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Pastor's Corner - To view the latest writing from Fr. Gordon Kalil,
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Lenten Calendar at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CATHOLIC CHURCH
Lenten Events, 2008
(all are in the church unless otherwise indicated)
FEBRUARY 6: Ash Wednesday-- Masses 8:30AM, 12:05 Noon,
5:30PM, 7PM (Spanish)
FEBRUARY 7: 9:30PM Mass (English)
FEBRUARY 8: Stations of the Cross: 5:30PM (English), 7PM (Spanish)
FEBRUARY 9/10: First Sunday of Lent
RCIA: Sign Book of Elect
RCIA: Rite of Election, 2PM St. Eugene Cathedral
FEBRUARY 11-14: 9:30PM Mass (English)
FEBRUARY 15: Stations of the Cross: 5:30PM (English), 7PM (Spanish)
FEBRUARY 16/17: Second Sunday of Lent
RCIA: Presentation of the Creed
FEBRUARY 18: 9:30PM Mass (English)
FEBRUARY 19: 7PM Lenten Taize (sung meditational prayers) and
Reconciliation (English) (no 9:30PM Mass)
FEBRUARY 20: 11 AM Mass of Anointing followed by luncheon in
St. John the Baptist Family Hall
FEBRUARY 20: 7PM Reconciliation (Spanish); no Mass 7PM /9:30PM
FEBRUARY 21: 9:30PM Mass (English)
FEBRUARY 22: Stations of the Cross: 5:30PM (English), 7PM (Spanish)
FEBRUARY 23/24: Third Sunday of Lent: RCIA 1st Scrutiny
St. John the Baptist Catholic School alumni
Bishop Quinn will preside at
5PM 2/23 and 10 AM 2/24 Masses
FEBRUARY 25: 8:30AM, Why We Do What We Do at Mass (workshop
led by Father Gordon Kalil)
FEBRUARY 25-28: 9:30PM Mass (English)
FEBRUARY 29: Stations of the Cross: 5:30PM (English), 7PM (Spanish)
MARCH 1/2: Fourth Sunday of Lent: RCIA 2nd Scrutiny
MARCH 3-6: 9:30PM Mass (English)
MARCH 5: 9:30 AM Reconciliation grades 3-8, St. John the Baptist Catholic School
MARCH 7: Stations of the Cross: 5:30PM (English), 7PM (Spanish)
MARCH 8/9: Fifth Sunday of Lent : RCIA 3rd Scrutiny
MARCH 10-13: 9:30PM Mass (English)
MARCH 13: Mass of Chrism (blessing of the Holy Oils and renewing of vows for all priests in the diocese), St. Eugene’s Cathedral, Santa Rosa
MARCH 14: Stations of the Cross: 5:30PM (English), 7PM (Spanish)
MARCH 15/16: PALM SUNDAY: Youth Ministry Passion Drama all Masses: Turn in your Lenten Banks
HOLY WEEK
MARCH 19: 6:30 PM Seder Meal in St. John the Baptist Family Hall (RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED: $10 ADULTS, $5 CHILDREN 12 AND UNDER)
MARCH 20: 7:30AM Tenebrae (Service of Light)
7PM Mass of the Lord’s Supper (bilingual)
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament until Midnight at the Altar of Repose in St. John the Baptist Family Hall
MARCH 21: 7:30AM Tenebrae
Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
12 Noon Communion Service with Veneration of the Cross
5:30 PM Seven Last Phrases of Jesus, Communion Service with Veneration of the Cross
6:30 PM Live Dramatization of the Stations of the Cross (JESED), beginning at New Tech High School, followed by Communion Service with Veneration of the Cross in the church
MARCH 22: 7:30 AM Tenebrae
7PM Easter Vigil Mass (bilingual)
MARCH 23: Easter Sunday, Resurrection of the Lord
8AM (Spanish), 10 AM Mass (English), 12 Noon Mass (Spanish)
Have a blessed and prayerful Holy Season!
