Walewale, Ghana Well Project

During the month of May we were blessed at St. John's and St. Joseph's to host Fr. Albert Wugaa and Fr. Robert Abotzabire, my classmates from Ghana.  I am proud to say that through the generous benefactors of our parishioners (and the faithful at Holy Family, McGregor and Our Lady of Fatima, McGrath) and friends, we raised $11,000 for a well project in Walewale!  This well will provide a reliable and clean source of water for the people at St. Paul's parish (where we visited in January) and their community.  Here are some pictures and video of their progress:

Answered Prayers: Daily Mass Homily--Saturday, January 11th, 2014

Note--This Saturday morning Mass came about from a request from a few of our high school students who went to Ghana.  I was inspired that, shortly after coming home, they wanted to gather around the Eucharist to celebrate a successful trip.

            I was hoping you would bring your drums to Mass for our music, but apparently you missed the memo.

            Throughout our trip, and especially now that we are home, I have been thinking about all the answered prayers we experienced.  We were given $76,000.  We had smooth travels.  We were all relatively healthy—certainly no one got a life-threatening illness.  We made friends and in short had nothing less than a ten day God moment. 

We must remember that God wants to answer all of our prayers.  Sometimes we approach prayer like we need to persuade God or reason with Him.  We don’t.  Neither do we need to be perfect for God’s fidelity with our requests.  St. John wrote in his first letter, “Beloved: We have this confidence in him that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, we know that what we have asked him for is ours.”  Our Psalm adds, “The Lord takes delight in his people.”  The Lord delights in us and wants to give us every good gift.

We received many good gifts from God in Ghana—one answered prayer after another.  Remember this.  And John the Baptist gives us the proper response to such gifts, “Christ must increase, I must decrease.”

Love experienced in Ghana: Daily Mass Homily--Thursday, January 9th, 2014

             I could say a lot about our trip to Ghana which went better than I ever imagined.  Our first reading from St. John will help me focus on some of the powerful experiences the twenty-five of us had.

            First, we are reminded that “God is love” and that, “Beloved, we love God because he first loved us.”  If I had to pick one word to summarize our time in Ghana it would indeed be love.  We perceived love first by you in your generous financial support and prayers.  This trip would not have been possible without you!

            We brought our love to the people we met.  We each made sacrifices to prepare for an international trip of service.  While in Ghana we worked on two different projects—a Marian shrine and a chapel in the middle of nowhere.  To show our love we brought seventeen suitcases of school, church and medical supplies. 

            The greatest part of this trip was the love shown to us.  I wish I could bottle of up the smiles, laughter, joy, hospitality and generosity the men, women and children showed us.  They presented me with a chasuble on stole as a gift to our parish to say thanks to all of us.  Throughout our trip we were given a goat, rooster, chicken and guinea fowl to eat.  This may not be much for us but was a huge sacrifice for these people.

            All of this love was possible because we are first loved by God.

            Second, John writes, “…whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.

And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.”  The coolest God-moment of this trip was when we helped build a small chapel in a rural.  This marked the thirty-fifth outstation for three priests to visit.  (Imagine St. John’s with thirty-five churches like St. Joseph’s in Gnesen!)  The pastor asked if I would preside Mass at this location before our work began.  I was honored and celebrated the first Mass ever in this place.  I felt like an apostle in unchartered territory!  Praying Mass here was like putting a flag in the ground for Jesus, claiming this territory for him.  We were carving out more land for God.

            I am extremely grateful for the love God showed us on our immersion.  This love was most tangible in the Mass, and it is through Mass (whether in an exuberant three hour Mass in Ghana, airport or here at St. John’s) we can conquer the world.  We pray for the grace to bring God’s love we receive at Mass into the world to claim it for Him.

