through her presence and prayers bless its beginnings.

This afternoon here in this Church which carries Mary’s name, we shall shortly dedicate and bless a new shrine to her under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe. She is the patroness of the Americas, two vast continents which none of the Apostles could have even dreamt about much less visited. Here on the premises of St. Mary’s her image from the tiny village of Tepeyac, outside of present Mexico City, will welcome all who come to do precisely what she was doing at the moment of Pentecost – praying. They will come to pray to Mary to ask her Son for help in their sorrows and sufferings. They will come to pray to Mary to ask her Son to help our generation and those who follow to have the same respect for human life which God had in choosing to send his only begotten Son to live among us not as a person of wealth and privilege, but the simple son of a carpenter and his wife.

The image that this afternoon we dedicate to the glory of God and the memory of his earthly mother is that which appeared on Juan Diego’s cloak, an image and appearance originally rejected as a hoax by his bishop, but which in the succeeding centuries and decades has rallied the faithful to greater hope in the Lord.

This morning I confirmed 65 young women and men at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Waimauma. They were all Mexicans, many from the camps of southeastern Hillsborough county. At least ten took the name of Nuestra Senora de la Guadalupe and another ten the name of Saint Juan Diego. The hope of our Hispanic brothers and sisters is that the same Gospel which the apostles preached post Pentecost will continue not to be just preached but lived out in this moment in history, at this moment of need. I have no idea how many of them were documented or undocumented. It would not have mattered to Mary or to the Apostles and it should not matter to us. They trust her even when at times they distrust us. They know she will ask her Son to watch over them, protect them, nourish and encourage them and from her place in heaven she prays that the Church born today will do the same.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is also the “patroness of human life” and especially that life which is carried in a mother’s womb.  I am very proud that her image faces the massive All Children’s Hospital and those disposed to do so who worry for their children there can look down and ask her intercession on behalf of the young lives being treated there.

Pinellas county now has a place with easy access where all of those who love and respect this woman of Pentecost came come and pray. It was God’s will that we bless and dedicate this shrine on the eve of Pentecost. She was there then and she is here now. Nuestra Senora de la Guadalupe, oye nos.

Elizabeth Kovachevich, Donor of the Shrine in the memory of her Parents and Monsignor John McNulty, former pastor of Old St. Mary's - Photo courtesy of Vivi Iglesias

Saint Juan Diego to whom Mary appeared on December 9, 1591 at Tepeyak in a stained glass window at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Waimauma, Photo Courtesy of John Christian

Monsignor Aidan Foynes, Ordained June 4, 1961 on the occasion of his fiftieth anniversary of ordination. Photo courtesy of Brandon and Michelle Horn

This past week-end was quite an exercise in sacramental theology as well as one of strength and stamina. It must be something akin to hitting a home run and then having to run and touch the four bases. On Saturday I began with a large confirmation at St. Paul’s parish in Carrollwood, Tampa. 197 young women and men presented themselves for the sacrament which for me translates into about two hours of energy to be expended. They were a wonderful class, well prepared and very serious. I was constantly conscious of the fact that about two hundred of their family and friends were unable to find seats and would be standing throughout the Mass. About two-thirds of the way through the confirmation rite itself, a first occurred. A young man after I had confirmed him and spoken briefly to him asked, “May I give you a hug?” Before I could answer he had enveloped me in a big hug and said “thanks” and then departed. I looked at the pastor, Father Len Piotrowski, who said to me “that was not in the script!” Before long it became the thing to do, with about another fifteen men and women leaving me with a big hug. I could only think “how long would we be here if all 197 did the same?” We would likely still be there on Monday.

Brian and Kelsey Christian with Brian's uncle Fr. Jim Johnson

Saturday evening at the Cathedral I celebrated the Mass and preached at a nuptial Mass for one of my long time servers at St. Jude’s during his High School and College days, Brian Christian and his new wife Kelsey. Brian’s uncle is Father Jim Johnson, the pastor of Our Lady of Fatima parish in Inverness and Director of Good Counsel Camp. He actually performed the marriage ceremony. It was in many ways a simple wedding and a simple reception. As I have mentioned here in prior posts, it is a good thing that I do not do many weddings as I am very rusty and could easily skip a major part, like the Nuptial Blessing if not careful or with assistance. I was honored to have been invited to participate in an event which focused mainly on the marriage moment and not so much on the reception which would follow.

