Dearest friends in Christ:

Jesus Christ is risen, He is truly risen! Alleluia!

What has this experience of dealing with the coronavirus taught you so far? What blessings have you received that you are most thankful for? For many, it is impossible to see any blessings or benefit from the experience that we find ourselves in at this time. Suffering, death, fear, disruption, financial ruin, shortages, cancellations, social distancing, alienation, stress, stay at home orders, quarantines and so much more – how can anyone find good or blessings in that? For us as Catholics and for many other Christians, there has been the added difficulty and burden of not being allowed to gather together as a community in worship. Specifically for us as Catholics, that has meant that we have not been able to participate at Holy Mass, the rites of Holy Week, the Sacred Triduum and most significantly, we have not been able to receive the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. What can be good about any of that? Where is any blessing?

Today, we go back two thousand years ago to that morning of the first day of the week on the outskirts of Jerusalem. A tumultuous week, filled with confusion, excitement, pain, spectacle, intrigue, drama, confusion, chaos, shame, anger, blood and death. For almost all that morning was nothing. It was another day. A day to move on, a day to put the past week behind. A day to deal with the problems at hand. For the disciples and followers of Jesus, they were having to deal with the aftermath of his death, his absence from their lives. We see that with the women at the tomb, with Peter and John and later that day with Cleopas and the other disciple on the road to Emmaus. When they awoke that morning, they thought it was the same world as when they fell asleep the night before. But this day was different. The world was different. They just didn’t know it.

When they set out for the tomb, the women and the apostles had a set of expectations. They knew what they were going to find; a corpse, a lifeless body, cold and still. They knew what they had to do all the while missing him, longing for him, desiring to see the gaze of his eyes, the smile of his face, aching to hear his voice one more time. What they wanted most was to wake up from a bad dream. They wanted the past, the way things used to be. But this day was different, the world was different, all of creation and history was different. They just didn’t know it.

That day, that Sunday, the third day since the agony and death of Jesus, a new life had dawned; a life of victory, a life of presence. And the tomb was empty. The angels said to the women in their terror, “Why do you seek the living one among the dead?” The world had changed but their expectations had not. It took time for them to realize that Jesus was indeed risen, he was alive. He was not gone, he was with them. The risen Jesus asks Mary Magdalene as she wept, “Whom are you looking for?” In her tears, even after seeing the empty tomb, she still does not recognize Jesus as the one speaking to her. She who longed for his voice, failed to recognize the voice of her Lord. But as he called her by name, she is then able to respond. The disciples on the road that evening, failing to recognize the risen Jesus as he walked with them, talked with them and even chastised them for being foolish and slow of heart, only afterwards did they come to admit that their hearts were burning as he was with them.

As we deal with the world in a state of panic and confusion, fear and isolation, do we see the Risen One? Do we recognize him and hear his voice? Do we see the empty tomb and still cling to our expectations and desire the way things used to be? Do we hear Jesus asking us “Whom are you looking for?”

What has this time taught you and what are you grateful for?

Have a beautiful Easter!

Dear Friends in Christ,

This is going to be a Holy Week and Easter unlike any other that we have experienced in our lifetimes, so let’s not waste it! While indeed there is great sadness for those who are suffering and further sadness that we cannot gather together as the family of the Church, we are still the Church: The People of God, The Body of Christ. This is still Holy Week, the holiest week of the year. We continue even in the midst of the pandemic of COVID-19, to recall Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, his preaching in the temple, his gathering with the apostles for the Last Supper and the events leading to his agony and death on the cross. Most of all during this week, we prepare ourselves and our families to remember and celebrate the conquering of sin and death in Jesus’ glorious resurrection from the dead! In so many ways, Holy Week is a paradigm of where we find ourselves today and Easter, the perfect antidote to the coronavirus! No virus, no plague, no fear, no terror, no earthly trouble, not even death itself can conquer God’s love for us in Jesus Christ!

