Listen to the homily here.
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Repent and fish for men: 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Listen to the homily here.
Notes:
Notes:
I was blessed to go ice fishing the last couple of days with
my Dad
·
Great time to rest, relax and spend time with my
father
·
He asked me to help him as he knew that it was a
keeper
o I
bent down, picked it up, took out the lure
o Then
the fish did a perfect dive into my hole
o After
the next fish from me, and it was a keeper, and he said, “That now counts as
mine”
This weekend we had two quick phrases in the Gospel
according to Mark
·
Repent
· I will make you fishers of
men
·
And these will always may be together
Praise God, we know so many people that fish
·
Look at how many fish houses on Lake of the
Woods!
·
And yes, we have a great gift in “God’s country”
o We
should enjoy it, have relationships and relax
·
But we, too, must also catch people
·
Simon and Andrew were fishermen
o “Then they abandoned their nets and followed him.”
o Could
you do this? Drop everything?
·
James and John that were tending their nets
o Dad
and I needed to tended our own lines?
Three lines using through three holes
o Dad
was pretty proud that we didn’t lose anything…and kept fishing
o Could
we “…left their father Zebedee in the boat
along with the hired men and followed him.”
along with the hired men and followed him.”
And this happened after Jesus proclaimed:
· "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at
hand. Repent, and believe in the
gospel."
Jonah: fishing for people and repent
· God told him: "Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you."
· Jonah said: "Forty days
more and Nineveh shall be destroyed…”
· And, “when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed
a fast
and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.”
and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.”
o Repent
These readings are not just about “nice stories” back in the
day…but must still happen today
·
Brothers and sisters, fish for people and repent
with each and everyone together in our mission from God
Parish Bulletin Article: "A Powerful Priest": 1-21-18
Last
week Fr. William Baer, the rector I had at St. John Vianney, passed away.
This man was saintly. He was influential for many, many
people both in the seminary and his pastoral assignment and me too. He was a teacher, a preacher, an
evangelist and a disciple of Jesus Christ.
As this is what he wrote on his
parish’s webpage, you can see a perfect example of how good he was and is:
“We deliberately put the words
‘Catholic’ in this opening welcome.
At Transfiguration, we are Catholic. We’re not ashamed of it; in fact, we’re very excited about
it! At Transfiguration, we
believe, celebrate, and proclaim the fullness of the Catholic Faith that has
been given to the Church down through the centuries. If you want to become a stronger Catholic, if you want to
raise your family to understand and follow the faith and morals of the Church,
if you wish to know and love Jesus Christ through His Sacraments and His
teaching, then you’ve come to the right Parish!
As you visit this Website, please
feel free to contact us with your questions or comments. I hope you will not only visit the
Website, but that you will visit our Church and School as well. Please email me directly at
frbaer@transfigurationmn.org. I am
eager to hear from you.
The original Transfiguration event
is the guidepost for all we are and do as a Parish: Jesus Christ, shining atop
Mount Tabor in His glory to Saints Peter, James, and John, gave them a vision
that would strengthen their faith when they saw Him suffer on a different
hilltop, the Mount of Calvary.
None of us is perfect, all of us have our sins, our fears, our doubts,
and our crosses, but with the grace of God we’re on the way. God the Father spoke from heaven, “This
is my Beloved Son. Listen to Him.” There are many contrary voices in
today’s world. Whose voice are you
listening to? At Transfiguration
Catholic Church, we want our Lord Jesus Christ first to shine in us, so that He
will then shine through us!
Welcome!”
I
hope that we may do the same!
Thank you, Fr. William Baer, for
your mission in the Archdiocese of Minneapolis/St. Paul, as well as within our
state and country. Fr. Baer showed
how to live his life in God's family, and through His call he encouraged and
proclaimed to us to follow what God has called each person.
Please pray for him, his family,
his parishioners and those who grieve his loss.
Fr. William Baer, may you be at
peace.
God Bless.
David vs. Goliath: Wednesday, January 17th, 2018 (School Mass)
Listen to the homily here.
Notes:
Notes:
David vs. Goliath
·
Goliath was mean, he was saying a lot of bad
words against David, the Israelites and God
Describe some things to me about David
·
Believed in God
·
Young
·
Saul (Israelites king) didn’t believe him
o "You cannot go up
against this Philistine and fight with him,
for you are only a youth…”
for you are only a youth…”
· But he won
How has God called us in the Sacred Liturgy?: 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Listen to the homily here.