God's love multiplies our offerings: Daily Mass Homily--Tuesday, January 7th, 2014

Note--I offered Mass in the meditation center in the Schipol airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  I was inspired to come to the same Mass we have at home and in festive celebration in the parishes we visited in Ghana.  It was also interesting to have Mass at the same time and the same room that many Muslims were praying.

            Throughout our time in Ghana, we have seen the reality of God’s love.  He has showered us with many graces in the people we met, the hospitality we received and in the work we did.

            We have seen, too, how God continues to take a few loaves and fish and multiply them.  A few dollars and a little time, and look what God has done in our lives and in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Africa!

            May we continue to live in God’s love as we return home, and offer Him what little we have.  God, in His faithfulness, will continue to multiply these sacrifices and build up His kingdom on earth.

Offer your gold, frankincense and myrrh: Epiphany Sunday

Note--I gave this homily in two different churches.  The first was at Holy Angels parish in Garu.  I had the honor of celebrating Mass here at the request of Fr. Desmond (pastor) and my friend Fr. Kevin (assistant priest).  The second was in one of the outstations of Holy Angels.  Our whole group attended both as we wanted to experience both their parish Mass and a Mass in one of the smaller communities.  During the second Mass Fr. Kevin translated my homily into the native tongue.  I did not know what he said, but it was curious that he talked a lot more when translating than I did preaching!            

            We celebrate a great feast in our lives today—the Feast of Epiphany.  This is the feast in which we remember the three magi—wise men from the East—who traveled a long ways to see the baby Jesus.

            This visit is crucial in salvation history because these men were Gentiles—non-Jews.  For centuries, the Jewish people were God’s chosen people and they lived apart from non-Jews.  Now we see the doors to God’s family opened up to others.

            The Magi, in coming to visit Christ, did not come alone.  They came with the best of gifts—gold, frankincense and myrrh.  They brought gold to a king.  They brought frankincense to honor this king and to show that just as Christ came down from heaven, so too would he rise like incense back to heaven.  They brought myrrh, an ointment used to prepare a body for burial, to symbolize Jesus’ death for our sins.

            We, too, are called to visit Jesus with the best of our time, talents and treasures.  We might not have gold to offer, but we can contribute something of our monies, generosity and hospitality.  Our group has been impressed by such generosity you have shown to us during our time in your parish and with your families.  We might not have frankincense, but we can send the sweet smell of our prayers up to heaven.  Such prayers are necessary to purify a world that often smells bad.  We rejoice to pray with you, especially at Mass and as we seek our Lady’s intercession for our work.  And we may not have myrrh, but we can give the ointment of our service to God and neighbor.  Again, we are so inspired by the way you have served us, your families and neighbors.

            On this great day in the Church we, too, come to visit the baby Jesus.  Like the Magi, we do not come empty handed but bring the best of our time, talents and treasures to lay before the manger.

Come see Jesus: Daily Mass Homily--Saturday, January 4th, 2014

Note--This Mass was one of my highlights for our trip.  It was a simple outdoor setup with the altar as a small plastic table.  Frs. Desmond and Kevin (priests at Holy Angel's parish in Garu asked me to celebrate the Liturgy before beginning construction on a new (and primitive) chapel in the Ghanaian countryside.  Once the chapel is up and running it will be the 35th outstation for Holy Angel's parish.  (Imagine--three priests covering 36 churches so people can have the sacraments!)  This was the first Mass ever in this place, and through the construction of a new place of worship, should be the first of many!

Also--my homily was translated in three languages.  I preached in English and two others translated it into the native tongues for those who do not speak English.

In the Gospel of John the disciples of John the Baptist wish to see Jesus.  And isn’t that why we are gathered here today?  Before beginning the work of building a chapel we offer this place and our efforts in a desire to see Jesus.

            There are many reasons we came to visit you.  We want to assist you in your work of proclaiming the Gospel.  We came to visit friends, old and new.  And we are excited to get in warm, sunny weather as our families and friends back home are living in snow and negative twenty degree weather!