Every Palm Sunday, I remember and am struck by the transition that took place during those events of that Passover week two thousand years ago. The scriptures tell us that Jesus triumphantly entered into the city on an animal of burden, not his own, amid cheers of Hosanna and the waving of palms by the crowds. These details are not coincidental or insignificant. They are meaningful, significant and deliberate acts of Jesus. Go and read the passages again for yourself (Mt 21:1-11, Mk 11:1-11, Lk 19:28- 40, Jn 12:12-16). Jesus had been moving to Jerusalem and to this moment his whole life. His whole life is leading up to this moment quite literally. Jesus lived and ministered in the area of Capernaum in the Galilee with an elevation of 700 below sea level and his journey ends in Jerusalem, which is 2500 above sea level. In going to Jerusalem, he is literally reaching the height of his ministry and earthly pilgrimage. It is not insignificant that the Son of Man was to be lifted up on a cross and die on a hill (Jn 3:14). To reach Jerusalem, he traveled south but he entered the city via Jericho going to Bethany (the town of Martha, Mary and Lazarus) and Bethphage and then to the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. This entrance from the east is significant as it shows that in Jesus a new day, a new creation is dawning for the world. This entrance from the east was foretold by the prophet Zechariah and is echoed in creation itself. The King of Glory, ushering in the day of the Lord, would come from the east, humble, riding on an ass and upon a colt the foal of an ass (Zech 9:9, Mt 21:5). These small details also illustrate the kingship and humility of Christ as he ascends to the great moment. Who is Jesus that he could order the taking of an animal not his own? This simple small detail reveals its significance in the instruction “and if anyone should say anything to you, reply ‘The master has need of them’” (Mt 21:3). Only the king could requisition property in such a manner. If further evidence was needed, the crowds laid down their cloaks before Jesus to give him honor and homage. The excitement and fervor of this moment was not lost on his followers. They were ready for triumph, they were ready for prosperity. They wanted it. They expected it. No doubt they believed they deserved it! Jesus’ triumphal entry was their moment of victory!

Palm Sunday I plead with you–never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid. St. John Paul II But the transition of this week takes place not in Jesus, hailed as king but in the crowds themselves. As we are reminded in the Letter to the Hebrews, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever!” (Heb 13:8). The transition is what takes place in the crowds. The crowds who proclaimed ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’ were not the residents of Jerusalem. The crowds were the ones escorting Jesus along the way. They are his followers, those who believed in him! Those who witnessed his mighty works and heard his preaching. They were the ones who bore witness to Jesus when the people of Jerusalem were “shaken” just as when they heard of his birth years before (Mt 2:3). The transition that takes place during this Holy Week is not very pretty. As Jesus challenges the authorities and the people in the temple during the following days, the crowd of “faithful followers” changes. As they see Jesus confronting and demanding, they begin to shrink away, fading from sight and back into their old habits and lives. As Jesus is arrested, tortured, tried, ridiculed and executed, fewer and fewer are left. When the going got tough, when it was challenging to believe, to follow and to be faithful, the crowds shrank. When the cries rang out “Crucify him!’ they became silent. They forgot and worked to forget. They wanted someone else to be their focus. The starkness and isolation of Jesus on the cross, his blood, his suffering, his few words, his ultimate silence was not what they wanted. It was not what they thought they had bargained for. If Jesus could suffer, so could they. They did not want a suffering messiah, they wanted a king to save them from all their earthly sufferings. They wanted a Jesus, an earthly messiah who made them feel good – all the time. They did not want the heights of Calvary, they did not want their faith tested, they wanted the comfort and security of their old lives, just as did their ancestors in the desert (Ex 14:11, 16:2). As Jesus united himself to all humanity in the intimacy of death, the crowd distanced themselves from him.

As we face this Holy Week and the trials of the weeks ahead in the midst of this pandemic and the disruption of our lives, what do we want? Who do we want to be the focus of our lives? What will be the choices we make? Like St. Peter, may we confess, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life” (Jn 6:68). And may we confess like St. Thomas, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28). May God give us the grace to truly live it. This Holy Week may we not distance ourselves from Jesus but join our sufferings and our whole lives to him, now and always.

Be safe and be holy!