On Sunday morning I began by visiting one of our pastors, Father George Rozycki of St. Joseph’s parish in Zephyrhills, who is in Tampa General for tests and exploratory procedures. Please keep Father George in your prayers as at this moment his situation seems ominous. Those of you who know Tampa General know that it is possible to get lost easily and walk miles from car to bedside. It took me twice as long to find Father George and return to my car as the thirty minutes I was able to spend with him.

From the bedside of a pastor to a celebration of fifty years of priestly ministry, I then drove yesterday morning to St. Cecilia parish in Clearwater where the parish, family and friends celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of ordination of Monsignor Aidan Foynes, its retired pastor and a wonderful priest of this diocese. Monsignor preached and I sat entranced and entralled by his words. I mentioned to the gathered that bishops do not often get a chance to hear their priests preach because when we are present we seem to trump them and are always called upon to preach. What a pity because Monsignor Foynes with a wonderful combination of Irish wit and deep insight into the mystery of priesthood almost brought me to tears at moments and to laughter at others. The love in the Church for this gentle servant of the Gospel was palpable. So the third base sacrament this week-end was a renewed sense of gratitude for Holy Orders.

But there was one more to come as I rounded third and headed to St. Mark’s parish in New Tampa for yet another confirmation, this time with 97 candidates and thankfully no hugs. The ceremony was beautiful, the Church was packed, the music great and the young women and men serious and well prepared. I came home exhausted, climbed into bed and thanked God for the home run opportunity He gave me this week-end to celebrate four sacraments of the Church.

+RNL

One of the things which I enjoy the most about the six weeks of the Easter season is listening at Mass to the complete reading of the Acts of the Apostles. Since this is prime confirmation season in this diocese, the first reading from the Acts is always excellent fodder for the homily at the confirmation Mass. If courage is one of the gifts of the Holy  Spirit, no where is i t so consistently displayed in one book of the Bible than in the Acts of the Apostles. Listen to the same man who said to Pilate’s maid in the courtyard early on Good Friday when Peter is asked whether or not he is a friend of Jesus and he denies even knowing him to the Peter that in the synagogue and public places throughout Judea is preaching Jesus Christ as Lord, Messiah, Son of God. What got into him? Try the Holy Spirit.

It would probably be more appropriate to publicly proclaim Acts after Pentecost because it gives a great snapshot of the post-Pentecost, Spirit-inspired early Church. But coming now, after Easter and before Pentecost, is also an appropriate moment because the reality of the resurrection of Christ is so clearly on display in the faith of the Apostles and the early Church. in another couple of weeks, Saul a.k.a. Paul, will appear in the readings from Acts and the second part of the story of the early Church, namely proclaiming the Gospel to the Gentiles will begin. Peter becomes quite the preacher and Paul, probably the greatest theologian in the history of the Church, also proclaims the truth about a man who he never met in life before his crucifixion, with a passion similar to that of the first among the Apostles. True to most life, Peter and Paul have their moments, also recorded in the Acts of the Apostles but their disagreements always end in accord and harmony.

Statue of St. Peter in the Piazza in front of St. Peter's Basilica

I find another proof of the Spirit in the words, especially of Peter who we must remember was largely an uneducated fisherman, but becomes simply eloquent in synthesizing the reality of Jesus’ resurrection into brief credal statements that almost everyone can understand while still remaining in the realm of profound ideas. Acts of the Apostles is the primer or basic textbook for studying the Christian era’s roots and beginning. When Easter season is over, our liturgy directs us back to readings from the entire Bible, Old and New Testaments which foretell the coming of the Messiah and apply that reality to our lived experience. But for the moment, the Church gives us one long narrative, the closest things we possess to a history book of the beginning of our Church and God acting in its midst.

If you are a reader unable to attend daily Mass during this season, but perhaps somewhat intrigued by this blog entry, try picking up the Bible and read Acts from beginning to end. It is not that long nor is it that difficult but it is foundational to our faith. Thanks for listening!