            But most of all, we have come to see Jesus.  And we see him in you.  We see him in your smiles, in your laughter, in your joy, in your hospitality and in your generosity.

            We pray that this sacred space will be a place where many will meet Jesus.  When your neighbors, loved ones or coworkers ask you about God, you bring them here.  Bring them to see Jesus in the Mass.  Bring them to see Jesus in his Body and Blood.

            We pray in gratitude for seeing Jesus during this Christmas season.  We ask God, in His providence, to allow many others to see His Son in this chapel.

The Third Lap: Daily Mass Homily--Friday, January 3rd, 2014

Note--We had Mass today, not in a church, but outside our hotel in Bolgatanga, Ghana.  Truth be told, the space we were in was a spot--a bar!  (Don't think of a bar like the ones you see in the U.S.  Spots in Ghana are simple outdoor gathering spaces in which you sit in lawn chairs to enjoy a glass of water or a cold beer.)  We needed to have Mass here as our bus was late in picking us up for daily Mass at the local parish.

           

            You probably all know I am a runner.  I have been on many different track and cross country teams since I was in junior high.  Through the years my favorite race in which to run was the mile.

            The first lap in the race is easy—adrenaline is firing and the competition gets the juices going.  The second isn’t bad either as you get in stride and hit a consistent pace.  The third lap is the most difficult—the wheels feel like they are about to come off and fatigue sets in.  The last lap, though difficult, is better than the third as the homestretch is in view.  Thus, the most crucial lap of a mile race is the third.  It truly makes or breaks a time.

            We are on the third lap of our trip.  We began with many graces, excitement and fun in Walewale.  We settled into a daily routine of work and prayer, with fun stuff mixed in.  As a group we are now beginning to feel drained and many of us have a touch (or more) of illness.  The wheels could fall off our trip, or we could set our selves up for an amazing finish.

            Continue to be joyful and grateful during our last days in Ghana.  God has much more in store for us and the people here.  Let’s keep going strong.

The Power of God: Daily Mass Homily--Thursday, January 2nd, 2014

Note--we celebrated Mass in the private chapel of Bishop Alfred--head of the Diocese of Navrongo-Bolgatanga.              

            Fr. Peter and I had the chance to travel the world while in seminary.  We went to Venezuela on a mission trip, the Holy Land and Rome.  Now I am fortunate to be on my second trip to Africa.  While I have noticed many differences in cultures, there are similar characteristics to every place to which I have been.  Each place has great people, excellent food, Coke and cold beer.

            Today we hear in the Responsorial Psalm, “All the ends of the earth have seen the power of God.”  We have seen the power of God and this power is present anywhere you go on earth.  This is especially so in Mass.

            I appreciated what one of you said earlier on our trip—“I’m never going to complain about getting to Mass again.”  For those of us in Duluth, we can drive ten minutes and be at four different churches.  Yet here in Ghana we see men and women walking many miles to get to Mass—and sometime Mass is only offered once a month.

            The power of God is present everywhere.  We don’t have to be 6,000 miles away from home—we simply need to come to Mass.

A Great day at St. John's: Daily Mass Homily--Friday, December 27th, 2013 (Feast of St. John the Evangelist)

Note--I gave this homily just before twenty-five of us headed out on our Ghanaian immersion.  We offered Mass at St. John's, Duluth, and prayed for abundant blessings on our trip.            

             We are especially blessed this morning.  First, we celebrate the third day of Christmas.  Second, we gather at the Eucharist on our parish feast day—St. John the Evangelist.  Finally, we gather with the twenty-five men and women who will be leaving for our trip to Ghana, Africa.

            The Church Fathers designated each of the Evangelists—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—with a symbol.  John’s symbol is the eagle as it reflects the heights of John’s theology, faith and writings.  Consider his first letter—“What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life—for the life was made visible…”

            But John’s faith is not simply a high form of theology.  John believed in Christ.  In the Gospel, John outran Peter to the tomb—a fact I appreciate as a runner.  When entering the tomb, Peter was presumably taken aback at what he saw.  When John saw, he believed in the resurrection.