In pace Christi,
Fr. Troy

Dear Friends in Christ,

“I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you, because of your partnership for the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began the good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right that I should think this way about all of you, because I hold you in my heart, you who are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.” ~ Phil 1:3-11

I have always liked St. Paul, and in particular his Epistle to the Philippians. These words of his, I now make my own in a new and special way. In a previous letter, I made mention of how the devil must be smiling and pleased that so many are denied the chance to offer Mass and receive the Real Presence of Our Lord in Holy Communion. At the same time, I know that God can and is bringing about good in this most difficult time. As I take a few precious moments to reflect, I not only think of the many sick and those who have died and those who are in mourning or in fear, I am also thinking of all the people around the world who never get to receive Jesus because of persecution or lack of priests. I think of the many who do not know Jesus and his love for them. I think of what a hardship this is for us to be denied the gift of the Eucharist and gathering together as a family of faith. I think too of the many people for whom this period of Eucharistic fasting is making them more cognizant of the gift that we have and how we take it for granted so often. I think and pray for the more than 60 priests who have died in Italy alone from this pandemic. I pray that their lives may inspire many young men to take up the cross and follow the Lord’s invitation of “Come, follow me!”

As I pray the mass without you being physically present, I am praying that the Lord will be spiritually present to you and you with Him. As we face so many issues because of this pandemic, I pray that it will help many focus more on God and the things that really matter. I read one comment by a Polish cardinal who works in the Vatican. His Eminence Konrad Cardinal Krajewski is the Papal Almoner. That means he is the guy in charge of disbursing alms to the poor on behalf of the pope. He literally goes about Rome feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and sheltering the homeless. The quarantine in Italy has made it impossible in many ways to continue. This is similar to our situation now in Houston. It was his actions in response to the shutdown that prompted Pope Francis to issue an order to keep the churches in Italy open for private prayer when they had previously been ordered closed. He pointed out how the poor and all of God’s children in time of crisis need to come into God’s house. I am sure it was this action of Pope Francis that inspired Cardinal DiNardo’s similar instruction for us in this archdiocese that the church doors should remain open. During these days when our liturgies and activities have been suspended, I have been edified by the constant stream of people coming and making visits to pray before the Blessed Sacrament day and night. An additional insight by Cardinal Krajewski was that one of the things the COVID-19 pandemic has caused and brought to light is awareness that deep down everyone is actually pro-life whether they admit it or not!

While this health emergency prohibits us from gathering together as one, it does not prohibit us from our primary mission of loving and serving the Lord! It does not prohibit us from seeking God in prayer. It does not prohibit us from serving our neighbor in love. It does not prohibit us from keeping our eyes always focused on the Lord and keeping heaven as our goal. Like the discipline of Lent which helps us focus on the Lord, this crisis can also help us do the same. May our time apart help us grow evermore stronger in our desire to be together as the Church, a family of faith, a communion of love. May our love for the Lord unite us in our hearts and help us bear witness to the world, especially to those in our own family, our neighborhoods, work places and schools to God’s infinite love and mercy for all. My prayer is that while this virus forces us together in our homes, that it will help bring us together in prayer, strengthen our hope and deepen our faith that Jesus Christ is Lord!

Mary, Our Mother and Our Queen. Pray for us.

St. John Vianney, Holy Cure’ of Ars and patron of our parish. Pray for us.

In Pace Christi,
Fr. Troy

Dear Friends in Christ:

Laudetur Jesus Christus! Nunc et aeternum!

Praised be Jesus Christ! Now and forever!

Today, March 25 is the Solemnity of the Annunciation. It is now exactly nine months before Christmas Day! Today, we recall and remember the visit and the message of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary in Nazareth (Lk 1:26-38). On that inconspicuous day in that hidden away place, the life of that young Jewish woman changed. On that day, the entire world and all of history changed too. In announcing to Mary that she was to conceive and bear a son as the prophets had foretold (Is 7:14), Gabriel spoke words that reverberate in our hearts today. Those words, pure in their truthfulness, are words that bear power and give strength. The angel told Mary then and tells us today, “The Lord is with you…Do not be afraid!” (Lk 1:28,30).

