Our Lady of Hope Blog

My Dear Friends,

Today we remember Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday, April 21st. He is among one of the oldest popes in history, and he reigned as pope for 13 years.

When I was born in 1969, Pope St. Paul VI was the current pope of the Catholic Church. When he died in 1978, it did not occur to me that it was a big deal (being that I was only 9 years old). Blessed Pope John Paul I was elected, but he lived only thirty days as pope before he died.

Soon after, a cardinal from Poland was elected as pope and he chose the name John Paul II. His election was the first of a non-Italian cardinal since the 1520’s. Pope St. John Paul II was one of the longest-serving popes in history, reigning for 27 years.

My Dear Friends,

The Lord is Risen! Alleluia! Today we commemorate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and His final defeat of Satan. Sacrificing Himself as the Paschal Lamb as He celebrated Passover with His Apostles, preparing Himself for the act of sacrifice on Good Friday on Calvary, Jesus offered Himself as both priest and victim. And because the Old Testament sacrifices were not complete until the act of eating the flesh of the sacrificed animal, Jesus’ sacrifice is also completed when we come to feast on the Body and Blood of the Paschal Lamb.

My Dear Friends,

Today begins Holy Week. It begins with Palm Sunday and the reading of the Lord’s Passion, this year from the Gospel of Luke. In the traditional Mass, Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday are two different days, but since the reform we have combined Passion and Palm Sunday to the same day. After Palm Sunday the next big celebration is the Chrism Mass, which we celebrate on Tuesday at the cathedral.

My Dear Friends,

Last week there was a disturbing video in front of the Kansas Statehouse. There was an attempt to desecrate our Blessed Sacrament by a group of Satanists. Their attempt to celebrate a “Black Mass” turned violent as Catholics were present to pray and stop the desecration from happening. Black Masses make a mockery of our Lord’s sacrifice and open a doorway to evil in our midst.

My Dear Friends,

Lent is now three weeks finished, and we have three more weeks before Holy Week and Easter Sunday. On this fourth Sunday of Lent, where the priest and deacon are allowed, if they so choose, to wear rose-colored vestments, it is an appropriate time to reflect on how we are doing with our Lenten promises.

My Dear Friends,

Several decades ago, when I was in high school, I attended Mass at The Church of the Immaculate Conception (now Basilica) in Waterbury. The pastor was Father John Blanchfield, who was also a long time principal at Sacred Heart high School (although by the time I was in high school the principal was Father (now Monsignor) James Coleman. Eventually, Father Blanchfield was reassigned to St. Aloysius in Plantsville, where he served as pastor until he died in 2006 (died after celebrating Mass). I remember when he died because it was a couple of weeks before my ordination to the priesthood. I was privileged to be able to vest as a deacon at his funeral Mass. I learned many things from Father Blanchfield, but the one thing that sticks with me the most is how he felt about a Mass filled with young children and babies. Many times, after Holy Communion, he would comment on how beautiful it was to have a church filled with these “little angels” and how their voices and cries were beautiful music to his ears.

My Dear Friends,

Since I have been preparing for my talks on the 33 Days to Eucharistic Glory, I came across a talk by Terence Cardinal Cooke, Archbishop of New York. It is a beautiful talk he gave at a conference.

“The spiritual energy, the grace that comes with each reception of Holy Communion, we absorb only in proportion to our dispositions at the time we receive … A hunger and thirst for union with our Divine Lord will result in a good preparation and thanksgiving. Sometimes we start our preparation for Holy Communion for no very great longing for union with our Lord, but our preparation results in an increased desire for him … From experience we learn that little or no desire for Holy Communion will result in no preparation or only a minimum of preparation. In return, we should not be surprised to receive from the Blessed Sacrament only a minimum of divine grace.

My Dear Friends,

Lent has begun, and today we celebrate the First Sunday of Lent. The readings are always taken from the temptation accounts of Jesus in the desert. St. Matthew and St. Luke give us the account of the dialogue between Jesus and Satan. St. Mark just casually mentions that he went into the desert to be tempted after His baptism. Lent is a time for us to look at what tempts us, what leads us to sin, and how we are called to fight those temptations. These temptations traditionally come to us through the three avenues of the flesh, the world, and the devil. Not every temptation is of the devil.

My Dear Friends,

This week begins the great season of Lent, starting with Ash Wednesday this Wednesday. As Catholics, we are obligated to fast on the days of Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. We are also obligated to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesdays and the Fridays of Lent, including Good Friday. Of course, there is nothing to stop you from fasting on other days and from abstaining from meat on other days as well.