            We pray in thanksgiving for this great day at our parish.  For all of us on our feast day, and especially those about to travel to serve our brothers and sisters abroad, we pray for the faith of our patron.

Ghana!

I haven't been able to post in a while because I was with 24 others on a trip to Ghana, Africa!  I'll write more in the days to come, but please check out our trip on Facebook.  Look for St. John's Duluth Youth Group for pictures, daily updates and video.  Enjoy!

2nd Sunday of Advent

           If you’re wondering why priests go to seminary for six to eight years, it is to read names like Ituraea and Trachonitis in public and at least sound like we know how to say them.

            As I reflect on our second reading, I can’t help but think of my experience in Africa.  Paul writes to the Philippians, a community far away from him, by stating, “I pray always with joy in my every prayer for all of you, because of your partnership for the gospel from the first day until now.”  Every now and again it is good for a parish in northern Minnesota to remember that our faith goes beyond Duluth, Minnesota and the United States.  We have brothers and sisters—our faith family—spread throughout the world.  Right now churches in the US, Africa, South America and more celebrate the second Sunday of Advent and work in a true partnership to proclaim the Gospel.  It was an amazing experience to visit the faith communities in Ghana and recognize that our faith is one universally.

            Then there is Paul’s exhortation: “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…”  As I visited Africa I first thought to myself, “These people have so little.”  Very few families—probably one in ten—have a car.  Eating meat is a treat for the average family.  Some communities just plugged into electricity and others still don’t have it.  And these aren’t cave people!  They are just like you and I living in a different world.  Yet just when I began to feel sorry for what these people don’t have, I saw that these people are truly happy.  As a culture, these Ghanaians were some of the most joyful, exuberant and laughing group of people I have met.  Perhaps it is we should feel sorry for ourselves.

            The temptation for Americans is to be distracted.  We are often so wrapped up in stuff—finances, possessions, sports and entertainment.  Yet the people who have nothing often have everything because they know what has true value in life—God and family.  Our African brothers and sisters provide a model of living for what is truly important and we do well to strive for detachment from the abundant blessings we have.

            I also was pleasantly surprised at the political situation in Ghana.  They recently voted for a president and none of the candidates there supported abortion—indeed, this atrocity is illegal.  They recognize the truth of marriage as a gift from God between a man and woman and were scandalized to think we vote on such truths in America.  The government and Church work together to support the people.  When the bishops teach, civil leaders listen and act.  I suspect that this is a result from discerning what is of true value—not personal opinions, subjective emotions or an individualistic life approach—but obedience to God and His Church.

            As we approach the coming of Christ as a man at Christmas, we do well to remember that Jesus was born, not in a castle into a well-to-do family, but in a stable.  We ought to become poor in spirit, as Christ was, to focus on inheriting the kingdom of heaven—not the kingdom of money, fame or power.  And here we can look up to our brothers and sisters in Africa.  And we should be generous to those without the material blessings we have.  Opportunities abound in our parish this Advent season in our Giving Tree, serving at CHUM and donating to the poor.  I will also be working on building connections to continue to support our Church family in Ghana.

            Please consider what is of true importance in your life this Advent season.  May we “be pure and blameless for the day of Christ”—Christmas—which is coming soon.

Pics and Video from Africa

Here are a few pictures to tell the story of my journey to Africa.  For a full effect, read this blog while playing our theme song: "Africa" by the band Toto.

The reason for our travels.  From left to right: Frs. Kevin Abakisi, Albert Wugaa, Robert Abotzabire and Peter Akudugu.  Congratulations to my four classmates and now brothers in the priesthood!