Notes:
Notes:
In
our first reading: God called Samuel
In
our Gospel Jesus called his disciples
· And each of us are called as
well
In
December 4th, 1963: Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy
· “Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to
that fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which
is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy.”
I want to thank you who have listened to God’s call to serve
at Mass, and I think He will continue to call you to do the same!
·
Everyone is called to have conscious and active
participation in Mass
o This
might be different which each person
§
Priest, parents with young kids, those who could
listen, sing and pray
This weekend I would like to explain what different groups
do at Mass in our family as well as some reminders
·
Sacristans
o Bread,
wine and water
o Lectionary
and Gospel
o Preparing
for the Mass
·
Ushers
o Welcome
o Point
out pews
o Collection
o Help
parishioners to bring up the gifts
o Crying
room
·
Musicians
o Piano
and cantors
o We
pray with music
o Behind
the scenes to sign up, practice
·
Servers
o Support
me
o Holding
the book, ring the bell
o Receive
gifts
o Helping
at the altar
o Need
to be there and come early!
·
Eucharistic Ministers
o An
honor offer Jesus’ Body and Blood
o Humble,
reverent and protection for Jesus
·
Welcome family
o We
can always use more people to invite people into the Church
o Helping
people walking in from their vehicles, especially when it is raining, cold,
snowing
o Ask
for names that you don’t know
God calls each of you for a mission. Jesus calls us to be his disciple.
What can you give at Mass for our whole family?
Parish Bulletin Article: "Praise God!": 1-14-18
Every six months I enjoy showing
what our family has been doing, and each time it is cool to notice how we are
growing!
First, thank you for your offerings
through your treasure. We received
several great gifts that were able us to sink money into our budget operations,
the UCA and a baptismal font.
Thank you!
Both of our parishes made a couple of
small movements within our sanctuary.
Within St. Columban, the tabernacle was placed right behind the
altar. Now the priest will not sit
behind the altar, but to the right side of it (if you are facing toward the
sanctuary), as Jesus is now in the central position.
Our servers, both at St. Thomas
Aquinas and St. Columban, have a different position to sit. Rather than sitting next to the priest,
they will now have a perpendicular place.
These seats will allow them to focus towards the altar during the whole
Mass.
These servers are also adding one
more bell ring. This ring takes
place when my hands concentrate on top of the bread and wine—the time when the
Holy Spirit proceeds to these gifts.
This sound is a cool moment to remind us the connection with our Holy
Spirit before the consecration of bread and wine into Jesus’ Body and Blood.
I also added a small cross on the
front of each altar, as I can now see a crucifix.
Both of our parishes made some more
time to clean up the grounds around our churches. Thank you for your work with each other to clean, fix, paint
and organize.
We also had an outstanding event
during Advent. We heard an
excellent talk about “Surrender” through Hannah Malania, praise and worship
through Justin Kosteka, Eucharistic Adoration, and confession. I always experience gratefulness and
joyfulness to know when my brothers and sisters can receive God’s mercy,
compassion, and love.
Finally, I am proud for all of you
as we sold our last rectory and bought a smaller house, which is only three
blocks away from St. Thomas Aquinas parish. This decision was a significant step forward both for our
budget and an opportunity for our community via Northland Counseling Center. Please pray for them as they are
continuing their last actions to open their doors.
Praise God for some new additions
in our parishes!
God Bless!
Pray when we are sick: Thursday, January 11th, 2018 (School Mass)
Listen to the homily here.
Notes:
Notes:
A
leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
"If you wish, you can make me clean."
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
"I do will it. Be made clean." The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
"If you wish, you can make me clean."
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
"I do will it. Be made clean." The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Prayers
and sickness:
· Leprosy = bad disease
o We should pray when we are
sick
· Kneeling
· Ask for your prayer: “If you
wish, you can make me clean”
The Israelites had left from God and Samuel was called: Wednesday, January 10th, 2018
Listen to the homily here.
Notes:
Notes:
“During
the time young Samuel was minister to the LORD under Eli,
a revelation of the LORD was uncommon and vision infrequent.”
a revelation of the LORD was uncommon and vision infrequent.”
·
Why?
The Israelites weren’t following their king
“His
eyes had lately grown so weak that he could not see.”