+RNL

After a very long week-end which included four confirmations in two days, one in Citrus county, one in Hernando country, and two in Pinellas county, I returned home last night (Sunday) and before going to bed was watching the recording of the Beatification ceremony of Blessed John Paul II when my IPhone signaled a major breaking news story. Placing the Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on hold, I turned on NBC and first heard that the President of the United States had asked for air time to speak to the nation about a major issue of national security at 1030pm. Like most of you, I waited and watched and then about 1045pm heard that the network could confirm that the President was about to announce the death of Osama Bin Laden and that our soldiers were in possession of his dead body. An enormous sense of relief swept over me. I instinctively thought of the late Pope and what he might have thought were he alive.

When in 2001, President Bush declared war on terrorism and especially on Al Qaeda, the Holy Father noted that the action could be morally justifiable as an act of self-defense and a response to an unprovoked attack on innocent civilians. For the Pope and the Holy See to acknowledge that the criteria for a just war could be met in this action was an unusual moment in modern history. It was no surprise to many when the intelligence community throughout the world posited that the same Al Qaeda had targeted the Holy Father himself for assassination. Later Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict would raise serious questions about the expansion of the Afghanistan initiative.

No one takes pleasure in the violent death of another but a sense of justice being served, peace possibly being advanced, one less terrorist to manage more attacks on civilian targets, is no sin. I think the Lord would understand. Not knowing all the details at this writing  I think most citizens of the United States are relieved as I am that this  mastermind of the deaths of thousands was brought to justice. We have lost 45,000+ of our young women and men in the ten years plus since 9/11 in Iraq and Afghanistan, a high price to pay. Just this week-end, it was revealed that a young Marine from Plant City was the latest to die in Afghanistan serving his country. Their families must surely be experiencing some measure of comfort this morning though the pain of their loss will long outlive the relief of last night’s news.

We all need to continue to pray for peace in our world. Our world is a complicated place and it needs more leaders like Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict to help us navigate the path to true peace which is never war. For the moment, I shall simply ponder my personal feeling of relief at this stunning news.

+RNL

The Lighting of the Easter Fire which begins the Easter Vigil

If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. (1 Cor. 15:14) With his customary insight, one of the first great converts to Christianity, St. Paul sums up exactly what Easter means to us. It is the epicenter of our faith upon which all else hinges. Without the Resurrection, Jesus would most likely have been just another good person who did good things who history remembers kindly but who lived and died like everyone else. But precisely because he rose from the dead, he is more. He is truly the Son of God. For the next fews weeks we will hear testimony of his Resurrecti0n from people who went to the tomb, encountered Him in his resurrected form, talked to Him, continued to be taught by Him. Easter is far more than an empty tomb. Pranksters could accomplish that. Easter and our faith which flows from it is all about victory over death and sin and new life in a new form. Jesus in his public ministry had raised the son of the widow of Nain, the daughter of Jairus and Lazarus back to life and they simply returned in their human form to continue their life until again a second and final time they had to die. But the resurrection of the Lord Jesus is dramatically different. He does not simply return in his human form but in resurrected form, like we shall all assume one day. Yes, He walked and talked and looked enough like His old self to be recognized at times but he also could appear and disappear, be unrecognizeable, no longer needing human nourishment, sleep and the like. Nor would He ever taste death again but  would live  in eternity with the Father and the Spirit. His resurrection not only defines his divinity but fulfills countless prophecies from the Old Testament and gives us faith for our own futures after our deaths.  The Easter event defines Jesus and  ourselves, gives us hope for what is to come to  us if we too live a life of virtue, seek forgiveness of our sins, and imitate as much as we humanly can our Savior and Lord. Happy Easter to all who read these words and may the news that “He is not here, he has risen” give hope and consolation to you in whatever you may face in life.

The first of four Baptisms at the Easter Vigil, 2011

In addition to the four catechumens, fourteen others were received into the Church and confirmed at the Easter Vigil

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The Abbey Church at St. Leo Monastery

Last Sunday night I celebrated the student liturgy at St. Leo University and confirmed six of their members and offered First Eucharist to one. First let me begin by saying that it was a lovely liturgy and they had a roughly ten person choir who provided very appropriate and beautiful music for the liturgy. Father Stephan Brown, S.V.D. is in charge of Campus Ministry and invited me to be with his community. Normally I do not ever confirm during Lent but I made an exception this time at Father Brown’s request since Easter falls so late and there are only ten days of sch0ol left at St. Leo after the Easter break.

