First, I wish to thank you for your prayers for my family. Many have asked me about my nephew, Corban Lucas Lacey. He was born Wed. Mar. 7th at 5:50 pm Pacific time, was baptized, and went to God while surrounded by all of us – his family about an hour later.
We all had a chance to hold him and meet him. He was a beautiful little boy. His older brother Isaac even got to see his little hands and feet and full head of dark hair!
Pray for our ninth graders who will be going to the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral as part of their preparation for the sacrament of confirmation.
Last, as previously published, we are going to have a new photo directory at long last! I am excited about this new way to connect parishioners with parishioners as one family in faith.
I want to thank you for your prayers for my family and I. I will let you know more details as I am able, but please keep praying those Memorares until the Novena concludes this Tuesday, Mar. 13th.
I pray that this Lent continues to be a Holy Season of Romance and Vulnerability. Be Not Afraid to let the God of love surprise you!
This week is our communal penance service. On Wednesday, we will have extra priests. The youth will come during regular PRE time, but ask parents to come during this time as well – you are the models and witnesses of faith for your children. Lead them by your example of striving for holiness and be assured that God does sustain you with his grace.
I hope you enjoy being honorary Irishmen of St. Patrick’s Feast day to celebrate his triumph over pagan practices and not to re-enact them!
I ask for your prayers for a very personal matter: a miracle for Baby Corbin, my brother’s in utero son. Corbin has holoprosencephaly, a severe brain defect. Corbin’s is in the medium severity range. The doctors have said that his condition is incompatible with life outside the womb.
What I ask you for are prayers for a miracle of healing through the intercession of Blessed Mother Teresa. Please pray a Memorare a day for nine days – a novena to Mother Teresa who cared for the little ones.
I will be with my brother and family when Corbin is born. Because of this, I will be away from
Mar. 5 – 11.
I have left you in the good care of Fr. Cosgrove who graciously agreed to offer the weekend Mass; Fr. Dave Roehrich - 605.670.0802 - will care for sacramental emergencies: Anointings, Hospital Calls, Funerals; and Dcn. Joe - wk: 712.277.6589, cell:712.253.9273 - will be the main contact for any other items!
The angels ministered to Jesus during his 40 days in the desert. Mark gives us very little other details for Jesus’ lent except that his sojourn was, A. the Spirit’s choice, but B. his choice to stay “among the wild beasts.”
Wilderness campers often have plans in place to counter wild beasts. I have to wonder at Jesus: did he counter the wild beasts or live at peace with them, the Lamb at rest with the Lion?
During your sojourn of Lent, be not afraid to stay in the desert. It is unsettling to hear the taunter’s voice say to us “it is too much.” “You should rest a little bit – no one should have to endure such trial.” Resist these thoughts with the name of Jesus.
He was at peace while he listened to the roar of the many beasts because he knew he was the Father’s beloved son. You and I are the beloved child of the Father as well. Listen for his voice.
It is upon us already – Lent begins this Wednesday. There is no religious education, but PLEASE come with your children.
I wish to broach a sore spot – what makes for a good fast? What good thing I gave up as a child is likely no longer fitting for me as an adult. No chocolate may seem like a big thing for a child, but for an adult?
To fast is to intentionally offer to Jesus some good thing that he might draw us more closely to himself. It is also great practice in sharpening our will to say “yes” and “no.” If I must practice in saying no to chocolate, how can I say no to a really, really good and desirable thing?
Please join me in asking Jesus for the grace to know what he wants us to offer to him this Lent.
I grew up believing that our constitution and First Amendment rights were near sacrosanct: we cannot mandate pacifists to shoot a gun nor require a Jew to eat pork. Now, however, by executive order, this amendment will change?? The attack on the Church with the mandate that institutions provide contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortions for anyone on their insurance is frightening.
Bishop Swain has joined 136 other bishops in a petition to revoke the HHS mandate. I have included his statement within your bulletin. On the reverse of that I have included my message to our Representative Noem as well as a way to contact your Congressman and President.
All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. – Edmund Burke. You are good people; please do not fail to act.
I was heartened by the Feb. 5th, USA Today editorial that joined voices with our Bishops to protect freedom of conscience. If you want to read it, it is linked on my Facebook account “Bob Lacey Please remember, this is not a question of contraceptives but of religious freedom which is fundamentally a question of conscience. Our founding fathers saw it as a necessary role of our government to serve the people, not to have the people serve the government. The government is now attempting to tell America what does and does not qualify as “religious.”
As Sister Mary Ann Walsh of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops put it, "When you go to a Jewish deli, you are not expecting pork chops."
This bears repeating: All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. – Edmund Burke. You are good people; please do not fail to act.
_ While watching TV this week, I noticed that a particular actress received a lot of attention for a statement she made while not feeling well: “What scares me is that I’m going to ultimately find out at the end of my life that I’m really not lovable, that I’m not worthy of being loved. That there’s something fundamentally wrong with me…”
She has said out loud what many think today: “I am not loved or lovable.” Young girls think this during adolescence, mothers during pregnancy, and men of every age when rejected.
This is not Jesus message; it is of the evil one who wants to destroy human nature in its goodness and beauty and integrity. The evil one’s two main lies are these: You are not loved or lovable AND you are alone. Reject them and ask Jesus for help. He came to set us free.
_ Christmas concludes with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord on this Monday. I will offer Mass on this Monday, a change from ordinary, to honor our Lord.
I will be here this next weekend for the Saturday evening and Sunday morning Mass, but then I will be traveling to the Univ. of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, IL for a week of deepening spiritual direction training. I do ask for your prayers. I will return for Masses the following weekend.
I invite you to come on January 22nd, right after the 5:30pm Mass for our Catholicism Inquiry session. I will keep them to no more than an hour as it is an important time of readying for the week to come.
Anyone is welcome to come, especially if you have questions about our faith, have always wondered ‘why do we believe that,’ or thought ‘that doesn’t seem right.’ Fr. Robert Barron’s Catholicism series of movie presentations present Catholic beliefs from architectural, art, and musical sources, giving us a insight rarely found in typical books.
Let us know if you have any questions.