As we face the Coronavirus pandemic and all that goes with it; the uncertainty, the fear, the pain and suffering, we cannot and should not forget the assurance that the Lord is indeed with us. Jesus, the Word made flesh, the Incarnate Word, has entered creation and assumed our human condition. In doing so He brings His divine presence to our human condition. He humbly assumes in Himself our nature in its wholeness save sin. Jesus does this not for His sake but for ours. He willingly shares as God and man our weaknesses. He joins in solidarity with us in the flesh all that human life can experience. He is indeed with us in the good times and in the bad. But Jesus is not content simply to be a companion in our misery. Jesus in His love and mercy transforms us and our world through his incarnation. The Incarnation announced to Mary that what was accomplished in her very body was not an end unto itself. Rather, the Eternal Word became flesh not to change God but to change us! Creation and all humanity are changed in Jesus. The Incarnation reaches its fulfillment not at Christmas, but at Easter. Jesus became incarnate in Mary so that we might rise with Him, who rose in the silence and stillness of that morning of the first day of the week that followed that Friday of suffering and death. Jesus became our Passover at a specific time at a specific place.

The Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth is built over the site of Mary’s childhood home, where she lived with her parents, Anne and Joachim. It is at this place that Mary received the message of the angel. Today, we see an altar at this ancient site with the words, Verbum Caro Hic Factum Est. These words are different from the words in John’s Gospel in Latin. Jn 1:14 reads “the Word became flesh” (Verbum caro factum est). The altar inscription adds the word “hic” (here). The altar inscription reads “The Word became flesh HERE!” The HIC (HERE) absolutizes and concretizes the reality of the Incarnation of Jesus for us. This is not a mere notion or idea. It is not a fanciful thought or wish. Jesus took real flesh, in a real woman at a real moment in time in a real place. Jesus is not a sentiment and cannot be treated or dismissed as such. The presence of Jesus through his Incarnation is a real presence, not a virtual presence. For these reasons the angel Gabriel is able to tell Mary and us in total confidence and surety, “Do not be afraid!” Why? Because Jesus is with you! God, the Father is with you! God, the Holy Spirit is with you! Where is Jesus? Where is Jesus in the midst of this pandemic in the midst of all that is going on in the world and in our lives? HIC – HERE! Jesus is here with us.

Praised be Jesus Christ! Now and forever!

Dear Friends in Christ:

This is really new territory for me and I am sure for you as well. I find myself in a most peculiar setting.  It is my fervent hope and prayer that a remedy will soon prevail and that this trial will not find us wanting.  As I am writing this letter, I do so with a broken heart knowing that our parish is not able to come together for Mass.  I ache for those who wish to be at Mass to offer their praise to God and receive the gift of Jesus in the Eucharist.  I pray that the Lord will bless us through this “fasting” with a deeper love and appreciation of Sunday Mass, reverence for the Eucharist and gratitude for a wonderful  gift of being able to come to Mass here at St. John Vianney.

One of the challenges for me has been to see so many people suffer from anxiety, anger, fear, and unable to adequately assist them.  The world has undergone pandemics of illness and disease before with much larger and more horrible results.  The Black Plague in the 14^th Century killed nearly 200 million people in Europe wiping out up to 60% of the population.  While tragic, the COVID-19 has killed only several thousand throughout the world to date.  What is so very different with this pandemic is the constant and unrelenting coverage in the media.  This is a totally new phenomenon which in turn has caused great panic and fear in an unprecedented form.  The fear of the virus has impacted far more people than the actual virus itself.  One of the other challenges is that we are currently living with a widespread and general sense that God doesn’t really matter in all of this.  Throughout history, in times of plague and pestilence, people turned to God and to the Church for solace and strength.  Great trials tested people’s faith and made it stronger.  To be honest, I don’t see that right now, but hopefully we will.  God is the antidote and the cure for everything that we suffer.

While we all desire that this pandemic runs its course quickly, we should not waste this time.  It is still Lent!  It is still a time of fasting, prayer and almsgiving.  We now have more to offer up.  The question for us is will we allow God to bring us closer to him?  Will we use this time to serve Him by reaching out to others in prayer, with a phone call, an e-mail or even a handwritten note?  I am not sure how we are going to handle all of this.  What I do know is that God will get us through it and we are going to be fine.