1/27/08
A message from Father Gordon:
The vocation I live is filled with life and death and life again…”
In our Gospel this weekend Peter and Andrew, James and John hear the call of the Lord, drop everything and follow Him. They were not the sort of people who anyone would suspect of being religious. They were everyday people, fishermen. Others may not have seen in them the abilities that would convince others to change their lives or be men that take the position of leadership in the conversion of the world. They were common, everyday people, fishermen. But they were called. They responded. And God worked wonders through them.
One Holy Apostolic faith—they still influence our faith formation nearly 2,000 years later! Yet, the apostles and disciples were not an easy bunch to train and couldn’t seem to get the message of Jesus straight. They wanted Jesus to call down fire and brimstone on the Samaritans. They fought with each other over who would have the greatest authority in the Kingdom of Heaven. In fear, they ran and hid when Jesus was arrested. There must have been times that Mary just rolled her eyes at the antics of these characters. But they did learn and as a result, we are members of the Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
Of course, the disciples had the Holy Spirit. Filled with the Holy Spirit they were able to transform their lives and convey the joy of serving Christ to their companions. And we have the same Holy Spirit leading us to transformation.
Called and led, by the Holy Spirit! We are all called to the same response as the disciples –no matter our vocation—to give witness and testimony to the meaning of Jesus Christ. And to do so in order that others may come to believe and have life to the full.
My vocation is life to the full. I wish I could find a way to communicate to you and particularly to our young people my feelings about the priesthood. I am convinced that I have the greatest life in the world. Sometimes I’m called upon in emergencies to bring the sacraments to a person I have never met. If I only did that once in my life, my life would have meaning and purpose, but this is an everyday event for a priest. And I encounter God daily in the people who are suffering, in prayers together, in touching and holding, and in joyful moments of grace.
Joy in the Spirit; the ancient Hebrews of the psalms and wisdom literature spoke about their longing to sit at the gates of the city and meditate on Scripture. The priest is obliged to do this every day in the Liturgy of the Hours, which are psalms and readings from scripture. We prepare homilies. Sometimes we need a break from preaching. Sometimes you need a break from our preaching. But it is a wonderful life to be obligated to spend so much time with the Word of God.
Transformation of our vocation by the Holy Spirit in the Mass!
The Mass! That God allows human beings to act in his person and recreate the offering of his Son at the Last Supper and on the Cross, is beyond human understanding. But that is what happens every time the priest celebrates Mass. And as we come together in Communion with one another to pray the Mass we are transformed into a better people of God than before we entered the Holy Sacrifice, the Meal of Salvation. God has ordained it so.
Vocation Response to Him in His Church
How would we have Mass without vocations to priesthood? Our Pope Benedict XVI, and two of his predecessors, asked that the month of January be dedicated to prayer for vocations.
The special characteristics of priesthood and religious life include unique aspects of sacrifice and commitment. For most priests and religious, who are not living cloistered lives as certain monks and nuns do, the vowed life includes that of public service. The vocation of ministry and prayerful spiritual witness excludes large financial benefit-plans and other so called “perks”. The celibate life too, is contrary to society’s view of what a “good life” should entail that often priests and religious are viewed as having a “wasted life”. The idea of not having a spouse and children is contrary to many definitions of what it means to be fulfilled in life.
However, there are many ways in which a vocation to a vowed celibate chaste life undergirds the vocation to married life.
For there is a full ministry to the laity by priests, religious women and men that provides spiritual support, counsel, and prayers for married couples, single parents, divorced, widowed, and all of lay life.
The rewards and life of a priest and religious are not comparable to any other life. I am not saying the benefits and fulfillment are better—they are just very different, indeed. I know, because I have been remarkably blessed to have at least 6 lives—so far!
First was the experience of living in a very typical Mid-Western-Middle-Eastern family (oxymoron intended) with two working parents—not unlike today—but unique 50 years ago; second was the experience of college and then serving in the Air Force as Viet Nam took hold of our Nation’s focus and gave me a view of life beyond Indiana. Third was the secular experience of corporate success and financial income that was embarrassingly high even by today’s scale. Fourth was a major conversion experience that brought me back to the Church after a 15 year absence—full force, becoming a full time volunteer. Fifth was the entrance into religious life as a Dominican—which included giving up the material success and taking on a vowed life of poverty—not in the sense of being poor-but of having no ownership and living a simple material life—quite novel for my background. Sixth was leaving religious life to become a Diocesan priest—also life altering from community living to essentially living alone or at most with one or two other priests—but not the communal prayer and daily shared meals.