The liturgy on Sunday night took place in the Abbey Church although it usually occurs in a room at the student union. I suspect that St. Leo had a large share of students who go home on week-ends because they live so close to the University. Attendance of students at this liturgy was not large and the fact that Sunday Eucharist is celebrated in the Board Room of the student union indicates the challenges inherent in a campus ministry program for a school such as this.

St. Leo University has grown significantly in the last twenty-five years, for the first ten or eleven under the leadership of Monsignor Frank Mouch and for the last thirteen under the current president, Dr. Arthur Kirk, Jr. While its residential program on campus numbers about 2000 traditional four-year students, its outreach through distance learning and programs on military bases makes St. Leo about the fifteenth or sixteenth largest Catholic university in the nation.

I know a lot of graduates of our high schools who attend St. Leo and love it. They are certain that they are getting a first rate education for life after college and the graduates students are grateful for for the opportunities afforded them as well. It’s local, it’s Catholic, it’s educationally sound. – all good things. Soon they will dedicate a new building housing the School of Business and the campus has experienced such growth that it is impossible for me to locate a single picture which does the whole justice. St. Leo Prep which preceded St. Leo College which preceded St. Leo University was for many years an apostolic work of the Benedictine monks of St. Leo Abbey. A number of years ago the title and ownership of the college was turned over to basically a lay board of trustees who have taken bold ownership while still remaining committed to the Benedictine spirit and tradition of ora et labora, or “prayer and work.” Another part of the Benedictine spirit from their founder is that of hospitality and it was certainly in evidence on Sunday night. Congratulations to the confirmandi, to the campus ministry and peer ministry program and to all who keep the light of Saint Benedict and his sister Saint Scholastica alive.

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It has been my custom for more than a decade now to celebrate Ash Wednesday Mass for the St. Petersburg Catholic High School community and I did so today. Let me begin by saying that a more prayerful environment one could not ask for and the students both sang and responded to the Mass parts well (not always true of high school students). So it was a privilege to begin my Lenten journey to Holy Week once again with my neighbors to the east of the Bishop W. Thomas Larkin Pastoral Center.

I mentioned to the students that today we begin a journey which will last a number of weeks. I mentioned that throughout human history, when someone has an idea, or a concept, or something they wish to sell to others, they spend a great deal of time working on what would likely be called “brand identification.” McDonalds, when it started, began with the notion of the “Golden Arches” and when someone sees them, they do not even need to see the name, they know what those two yellow arches announce. Nike does the same thing with its “swoosh” logo – whether it is a hat, a shirt, shoes, “Nike” need not appear, just the logo or brand.

We Christians have a “brand” that no marketing department in its right mind would ever accept or suggest – a cross with a dead body hanging from it. Gruesome, ugly, terrifying, bloody – it is not a PR person’s dream nor is it a marketer’s concept. But tell me another “brand” or symbol that has endured for two thousand years, that marks one’s identity as a Catholic Christian than a cross with a corpus or body on it. It has endured because of what and who it represents rather than what it is trying to “sell.” Jesus died on the cross and thereby secured for us the best “life insurance” policy one could ask for, eternal life. Its message has outlasted the Rock of Gibraltar for Prudential, the breaching orca whale for Pacific Life. That cross on that Good Friday purchased our life, eternal life, insurance policy.

"Branding" Fr. Larry Urban, SDB, one of the Salesian priests who teaches at St. Petersburg Catholic High School.

So today on Ash Wednesday we begin our personal journey to Good Friday and Easter Sunday. We pay for our ticket for the journey by embracing prayer, fasting and charity to the poor. We prepare by denying ourselves in small ways to share in the death and resurrection of He who denied himself his very life to purchase our chance at eternal life.

When we baptize a child, what is the first thing we do? The priest or deacon and the parents and God parents “brand” the child with the sign of the cross ” By the sign of the cross the Christian community welcomes you” we say. When I confirm a person what is the main thing I do? I “brand” the confirmand with Sacred Chrism and the sign of the cross. When I administer the Sacrament of the Sick to a person, what do I do? I make the sign of the cross on their forehead and hands, “branding” them as Christians to whom Jesus is coming as healer.

I suspect I have made my point so I will close with this thought on this Ash Wednesday – today we wear the “brand” of our Christian identity in ashes on our foreheads to help us begin our Lenten journey so that in a few weeks we can reverence the real cross on Good Friday. Only God could give the world a symbol like the cross to bring us to our knees! Have a holy Lent, dear readers.

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