This seemed like one of those times again that I would just give a few random thoughts on what is floating in my head (protect the women and children! Ha, ha).
I have to admit that I have been paying a little more attention to the Olympics than I thought I would. I certainly have not watched every minute of it, but I have been going to my trusty computer to check out some of the results and watch some of the highlights. As with every Olympics, there are some stories that develop that draw one's interest. The most captivating moment for me so far was the women's gymnastics team event when the U.S. gymnast fell off the balance beam and then fell on the floor exercise - perhaps costing the team a gold medal. I can't imagine the pressure of such a situation, being in your late teens or early 20's and having to hit each maneuver perfectly. I hope that the blame is not put squarely on her shoulders, and that this doesn't haunt her life going forward. It is after all, just sports!?!?
There was a discussion on the radio the other day about whether God really cares about the outcome of a sporting event or game, and that if someone prayed to God to win a game or to make a big play, if this would really have an impact on things. For example, when the Rams had their Super Bowl years, Kurt Warner was very outspoken about his Christian faith and prayer life. Would God favor him over the other team, or is the game played out on its own? I can certainly see someone praying to stay safe during a game, and to pray to do their best, but does this really impact the outcome? Does God really favor the Cardinals over the Cubs? One of life's mysteries. Can you imagine if the Cardinals get the wild card birth and the Cardinals played the Cubs in the playoffs? Oh, the novenas that would be going on then!
Where did the summer go? School starts Tuesday! Is it just me, or does school start earlier each year? I went to Perryville yesterday, and I kept passing by school buses, and I thought "what in the world is going on here?". Then I remembered that their schools started already on Thursday. Wow! At least we are getting a break in the weather at the start of school here. Normally it feels like a sauna when school starts, but we are still in the 80's! Thanks be to God! Let's offer our prayers to all of our students and teachers and staff as they gear up for another year.
Us Catholics are mostly creatures of habit, I think. We like to go to Mass and have everything the same as it always has been, the same familiar songs, the same prayers that we know in our head. Well creatures of habit, in a few years your world will be officially "rocked". There are revisions in the Order of the Mass that have been officially approved, and will certainly affect what the priest says and how we respond during Mass. These changes will nt take effect until at least 2011, but us creatures of habit will certainly need an adjustment period. I've just begun to read more about this, but my understanding is that this new translation is more accurate to the Latin text, and also invokes more closely the images presented in the Bible. Here are a couple of examples of the new translation: At points of the Mass when we respond "and also with you," we will now have to respond "and with your spirit." The Penitential Act, Gloria and Nicene Creed will also be revised. Also, when we sing the Sanctus, instead on singing "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of power and might," we will sing "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts." These are just some of the many changes taking place. If you would like to read about it, here is a link to the page on the USCCB website:
www.usccb.org/liturgy/missalformation/index.shtml
We will certainly be talking more about this as time goes on.
Be sure to keep checking out our website also, www.maryhoc.org. Many more items have been added to the monthly calendar, and I will be putting some new items on the bulletin board later today. If you have an item you would like me to publish on our website, let me know and I am happy to do it.
Have a great first week of school. Peace.
What glorious weather for the month of August! I can't remember being in this time of year and everything still looking so green and fresh. We'll enjoy it while it lasts, as I'm sure we'll still have some hot days ahead before summer ends.
Yesterday as I was looking ahead to the weekend I thought about things that I needed to remember to do. Here was how my list came out: 1) Saturday afternoon - Cards/Cubs gasme on TV, 2) Sunday night - Cards/Cubs game on TV, 3) Saturday night - Rams preseason game on TV, 4) PGA Tournament golf on TV, 5) in between all of this, catch some of the Olympics, 6) Saturday - write blog and scan bulletin to website, 7) Oh, Mass on Saturday evening, and 8) well, maybe squeeze something else in that is actually constructive!
As I stepped back and examined this "list", I thought to myself "My gosh, are your priorities screwed up or what!". So I think about ways to modify my list. Well, somewhere in this couch potato marathon I could pray the rosary with Mother Angelica on EWTN (ha ha). Not that this would be a bad thing, but I think I need to go a little more outside the box. The truth is that I won't be watching every minute of the baseball and football games or the golf tournament or the Olympics, and I'll get some things done. But I also admit that my priorities do sometimes get out of whack, and that is something that I need to work on (constantly).
I do not just question my own priorities, but every time I watch the news or see another campaign ad, I wonder if we really have our priorities in line. I read that just for the opening ceremony for the Olympics the cost was $300 million, which is ten times the amount spent 4 years ago. This is at the same time that many citizens of China are trying to survive on about 2 bucks per day. The opening ceremony was certainly impressive, but would it really have lessened the Olympic "experience" if it was not quite so extravagent?