Here at the parish, even though we are not allowed to have public liturgies and all of our activities are suspended, we are busy at work.  I will not bore you with all the details right now, but rest assured that the staff is working hard to handle this situation and to serve you and help you stay close to God.  Like in every crisis situation, people want immediate activity.  Experience teaches us that it is better to go slow at the beginning and then come up to speed.  Experience is a very good teacher!  There are a lot of things the staff is trying to juggle under very trying and unique circumstances, so please keep us in your prayers as you are most definitely in ours.  Another challenge in this situation is in how we respond.  In a “normal emergency,” we issue a clarion call and all come together to tackle whatever needs to be done.  That is exactly what we cannot do this time!  Likewise, our greatest strength is our coming together in prayer at holy Mass and that is exactly what we are being denied.  My heart aches that people cannot receive Jesus in the Eucharist.  I am confident that the devil is thrilled, laughing and pleased to no end that so many are unable to receive Jesus in the Eucharist. Fight the devil and the temptation of anger, fear, anxiety and panic.  Do not distance yourself from God.  Stay close to Jesus in prayer by a Spiritual Communion,

My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.  I Love you above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul.  Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart.  I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.  Amen. 

In Pace Christi,
Fr. Troy

Dear Friends in Christ,

How is your Lent going? To be candid, by the Friday after Ash Wednesday I was already tired! It has been a good Lent but a long one for me and we are not yet halfway through. One of the good things of Lent is that it makes us focus, or at least it should. As we saw in the readings from the first two Sundays of Lent, there is a reason for our current condition (sin) and there is a goal for which we are to strive (heavenly glory). The problem is the in-between. The question that we all need to face is, where is our focus? Are we focused on heaven or on sin (self, this life)? This is the time of year that our parish staff begin evaluations, goal setting and the budgeting process. We examine and evaluate our job performance and the performance and effectiveness of our ministries and programs. We then set our priorities, make plans for the coming year, and budget accordingly. We evaluate what is working and what is not working or working well. We also examine what changes need to be made and what we need to add to our ministries and programming and what we need to eliminate. This is not always an easy process but it is very beneficial.

Years ago, I read a book, One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch, Directing Manager of Fidelity Investments. I found this book to be filled not only with sound financial advice, but a lot of good, practical common sense. (I hope so given that Lynch is Irish, Jesuit trained and a Catholic!) During a time when many companies were committed to the popular trend of diversification (buying companies outside of their main business), Lynch saw weakness. One of Lynch’s bon mots was to avoid investing in companies that commit “diworsification” and instead invest in companies that “stick to the knitting”. Lynch said his success in business was due more to the philosophy classes he took as an undergrad at Boston College than to his MBA at the Wharton School of Business! I do not know if Lynch was aware of this or not, but he was merely following the wisdom of the Sacred Scriptures and the teaching of our Catholic Faith.

Lent is a time for us to look and see if we have committed any “diworsifications” in our lives. We need to examine in the areas of our lives where we have strayed from the path. We should honestly examine and see what actions, attitudes or habits have crept into our lives that dilute, distract or impede us from what we should be focusing on. Is there some activity or pursuit that steals our time and attention away from our spouse and our family? What takes us away from giving our time and attention to God and prayer? What weakens our resolve to avoid sin and temptation? What are the influences in our lives that make our lives worse and not better? The problem with “diworsifications” in our individual lives, just as in corporations, is that they always seem appealing and attractive at the outset. They appear like shining, twinkling baubles that captivate us and our imaginations and distract us from the seemingly dull and boring discipline of the everyday. Like an athlete who must stretch, practice and exercise every day or a musician who has to play scales, we too have to daily commit ourselves to the fundamentals of living the life of a follower of Jesus. For us as Catholics, “sticking to the knitting” is following and keeping the Ten Commandments and the Precepts of the Church. These are fundamentals that we cannot abandon or neglect. This is not always exciting stuff but when we keep the Commandments and Precepts, we avoid a lot of needless problems and the suffering and pain that follow. Life has enough challenges, suffering and pain, we do not need to create situations to cause more! “Sticking to the knitting” of living a life with Christ in the Catholic Church and being faithful to God pays dividends that Wall Street can never imagine! How is your Lent going? Where is the focus of your life?