I traveled to Ghana with Fr. Gabriel Waweru (pastor in Hibbing and originally from Kenya).  We were joined by some men from the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis and the Diocese of Sioux Falls.  From left to right we are pictured with the Ghanaian baby priests: Frs. Patrick Barnes, Kevin Abakisi, yours truly, Albert Wugaa, Evan Koop (ASPM), John Rutten (Sioux Falls), Nick VanDenBroeke (ASPM), Allen Eilen (ASPM), Robert Abotzabire, Peter Akudugu and Phil (lay faithful from ASPM).

The ordination took place on Saturday, December 1st in Bakwu.  The ordination clocked in at 4:42 and was one of the coolest Masses I've ever been to and by far the longest.  Unfortunately the power went out so we had no fans.  It was probably ninety-five degrees in the Church and I sweated through my clerics, alb, stole and chasuble.  The music, liturgical dance and ordination rite itself made for a heavenly experience.  I trust this is what heaven will be like.

Yes, that is a real crocodile!  This picture is from the crocodile ponds in Paga.  Legend has it that the crocodiles and humans exist peacefully as the early settlers in Paga were led to water by the crocs.  Across this very pond children were swimming and the guys that called in the crocodiles were not missing any limbs.  Fr. Gabriel Waweru (pastor in Hibbing and originally from Kenya) was my traveling companion for the journey and was there to bless me, just in case the beast wanted to try some white meat.

In case you don't believe me, here is a video of one of the crocs coming on shore.

We had the chance to visit many schools and students.  The average class sizes were fifty or more.  Despite the numbers, these were the most well behaved students I have seen in any school.  They showed remarkable respect for teachers and priests, due to the cultural reality that adults were to be respected.  It was refreshing being in a culture in which youth and children are not the center of the world.  In Ghana, kids are raised to be adults and are expected to learn and conform to adults in their lives.

Many of these children are Catholic, yet not baptized.  Thanks to Catholic education most come to Mass on their own because their parents belong to the natural religion of their tribe.  They walk or bike to Mass each week and it is their responsibility to sign up for three years of catechesis before becoming baptized.  What a witness to the faith from these youngsters!

We also were able to visit an orphanage.  Here I get to hold a beautiful girl named Mary.

After the ordination, Fr. Gabriel and I, as well as the men from the Archdiocese, went our separate ways to attend the four baby priests' first Masses.  I went with Fr. Albert to Navrongo, the city in which the Christian faith in Ghana was born.  The video shows Fr. Albert joining in a traditional dance to celebrate the festive occasion.

I had the great honor of presiding at Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows in Navrongo.  This was the first church built by the African Fathers in Ghana.

I was able to exercise quite a bit in Africa.  It was a blessing sweating in shorts and a t-shirt on several runs, and we even had the opportunity to hoop it up with some of the locals.  We all agreed, "White men can't jump, but they can shoot!"

We ate and drank like kings.  The Ghanaian culture is one of hospitality par excellence.  Most people in Ghana do not eat meat every day as it is a luxury.  We had meat at every meal.  We ate goat (above), chicken, guinea fowl, fish and beef.  My favorite beer was Club--made with maize and grain--and I loved the Coke that was made of real cane sugar.

Yes, Africans carry everything on their heads.  I'm surprised we haven't figured that out as even little children could carry very heavy items.  Here some of the locals help me out, though I never caught on to the balance necessary!

Africa is a beautiful place, and I pray that I can return many times in the future.  I am hoping to bring over some people in a year or so.  

Finally, it is worth mentioning that our brothers and sisters could use our support from the USA.  We are blessed beyond belief and anything we can do to help is truly appreciated.  I am lucky to know these four men and plan on shipping gifts and money over periodically to help the new priests in their ministry.  Please contact me if you would like to contribute in any way.

Thanks for your prayers as this was a journey of a lifetime that will hopefully bear fruit both here and abroad for years to come.