Of course, when I think of priorities, I can't help but turn to our political system and our election process. We are very fortunate to live in a democratic society with a free election process. But does it really have to take 1 1/2 to 2 years to elect a President? And does it require the tens and tens of millions of dollars that are spent to get this accomplished? After watching all of these ads and speeches, I still don't think that I am 100% clear on where the candidates stand on the issues. With all of the means of communication that we have at our disposal (TV, computer, etc.), can't there be some type of forum where the candidate can just present himself or herself and say "My name is ________________, and this is my view on healthcare, or abortion, etc. Instead, staggring amounts of money are spent with the purpose of trying to convince us that the other candidate is not worthy of our vote. Could you imagine if just part of this money was invested in workig for justice? What a difference it would make!
OK, enough soapbox for one day. Just to finish up with a couple of St. Mary's items. I want to give another plug for the Monday lunch at the K of C Hall. From 11 to 1 each Monday, all you can eat (including dessert) for just $6.00. It's always a good meal, so pick up a friend and stop in. Bill won't mind doing a few more dishes.
Finally, with summer drawing to a close, activities in the parish will pick up the pace. Many items have been added to the monthly calendar on our website. Go to www.maryhoc.org, and click on the "Monthly Calendar" link at the top of the page. You will find the calendar for not just August, but for September, October, and beyond. Check it often as we are always adding new dates.
Time to go get my priorities straight again. Peace.
I start once again by thanking you for continuing to support and use our website, www.maryhoc.org. As you may have seen on our homepage, we set another record last month for the number of pages viewed with a final total of 1210. FANTASTIC! I was reading the other day about the website for Chester High School, which has been online for 10 years, and how it basically started as one page with some sports information, but has continued to grow and grow into one of the most impressive school sites around. Now I'm not claiming that the work I have done on our website is necessarily "impressive", but it has certainly morphed into a much larger project than I ever dreamed it would be. I thought at first we would have a little site where people could read the bulletin, see a monthly calendar and the other schedules, and maybe post a few photos. I didn't dream that in a little over a year's time it would become what it is today. I credit Fr. Gene for feeding me information and ideas, our parishioners for their ideas and encouragement, and of course God for the inspiration He provides me.
I am starting to toss around one more idea in my head for the website. We have a very rich 166 year history here at St. Mary's, and I am thinking about starting a page that would provide a brief history of our parish, and could also include some photos from the past. There may also be a section with some St. Mary's trivia questions. As always, your suggestions are welcomed and encouraged.
Last week I talked about ways I try to find inspiration. As we have turned the calendar to August and school is about to begin, I thought about the inspiration I was given over my childhood years by my teachers. I was blessed to have many wonderful teachers in my life, beginning in grade school here at St. Mary's. Sr. Mary Edna was one of the last breed of the "old-time" nuns that many of us experienced in our school days. She had a yardstick named "Sammy" and I think all of us in class became close to Sammy at one time or another. But she also deeply cared about her students and knew what buttons to push to get her students to do their best. Two of my other grade school teachers are still members of our parish. Diane Kerkhover was my 4th grade teacher. Diane had a great sense of humor and could make even the most mundane subjects fun and interesting. Danny Miller was one of my teachers in the upper grades. Danny related so well to us kids because well, in many ways he was like a kid himself - and I mean that in the best way. He just had that knack of being able to express things on our level, and he treated us as his friends, not just his students.
The best teachers are those that you can look back on 10 or 20 years later, and you find yourself in situations when you say to yourself - "I remember when I learned that from" him or her. I had one of those types of teachers in high school, Sr. Elaine Freund. Sr. Elaine taught composition. I can vividly remember the first class I had with her. She said that your goal in class shouldn't be to make an A or B. Your goal in this class should be that when you walk out of here on the last day of the year, that you will be a better writer than you are today. Did I ever take those words to heart! In college, when you write your final thesis paper, you then have to "defend" your thesis - you get stuck in a room with several old, gruff professors and they basically tear apart everything that you have written. However, when I walked into mine, the first comment was: "I just want to say that I think this was very well written." My first thought was - Sr. Elaine! Really, in anything I write, I think back to those things Sr. Elaine taught me.
I had a professor in college that also taught me a valuable lesson. It actually had nothing to do with the subject matter of the class - it was really an off-hand comment, but a comment I have found to be very true - "If you really want to learn something, teach it." Teaching something really does force you to dig deep into a subject and learn all you can so you, well, basically so you don't look like an idiot. I know that having taught religion for almost 10 years now that I have learned more about my church and my faith than I ever had before.
Our teachers are true heroes. Besides our God and our parents, I don't think there are people more important in shaping the person we become than our teachers. Our best teachers are more than instructors, they are mentors. Please pray for all of our teachers as another school year begins. Pray also for a break in the hot weather before school begins!
Stay cool this week. Peace.
Hello again,
Well I have been doing this blogging thing for about 7 months now. At first I didn't know how often I would write an entry, or what the entries would be about, or how long I would even continue the blog, or if anyone would bother reading it - you get the drift. As time has gone along, it appears that at least a few people are taking a couple of minutes out of their week to read my thoughts (you poor saps, ha ha), and I have kind of gotten into the routine of making an entry each Saturday. As I have shared with you before, my fear is that one of these days I will sit down at my laptop and nothing will come to mind. I thought this morning about what I could write about, and really nothing popped into my mind. So as I sit and begin to type, I am still looking for some type of "inspiration".