· Remember that Jesus spoke
many times about blindness physically vs. spiritually?
“Here I am” three
times
· Then Eli understood that the
LORD was calling the youth.
So Eli said to Samuel, "Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply,
'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'"
So Eli said to Samuel, "Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply,
'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'"
"Speak,
for your servant is listening."
“Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.”
The prayer of Hannah: Tuesday, January 9th, 2018
Listen to the homily here.
Notes:
Notes:
Here are some different ways to pray:
·
Hannah
o “In her bitterness she prayed
to the LORD, weeping copiously,
and she made a vow, promising: "O LORD of hosts,
if you look with pity on the misery of your handmaid,
if you remember me and do not forget me,
if you give your handmaid a male child,
I will give him to the LORD for as long as he lives;”
and she made a vow, promising: "O LORD of hosts,
if you look with pity on the misery of your handmaid,
if you remember me and do not forget me,
if you give your handmaid a male child,
I will give him to the LORD for as long as he lives;”
o “…she remained long at prayer
before the LORD.”
o “…praying silently though her
lips were moving…”
·
Eli thought she was drunk!
o “I am an unhappy woman.
I have had neither wine nor liquor;
I was only pouring out my troubles to the LORD.”
I have had neither wine nor liquor;
I was only pouring out my troubles to the LORD.”
o “Deep
sorrow and misery”
One experience how we can pray
·
When we’re sad, depressed, anxious: pray, pray,
pray!
Jesus' Baptism began your baptism: Monday, January 8th, 2017
Listen to the homily here.
Notes:
Notes:
Baptism of Jesus Christ
·
Jordan river
·
John the Baptist
·
“John would have
prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to
me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let
it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” Then he consented.”
Water in nature
Water in our sacrament of baptism
The Manifestation of Jesus Christ: Epiphany in Christmas Season
Listen to the homily here.
Notes:
Notes:
This season is cold and dark
·
How often do we see the sun?
·
How many times are we outside?
·
How often do we feel warm?
In our spiritual lives is a different world
·
We always have the Son
·
How many times can we be outside of ourselves?
·
How often can we experience the warmth—not of
nature—but love?
Epiphany
·
They followed the star
·
They wanted to find to the new king
·
And when they arrived, they prostrated before
this king
·
And they did so while bringing gifts
o Not
dinky gifts
o The
best that they brought from their culture and their life with gold,
frankincense and myrrh
“Brothers and sisters:
You have heard of the stewardship of God's grace
that was given to me for your benefit,
namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation.”
You have heard of the stewardship of God's grace
that was given to me for your benefit,
namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation.”
·
How do you prostrate to Jesus—our king?
o At
Mass?
o At
home?
o At
work?
o At
outside?
·
How do you offer, not your last fruits—but
crucial time, essential talents and important treasures?
Finally
·
King Herod or the Magi?
o “Then Herod called the magi
secretly
and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
"Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word,
that I too may go and do him homage."”
and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
"Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word,
that I too may go and do him homage."”
o King
Herod lied
o King
Herod eventually killed the young children in Bethlehem
o How
of us lie? Hurt others? Physically, emotionally?
·
Magi went to a journey with hundreds of miles to
follow the gifts of the Holy Spirit
o Then
they gave their gifts
o They
followed him…not Herod
Who are you following?
Who are you offering your gifts?
How are worshiping God?
Parish Bulletin Article: "The Light of the World": 1-7-18
During
Jesus Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, he said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be
hid. Nor do men light a lamp and
put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the
house. Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who
is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).
How
are you showing the “light of the world” in your life? Do you have the courage to do this
publicly, with your family, at work or with friends?
Jesus
never taught his disciples to be simply private, but into the world.
One
of the obstacles in our society today is called secularism. This has begun with our modern world
and can be simply defined as: “the principle of separation of the state from religious institutions.”
While
there is depth in our country for using well our state and religion arenas, I
would like to move this conversation to Jesus Christ himself.
Did
Jesus Christ speak publicly?
Yep. Did he enter
businesses and proclaim the Good News? Yep. Did he converse with different religions and sects? Yep.
Our
savior said to his disciples, “Go therefore, and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and
lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).
If
we are truly disciples of Jesus Christ, we must follow what Jesus’ taught for
his mission. He must be #1 in your
life to show his light, not under a bushel basket, but on a stand to “Let your light so shine before men…”
God
Bless!
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