Cool Experience

This morning after celebrating Mass with Fr. Albert (which, thankfully, was only 45 minutes long!) an elementary aged girl approached me. She was holding a blue bic pen in her hands and said, "Father, could you please bless this?" This caught me off guard at first--I hadn't yet blessed a pen!

I was inspired by this young girl in two ways. First, she saw me, not as a white foreigner but as a priest of God. It is humbling knowing I could go anywhere in the world an experience the same thanks to our universal Catholic faith. Second, this little one demonstrated a teaching of the Second Vatican Council and previous sentiments in the Church; namely, there is nothing too small to offer to the Lord.

Fr. Albert told me after this that this girl will cherish that pen forever. Another good reminder that it is not what we have, but what we do with what we have that counts. I pray for the grace to offer everything over to God and those in need, even my pens.

God Bless,
FB

Life is Good in Africa

Another great day! I'm pecking away at baby-priest Fr. Albert Wugaa's iPad so I'll summarize the day as follows:

--Fr. Albert's first Mass was amazing. I was welcomed in a particular way representing the USA and did part of the Eucharistic prayer. Offering of the gifts included eggs, beer, pop and a ram! They danced like I've never seen before. Total time  = 3:42!
--I sat on a crocodile. (That is not a typo...I'll post a pic when I get home to prove it!)
--Visit to Fr. Albert's home. Dirt floors w livestock living inside the main walls. For entertainment they offered me a beer and we sat outside and talked. They cook over a fire. Their beds are carved out of rock. They got electricity three years ago. And they are happy.
--Apps and drinks at a local bar..we sat  under the stars and I ate part of a fish cooked whole.

In other news--Ghana's presidential election will be on Friday. Neither of the main candidates is pro choice (abortion is thought of as it truly is here-- an abomination) or for same sex marriage (which they can't fathom supporting at the governmental level while they still want to love those with same sex attractions). The current president is showing how he brought electricity to the north. The opposition is claiming he will offer free high school to all students. Imagine being able to vote in an election in which basic moral teachings of the Church are supported by both candidates!

To my friends, family, parishioners, teachers at St. John's School and students, I miss you a lot. Know of my daily prayers and I can't wait to share my adventures with you when I get home!

God Bless,
FB

Update from Africa

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

I have been reflecting on the first beatitude as I visit our brothers and sisters in Ghana, Africa.  We often think of these people as poor...and indeed many of them are. Yet I have rarely met such generous and joyful men and women!

Today I took part in one of the most beautiful Masses I have ever been to. Frs. Kevin, Albert, Peter and Robert were ordained today in Baku. If you thought my ordination was long, this one clocked in at four hours, forty-two minutes! We were in a packed church with it being 90 degrees inside with a thousand more standing outside. It was the greatest non-exercise workout I've done.

The singing, dancing (yes, liturgical dance can be done well) readings, rite of ordination and festivities were truly heavenly. What an event.

Other highlights so far:
--playing basketball with guys in Navrongo,
--eating like kings,
--Club beer,
--going for runs with chickens, goats, cows and youngsters,
--visiting schools,
--warm weather
--and, above all being reunited with my classmates from the other side of the world.

We are blessed beyond belief in the USA when it comes to food, drink, possessions and entertainment. Yet we are also ravaged with depression, suicide, addiction, obesity and moral depravity. We materially rich ought to learn from the spiritually poor--those who know there is much more to live for beyond our own abilities and possessions. I have seen first hand a "third world country" possessing heaven on earth and I pray that we may do the same!

Know of my prayers,
FB

Heading To Africa

Please pray for my four classmates, Dcns Robert, Kevin, Albert and Peter. They will be ordained on Saturday, December 1st in Ghana, Africa. I studied with these four men at the St. Paul Seminary and have the great privilege to travel over for the festivities.

Please pray for Fr. Gabriel Waweru (pastor in Hibbing) as we head over the pond!

Know of my prayers for you all.

God Bless,
FB