Well, let's see: I don't want to talk about the Cardinals (too depressing after this week), so I go and scope the news headlines. I figured the top headline would be something about the economy or politics, but no - the top headline is: "Formerly Pregnant Man Shows Off New Baby." OK, moving on then. I now tap my fingers on my desk and wonder where to turn next. I turn to the left and next to my desk is my bookshelf, and I think to myself that a lot of these books have been sitting on the shelf for quite some time. In our technology-filled world, it is so easy to log on to the internet and find virtually everything we need. I admittedly do not take the time that I should to grab one of my dust-covered books and do some hardcore reflection.
One of my books gives a brief reflection of the Sunday readings, and as I turned to this Sunday, the focus is on the first line of the second reading: "We know that in everything God works for good with those who love God, who are called according to the divine purpose." This really sums up our mission as Catholic Christians, doesn't it? We are asked to work for good along with God. and God has given us the gifts to fulfill this mission. I have been asked in the past why I take on things like teaching PSR, parish council, and for the last year or so keeping up our website. Sometimes it is a difficult question to answer, but this line from Scripture I think makes the answer more clear - it is my way of working with God (not for God, but with God) in spreading the message of His Good News. Is what I am doing enough? Well, only God knows that, but that is what having faith is about, believing that our sacrifices are enough and that we will receive God's eternal reward.
When I do teach religion classes, one thing I try to stress is to open the Bible and listen to the Scripture readings at Mass, and try to grasp God's message. We will interpret His message differently than others, which is OK, because God made all of us unique. My challenge is to pry myself away from the internet and my other electronic gadgest on occasion and pick up my Bible or other book, and spend some quailty time with my God. Maybe this is a challenge we all need to work on.
But of course, there is much usefulness on our world wide web, and when used properly, can be a great tool for all of us. I again say thank you to those who continue to come up to me and compliment our website, maryhoc.org. It means a lot to me, and hopefully it is a small way of working with and through God to fulfill His mission of spreading the good news. Now if He could just spread a little good news on the Cardinals' bullpen!?
Have a great week ahead. Peace.
By the time you read this I'm sure you will have heard of the passing of Fr. Gene's Dad, Mr. Frank Wojcik Sr. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Fr. Gene and his entire family. It has been a difficult time for them the last few months with both of Fr. Gene's parents dealing with health issues, and additionally with the 15 year old son of Fr. Gene's cousin being involved in a serious motorcycle accident. Again, we lift our prayers to God for them and for everyone in our parish who is dealing with hardships.
We have all had to deal with the loss of loved ones, and it is never easy, no matter what the circumstances. Even if our loved one has lived a full life and has graced us here on earth for many years, it still leaves a void, and we still need the support of those around us - our family, our friends, and of course our God. It is during the difficult times that I wonder how people who do not believe in God make it through - where do they go to find hope? Where do they turn for guidance? This past Monday the home run derby was held as part of the All-Star Game festivities in New York. Josh Hamilton, who plays for the Texas Rangers, put on a record performance, belting 28 home runs in the first round. Just a couple of years ago, he was not even playing in the major leagues because he was addicted to illegal drugs and was getting into trouble on a regular basis. However, he appears to have turned his life around, and he credits it to his wife who steered him toward a Christian lifestyle. One of the commentators on the broadcast said that "it is a bad night to be an athiest." I would argue that there is never a good time for that, and that the hope God gives us springs eternal.
This past Sunday Fr. Jeff Moore celebrated his first Mass here in his native parish. It was a great day - the weather was beautiful, the church was full, and a wonderful brunch was provided by Bertha Mae and her crew. It was also great to hear our choir once again. If you haven't checked it out yet, you can go to the home page or photos page on our website and click on Fr. Jeff Moore's page, where you can view photos and video (yes, video) of the day. Many thanks to all who helped prepare for and participate in the day, Bishop Schlarman, Fr. Maes. Fr. Gene, and of course Fr. Moore.
Our Vacation Bible School also took place this past week (see photo above). I had the chance to visit last night and shoot some pictures and video. Hopefully by this evening I will have these up on our website. This is always a great event for our parish. There were as many as 55 kids participating on a given night. That is fantastic! As you can imagine, it takes the hard work of many people to pull something like this off. Special thanks goes to our DRE, Cheryl Gross, who spends hours upon hours getting things organized and set up, and of course thanks to the many wonderful volunteers. There are many great things happening in our parish, which is one of the reasons we began our website - to let everyone know what we are about and the pride we take in our parish. Spread the good news of St. Mary's!
Finally, it is hard to believe that final registration for school is this Tuesday! Was there really a summer vacation!? It is a great tribute to our teachers and staff that they continue to sign back on year after year and continue to make our school such a source of pride for our parish. We pray for our best year ever in 2008-2009, and let us support our school in any way we can!
Peace.