Dear Friends in Christ,

The Gospel for the Second Sunday of Lent is always an account of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Amazingly, this is one of the very few accounts that occurs twice in the readings of the Liturgical year. We have the account of the Transfiguration today and again on the Feast of the Transfiguration, August 6. I am daily reminded of this great moment when I look at our beautiful tabernacle which has the images of Moses and Elijah. This, of course, is a reminder that Jesus was transfigured before the eyes of his disciples on Mount Tabor, and likewise, the bread we offer in the Eucharist along with our prayers, sorrows, joys, and indeed our very lives, are also changed. The bread and wine become the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in their substance and we are changed to become more fully alive in God. The destiny of our earthly journey is to live in the glory of God! This change which we so long for begins in the here and now. If we seek to live with God in the next life, we must begin to live with God in this life! This is the message of Lent. We are all called to repentance and conversion and that call is for today!

Living the Ten Commandments is key to unlocking a conversion of life. Over the years, I have tried to emphasize the importance of the Ten Commandments and, in particular, the Third Commandment, Remember to keep the Sabbath holy. Here in the parish we keep the offices closed including Social Services with Joseph’s Coat; we do not schedule business meetings or anything of the like. We have only those things that bring us together as a family; divine worship, faith formation, and communal life (food!). In my travels to the Holy Land, I have always been overwhelmed by what it is like to be in a place where the Sabbath rest is real. On the Jewish Sabbath, there are no cars, no work, no machinery, no commerce, and no business. All stores, factories, schools and businesses, are closed. The hustle and bustle evaporate with the setting of the sun on Friday. The Sabbath is quiet and slow and wonderful! It envelopes you and you can feel the tension and stress of the week melt away. It is a time for God and family.

For nearly two millennia Sunday was a special day for Christians. It is the Lord’s Day. It is the remembrance of Jesus’ glorious resurrection from the dead. Sunday, as the Christian Sabbath, is the day of Jesus’ victory over sin and death. Historically, Christians honored this victory by putting aside every day worldly pursuits. As the Lord’s Day, God was the focus of the day. Families gave praise to God in Holy Mass and in family prayer, rested from their labors, and spent time with one another. A highlight of Sunday was the Sunday family meal. The family of faith gathered for the sacrificial banquet of the Mass in Church and then individual families gathered in their homes for the Sunday feast. That would hardly be a description of Sunday for many Catholics today. For too many Sunday has lost its special and unique character. Sunday is just another day filled with busyness, distraction and worldly pursuits. Seeing this tragic loss of the sacred which has diminished and weakened families and the faith of families, the Archdiocese of Detroit started a program for families to help them observe and live the Sabbath. They started a few years ago by ending Catholic School athletic programs on Sundays. Since then, the Detroit archdiocese has developed a practical guide for Catholics to help reclaim the Lord’s Day for faith and families. The guide, 52 Sundays, contains helpful ideas for each week of the year. The guide can be downloaded  here. 

There are suggestions, ideas, and advice, to help families learn how to treat Sunday like Sunday. While there are a few very “Detroit specific” suggestions, there are many more helpful ideas that any family can implement. They even include recipes for Sunday meals!
The conversion of our lives starts with each of us re-ordering our lives. If we can begin to convert our busy schedules to make a day of rest, that is a marvelous beginning. Keeping the Lord’s Day holy is more than spending an hour in Mass. To undergo conversion takes deliberate effort. It is not automatic. Because we are so busy, we need to learn to slow down, pray and spend time with one another. Our call for conversion starts today!

Dear Friends in Christ,

We again embark on our annual spiritual journey to Easter, the Feast of the Resurrection of Jesus, which is part of our life-long journey to heaven. A principle of Catholic life and culture is that we fast before we feast. Prior to celebrating our two greatest feasts, Easter and Christmas, we prepare ourselves spiritually, mentally and physically by periods of penitence marked by fasting, praying and almsgiving. These actions are disciplines that we undertake personally and communally. We discipline our thoughts and our appetites so that we may rid ourselves of sinful habits and tendencies and increase virtue and holiness in order to more fully experience the joy of the feast. The way to have a happy Easter is to have a holy Lent! The three disciplines of Lent (fasting, praying and almsgiving) each require sacrifice. The word “sacrifice” does not mean to give up as most would say, but rather it means to make holy (sacra –holy, facere – to make). Through the disciplines of fasting, prayer and almsgiving we learn about God, ourselves and others. By fasting we can reflect on how delicate we are. Deprive us of a little food and we can quickly become weak or obsessed with thinking about food. People who seldom eat hamburgers get huge cravings for hamburgers on Lenten Fridays! What does this tell us about ourselves and God’s bountiful goodness to us? Communally, we fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and abstain from meat on the Fridays of Lent. It is a good practice to fast or abstain from other foods or pleasures during this season as well as a daily reminder. This Lent, consider abstaining or fasting from technology. Put the cell phone down, stay away from the computer or turn off the TV and instead spend the time in prayer, spiritual reading or having one on one time with a family member.