Through my many lives, there has been one constant, the knowledge of being loved by God and that love filled with mercy, forgiveness and the encouragement to use all the gifts I have been blessed with to make a difference.
I have always felt the presence of the Lord, from the time I was a young boy and wanted to be a priest and would talk with Jesus who was locked away in that ornate box that sat on the altar,--to the time of my Ordination and today.
There is still the great sense of the awesomeness of God as I recall the Sacrament of Ordination. Feelings that are simultaneously humbling and exalting—all at once, as I lie prostrate before the altar in an act of humility and surrender, forming my body in the cross at the foot of the altar of sacrifice, the chant of the Litany of the Saints wafting in and out of my consciousness, the call to the Holy Spirit as I convulsed in tears of joy, fears, humility, and unworthiness.
I feel that same Presence while lying prostrate once again on the floor in front of our altar at every Good Friday—a small gesture of humility and love for what our Lord has done for me. Feeling His Presence again this morning waking up and going to my private altar in my room where I am blessed to have the Blessed Sacrament—at the beginning of my day and at the end. AND His overpowering Presence of love is there every time I experience the Eucharist. At each opportunity and reminder, I pray for all of you and carry you with me—to the altar in our church, to the one in my room, to any altar I approach, — one difference a celibate ordained life can offer.
The vocation I live is filled with life and death and life again at all times and in all ways—it is filled with the sacredness of your lives, so often shared with me in confidence—a treasure to take to prayer. My vocation is who I am, not what I do, and through my vocation, I have grown to understand who I am.
So often, we measure our lives by what we do, perhaps that is why so many people feel incomplete or lack fulfillment in married life, religious life or secular clergy-- or in other ways. Vocation is not doing but being—most of all being available and open to be available—being present. How wonderful we would all be to vow ourselves to being present—to one another and to God’s Real Presence.
Never will I forget the words of promise and commitment to serve God in His people, in the words that Jesus has spoken; words of surrender to the Father. A tradition and ritual that goes back millennia—very strange, different, to vow to live unlike the majority of the world ‑in the sign of the cross as we placed our bodies at the foot of the cross, in weak imitation of Jesus, committed somehow to help make a difference in our world. Pray for vocations to priesthood, the deaconate, and religious life, please. Also pray for all of us to live a vocation of discipleship in Christ—married, single, divorced, widowed, young or elderly—all are called.
Respond, Fr. Gordon
1/20/08
A message from Father Gordon:
John the Baptist points his finger and proclaims: “Behold the Lamb of God who comes to take away the sin of the world!”
Sin is the condition of the world into which we are born; of that there is no doubt. In part the biblical explanation is that of the Fall of Adam and Eve, their willful turning away from God and choosing to do life on their own, their way. In part the condition of sin in the world is our continuation to try to do it our way and at times turn back to God but not like what God calls us to do—reform and do good, the good that is also a major part of the world we have been given. We have taken this precious gift from our Creator and abused it. The understanding of the bible is that God wants to share loving intimacy with us, but sin puts us in a rebellious state. Paul describes this not in terms of a number of sins we commit, but as the very human condition. We have given into sin and voluntarily chosen to be under its power and so at times we live in a state of alienation from God. We live under the power of the sin of the world.
We are the product of a sinful story. Every human is infected and experiences this limitation in many ways. One way the "sin of the world" shows itself is in a complacent acceptance of the world's view. Another way is that we often do not want to make waves in a situation at home or work and we accept the majority opinion of the group or culture in which we live.
St. Augustine summed it up when he described sin as turning away from God and turning toward the creature. He also tells us the goodness that turns us back is the call from God within as St. Augustine writes:
“Pilgrimage becomes a sign of the demanding journey which each of Christ’s followers is called to undertake in order to attain conversion. It is an opportunity to consider once more in the silence of our hearts the path of history; to recall that we are indeed going towards the Lord "not by our footsteps but by our love, and God will be all the closer to our hearts the purer is the love drawing us towards him [...].