Through the discipline of prayer, we can see how we strengthen our relationship with God. Prayer is the oxygen to our souls. Getting up early to pray, taking up a few extra minutes in prayer each day rearranges our lives. Praying more focuses our attention on God and increases our awareness of our desire for God. In prayer, offer prayers of adoration, expressing to God how much you love Him, prayers of contrition – tell God that you are sorry for your sins. Confession is perfect for this. Offer thanks to God for the multitude of blessings in your life and humbly place your needs and those of others before Him. Praying for others before ourselves strengthens our faith and our love. A beautiful way to pray is praying with the scriptures. Pick up your Bible and pray using the Psalms or meditate on a passage from the gospels. When we don’t have the words, the Lord will often provide them in Scripture.

Almsgiving stretches us. Giving away money and time disciplines our attitudes and enrichens our perspective. Giving away from what we have allows us to appreciate how much we do have. It allows us to discover a new appreciation of our own blessedness, and to recognize our abundance of blessings. Generosity can aid us with humility and help us in overcoming pride. As we let go of money, time and stuff, we can also let go of self. It can be a struggle, but it is one that stretches us. Like all good disciplines, it has to be practiced with repetition and deliberation. Practicing generosity over time changes us to where we do not think first about pleasing ourselves but others.

These spiritual disciplines of Lent, fasting, prayer and almsgiving are not just for Lent. These disciplines help us remember our true goal in this life is a perfect union with God in the next life!

Have a holy Lent!

In Pace Christi,
Fr. Troy

Dear Friends in Christ,

Recently, the parish conducted a survey of over 2100 women in the parish. Thanks to all who participated and responded. We received some very good feedback. The main purpose of the survey was to attempt to gauge the “temperature” of where folks are at. Overall, the responses were extremely favorable to what we are doing in the parish. Those who responded overwhelmingly found our programs and offerings to be excellent and beneficial. That was very affirming and good to know. There were some insightful observations made that we will study and consider. However, there were two areas that surfaced that, while not exactly positive, were nonetheless enlightening and useful to know. Neither issue is new, but both speak to needs that should be addressed. The first issue brought forth concerned programs or activities that people would like to see here at the parish. In almost all of the instances named, the programs or activities that were being asked for, we already have! It is simply that the respondents were unaware. Even though we publish in the bulletin and have a very detailed website, print catalogues and brochures, use e-mails and social media, many parishioners still do not know of all of the offerings and opportunities here at the parish. This points to a communication problem that needs to be addressed.

The second issue that surfaced is also tied to communication and misunderstanding. The survey showed there is a lack of appreciation of how serious the priest shortage is. The survey indicated a desire for additional masses, confessions, priest involvement, etc. These are good and wonderful desires, but quite honestly, they are unrealistic. Currently, we have 8 Masses every weekend and 7 weekday masses. Confessions are heard twice on Saturdays. During Advent and Lent, we have 15 weekday masses and 17 confessions times per week! We average more than 80 funerals and another 80+ weddings each year. Last year, nearly 400 parishioners received the Sacrament of the Sick. That is a lot! This is in addition to the numerous hours of counselling, appointments, classes and meetings each and every week. All of this is wonderful! But it is a lot.

In the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, there is a ratio of active priests to Catholics of 1:4,462. Twenty years ago in 2000, the ratio was half that amount at 1:2078. In 1990, the ratio was 1:1419, in 1980 – 1:930 and in 1970 – 1:844. That is five times more people per priest in 50 years. During this time, the average age of priests has also increased dramatically. In 1970, the average age of priests was 35 and today it is 63 with over half of the priests past 70 years of age. In the U.S., the total number of priests has fallen from close to 60,000 in 1970 to 37,000 today. In 1970, there were 54 Million Catholics in the U. S. Today, there are more than 76 million. The end result is that there are fewer priests, who are older, serving many more people in much bigger parishes. This is true here at SJV, our ratio is 1:7,500. In 1970, there were 2 priests serving 800 families, today there are 2 priests serving 5000 families. It is also true in our archdiocese and it is true throughout the United States. The reality is that the situation is going to get worse before it gets better and it is not going to get better anytime soon. I do believe the situation can change and I pray that it will change soon, but it is going to take many years.

So what can we do? As always, we must pray and work for more vocations and put our trust in the Lord. We need to encourage our children to live holy lives by the example of our lives. All of us need to help families stay close to the Church and strong in their Catholic Faith. We each need to encourage young men and women, our own children and grandchildren, to prayerfully and seriously consider a religious vocation. We must also change our expectations and adapt to new realities. Expecting parishes to run like parishes did in 1950 or 1980 or even 2000 is not going to bring satisfaction. The world has changed and so has the Church. Schools, hospitals and businesses have all changed over the years and so have parishes. Wanting something different is fine, but when it does not happen, we need to accept, adapt and adjust our expectations accordingly.

In Pace Christi,
Fr. Troy

Dear Friends in Christ,

This past Friday was ST. Valentine’s Day. (I always emphasize the Saint as so many forget!) No doubt, there were many happy couples blessed to become engaged to be married! At Christmas and New Year’s there are also a lot of engagements which brings great joy to brides and grooms and their families and friends. These engagements can also bring a great deal of stress in planning the nuptials. As Catholics, we have a particular understanding of marriage. We understand marriage to be not only a wonderful event in the life of a young man and woman, but more importantly, marriage is a sacrament of the Church. The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony is a lifelong, exclusive relationship between a man and a woman and God that is given by God for the happiness and holiness of the couple and for the gift and raising of children. As a Sacrament, Holy Matrimony is a means of grace. While the celebration of Holy Matrimony is a wonderful moment in the life of the couple and their families, as a sacrament it is also an action of the Church.

In the last half century or so marriage as an institution and a lived reality has suffered tremendously. There are numerous challenges to marriage today and many things in our society that threaten, weaken, and discourage marriages. As a Church, we want to help young couples to have healthy, holy, and happy marriages! We desire to assist couples to prepare for a life together by equipping them with some of the tools they will need to live the Sacrament of Marriage.

In the past, when families were less mobile and more stable, the skills, knowledge, and wisdom needed to make a successful marriage were shared and modeled by families. Grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and siblings, were all there to assist and support engaged and newly married couples. So too was the Church and a firm foundation in the faith. Today, this is often not the case. Still, families and especially the Church, desire to be there for engaged and newly married couples. Here at St. John Vianney we have a wonderful marriage preparation program. It is not about “hoop jumping” rather, we seek to give engaged couples the opportunity to spend some time to reflect on important issues they will face in their lives together. Our marriage preparation program gives couples the opportunity to view their marriage and their lives together from the perspective of what God wants for them and is offering them. We also give the engaged couples the chance to reflect, learn, and openly discuss some of the most important issues that impact all married couples: Money and Finances, Sexual Intimacy, Marital Communication, and Faith. These issues are presented and the discussions led by the priests, married couples, and a professional counselor. Additionally, there is the opportunity for the couple to discuss issues privately with one of the priests or deacons.

Many couples are understandably concerned with the numerous elements of a beautiful wedding celebration (church time, rehearsal, flowers, music etc.) that can cause so much anxiety and stress. We are here to assist with those things and to help reduce the stress. Our primary focus though is helping engaged couples prepare for what happens after the wedding – a happy and holy marriage that will last a lifetime. We are here to help engaged couples see and embrace what is most important – their love for one another and God’s love for them. The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony is a beautiful gift and a Catholic wedding is the beginning of the life-long relationship of the couple and Jesus. The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony is the blessing of the union of a man and a woman with the graces of God through His Church. If you have a friend or family member who is recently engaged or about to be engaged, invite them to contact us. Most importantly, please remember to keep all engaged and newly married couples in your prayers.

In Pace Christi,
Fr. Troy