Not by our feet, then, but by the goodness of our lives can we go towards him, who is everywhere present, and to realize anew that every man and woman, made in God’s image, is walking with us towards a single destiny: the Kingdom.
~Saint Augustine, Letter 155, 4, 13: NBA XXII, p. 574
A walk to the Kingdom is a part of the line recited by a man whose life and death we honor Monday, as a national Holiday Martin Luther King Jr. Amongst our many historical icon-like images of MLK, Jr are the marches for racial integration and freedom. Often those marches were accompanied by the hymn “We Shall Overcome”. The hymn is one of hope that comes from deep seated experience of suffering overcome by a deep seated faith in the Lord. He will lead us to a better life—if we follow in his footsteps.
We want to see evil overcome; taken to its source and eliminated we want our feelings of helplessness and our wanting to escape from the harsher realities to be replaced with hope. And in light of all the harsh realities that surround us we gather for hope-time together, whether in our home or in our faith home and pray. For we know that we cannot overcome sin on our own.
God is the One who is powerful enough to deal with sin and when one accepts the invitation to enter into relationship with God, the bind sin has on us is broken. Jesus comes to proclaim this relationship and the forgiveness of sin. Reconciliation will be accomplished in the work of our turning back to God, and through the work and gift of Christ whose life, death and resurrection will break the enslaving power sin has on us. He does overcome!
When we turn to the Lord for our walk to the Kingdom it shows by how we live. As John Paul II told us during a visit to the US "Feeding the poor and welcoming refugees, reinforcing the social fabric of this nation, promoting the true advancement of women, securing the rights of minorities, pursuing disarmament, while guaranteeing legitimate defense: all this will succeed only if respect for life and its protection by law is granted to every human being from conception until natural death. Every human person, no matter how vulnerable or helpless, no matter how young or how old, no matter how healthy, handicapped or sick, no matter how useful or productive for society, is a being of inestimable worth created in the image and likeness of God. This is the dignity of America, the reason she exists, the condition of her survival, the ultimate test of her greatness: to respect every human person, especially the weakest and most defenseless ones, those as yet unborn." (Pope John Paul II, Departure Ceremony, Detroit, Michigan, September 19, 1987.) The ominous anniversary of Roe vs. Wade also takes place this week. It is a powerful week of reminders of our call to walk with the Lord to the Kingdom here and now, with the Lamb of God, who relies on each of us to live his presence here and now.
Blessings, Fr. Gordon
Spanish:
San Juan Bautista señala con su dedo y proclama: ese es el Cordero de Dios que viene a quitar el pecado del mundo!”
El pecado es la condición del mundo con lo cual nacemos; de eso no hay ninguna duda. Es parte de la explicación Bíblica del Fallo de Adán y Eva, de dar la espalda voluntariamente a Dios y de elegir hacer la vida a su propia manera. Como parte de la condición del pecado en el mundo, es nuestro continuo intento de hacer todo a nuestra manera y darle la espalda ocasionalmente a Dios y no hacer lo que el nos pide –reformar y hacer el bien. El bien es también una parte importante del mundo que se nos han dado.
Hemos tomado este regalo precioso de nuestro Creador y hemos abusado de él. La comprensión de la Biblia es que Dios desea compartir una cariñosa relación con nosotros, pero el pecado nos pone en un estado rebelión. San Pablo describe esto no en términos de un número de pecados que cometemos, sino como una condición muy humana. Hemos caído en pecado y elegido voluntariamente estar bajo su poder y vivimos en muchas ocasiones en un estado de enajenación con Dios. Vivimos bajo el poder del pecado del mundo.
Somos el producto de una historia pecadora. Cada humano es Infectado y experimenta esta limitación de muchas maneras. Una forma del “pecado del mundo” se demuestra así mismo en la aceptación satisfecha de la opinión del mundo. Otra manera es que no deseamos a menudo hacer una revuelta en una situación en el país o en nuestro trabajo y aceptamos la opinión de la mayoría del grupo o cultura en que vivimos.
San Agustín saco a relucir esto cuando describió el pecado como una forma de dar la espalda a Dios y dar la espalda hacia el ser humano. Él también nos habla acerca de las bondades dentro de nosotros que nos devuelven hacia el llamado de Dios como las escribe San Agustín:
El “peregrinaje se convierte en una muestra del viaje exigente que cada uno de los seguidores de Cristo es llamado a emprender para lograr la conversión. Es una oportunidad para considerar una vez más en el silencio de nuestros corazones la trayectoria de nuestra historia; recordar que vamos de hecho hacia el señor “no por nuestros pasos sino por nuestro amor, y Dios estará más cercano a nuestros corazones con el más puro amor que nos empuja hacia él [...]. No por nuestros pies, pues, sino por la calidad de nuestras vidas es como podemos ir hacia él, porque el está por todas partes presente, y hace de nuevo a cada hombre y mujer, hechos a la imagen de Dios, el camina con nosotros hacia un solo
Destino: el Reino. San Agustín, carta 155, 4, 13: NBA XXII, P. 574.
Una caminata hacia Reino es una parte de la línea recitada por un hombre cuya vida y muerte honremos este lunes, como parte del día festivo nacional en celebración de Martín Luther King Jr. Entre nuestras muchas de nuestras imágenes de iconos históricos, la de MLK, Jr son las marchas para la integración y la libertad raciales. Esas marchas fueron acompañadas a menudo por el himno “Venceremos”. Este es un himno de esperanza que viene através de la experiencia profundamente arraigada en el sufrimiento y superada por una fe profunda arraigada en Señor. Él nos conducirá a una mejor vida---si seguimos sus pasos.
Deseamos ver el mal superado; llevarlo su fuente de origen y eliminarlo. Deseamos que nuestras sensaciones del desamparo y nuestro deseo de escape de las realidades más ásperas sean sustituidas por la esperanza. Y a la luz de todas las realidades ásperas que nos rodeen nos reunamos durante un tiempo de esperanza-juntos, si en nuestro hogar o en nuestro hogar de fe y roguemos a Dios. Para así nosotros saber, que no podemos superar el pecado con nuestras propias fuerzas.
Dios es el único con ese gran poder para ocuparse del pecado y cuando uno acepta la invitación de entrar en la relación con Dios, el pecado que nos tiene atados se rompe. Nuestro Señor Jesucristo viene a proclamar esta relación y el perdón del pecado. La reconciliación será lograda con nuestra voluntad de volver hacia Dios nuestro Señor, y a través del esfuerzo y del regalo de Cristo, su vida, muerte y resurrección es que se rompe la energía de esclavitud que el pecado tiene en nosotros. ¡Él Vencerá!
Cuando regresamos hacia el Señor para seguir nuestra caminata hacia el reino se demuestra el cómo vivimos. Como Su Santidad el Papa Juan Pablo II nos dijo durante una visita a los E.E.U.U. “el alimentar a los pobres y dar la bienvenida a los refugiados, refuerzan la tela social de esta nación, promoviendo el adelanto verdadero de mujeres, asegurando los derechos de las minorías, persiguiendo el desarme, mientras que se garantiza la defensa legítima: todo esto tendrá éxito solamente si el respecto por vida y su protección por la ley se concede a cada ser humano desde la concepción hasta la muerte natural. Cada persona humana, no importa que tan vulnerable o desamparado sea, jóvenes o ancianos, sano, perjudicado o enfermo, útil o productivo para la sociedad, es un ser inestimable digno y creado a imagen y la semejanza de Dios. Ésta es la dignidad de América, esta es la razón por la cual existe, la condición de su supervivencia, la última prueba de su grandeza: para respetar la humanidad, a los más débiles y más indefensos, especialmente a los aun no nacidos. “(Papa Juan Pablo II, ceremonia de clausura, Detroit, Michigan, 19 de septiembre de 1987.) El aniversario siniestro de Roe contra Wade también ocurre esta semana. Es una gran semana de remembranza y recordatorios de nuestro llamado a caminar con el Señor al Reino aquí y ahora, con el Cordero de Dios, que confía en cada uno de nosotros aquí y ahora para vivir su presencia.
Blessings, Fr. Gordon
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