It is commonly observed that the world in which we live is increasingly fast-paced, hectic, and noisy. The human brain just can’t take all of that input. Advertisers understand this phenomenon as well; that’s why they make their commercials so loud and fill them with images geared to grab our attention. We have become so conditioned by this loud and active culture in which we live, that many people are now uncomfortable when experiencing silence. (Do you start to fidget after 30 seconds silence during Mass?!) But the Scriptures indicate that it is necessary for us to be silent - to be quiet inside as well - in order to hear God speak to us. The first reading from today’s Mass recounts how Elijah did not find the Lord in the strong and heavy wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, but in a “tiny whispering sound.” The Gospel, too, tells us how Jesus went up on the mountain by himself to pray. If Jesus Himself needed some quiet time alone to pray, just think how much we need it! Make a quick examination of your life, and of the routines that you follow. Do you automatically turn on the TV or radio whenever you enter a room? Are you frequently checking your phone or tablet? Do you find that you need to have some background noise present so that you don’t get uncomfortable or fidgety? Then I suggest you consciously decide to make some time each day - especially on Sundays - when you leave all the noise aside. It may take some effort at first to do this. The troubling events in the Church and in our country - political, social, and economic - make it more necessary. But if we are going to be able to hear the Lord speak to us in a tiny whisper, we will need to be quiet. This Tuesday, August 15, is the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, a Holy Day of Obligation. Mass at St. Vincent de Paul is at 8:00am, and at SS Peter & Paul at 5:30pm. See you at Mass! May God bless you! Fr. Schaller Among the many challenges of the modern world the crisis of marriage and the family is perhaps the greatest. This includes issues like divorce, same-sex unions, transgenderism, laboratory production of life (cloning, in vitro fertilization, etc.), premarital sexual activity, and STDs (AIDS, etc.). At the beginning of the sexual revolution Pope Paul VI promulgated his encyclical letter Humanae Vitae (On Human Life). In this encyclical (published on July 25, 1968, 55 years ago) the Holy Father reaffirmed the constant teaching of the Church regarding the dignity and purpose of Christian marriage. God made man and women, and He is their final end. We properly fulfill our human nature when we live according to God’s wise plan. Marriage (and especially Christian marriage), according to God’s plan, is directed toward the mutual good of husband and wife in a lifelong covenant of love, and the begetting and raising of children (the very fruit of their parent’s love). These two reasons for marriage - for love and for life - are intimately connected. In fact, to separate them is to attack the very heart of marriage. The Holy Father’s encyclical has often been characterized only as an attack against artificial birth control. It is true that he does restate the Church’s constant teaching against artificial birth control. But Humanae Vitae is primarily an affirmation of the beauty and dignity of Christian marriage when it is lived according to God’s plan: in fidelity, fruitfully, generously. Beginning decades before the 60’s, we have been subject to the “world’s” influence in regard to our understanding of sexuality, marriage, and the family. In fact, many Christians have rejected the Church’s teaching in favor of the “world’s” standards. Perhaps the time is right to reconsider what the Church has to say on these most important issues: not what people think the Church teaches, but the actual teachings themselves. One can easily download the document on the internet from a number of sources (including www.vatican.va). I hope you will take the opportunity to see how beautiful, good, and true the Church’s teaching is. May God bless you! Fr. Schaller One of the common objections that people make about God’s providence and His goodness is the reality of evil in the world. How can it be, they ask, that God allows sin and evil to exist alongside His good creation? The key word in this is “allows.” As the first parable in today’s Gospel makes clear, sin and evil (the weeds growing among the wheat) exist not by the hand of God, but rather because “an enemy has done this.” Like the good wheat which must struggle to bear fruit while fighting against the weeds, we must struggle to live holy lives in a world infected with sin and evil. God intends for us to be saved, and so He gives us the strength necessary (through the Grace of the Sacraments) to persevere until the “harvest time.”
Another aspect of this question about the existence of evil involves the possibility of human freedom. If it were not possible for a man to choose evil, there would be no virtue in having chosen the good. Human freedom would not exist if it were not possible for us to choose one or the other. It is precisely the existence of human freedom – and the possibility of choosing good or evil – that warrants the praise of virtuous acts and the condemning of evil acts. Parents experience this simple principle when their child “who is old enough to know better” does something which is wrong. Out of respect for their child who is now able to make moral choices they show their displeasure. Conversely, when they witness their child doing something good it is right to give praise. May God bless you! Fr. Schaller We Wisconsinites have a deeper sense of appreciation for summer than our fellow citizens from the South. It is time for vacations, travel, cookouts and family reunions – valued even more now because of time lost during the past 3 years by the covid lockdowns. Since five of my siblings still live in the La Crosse area we always find an excuse to get together, though we sometimes head out to South Dakota, where some of the family now lives. We save money by putting up all the “out of towners” at the homes of those who live in the area. We get some pretty full houses. My parents (now both deceased) had 12 children (three are now deceased), 48 grandchildren, and over 100 great-grandchildren. Including the spouses of their children and grandchildren, they have nearly 200 descendants. (When you get this many, who can keep count?!) As the “family priest” it is my pleasant responsibility to preside at a fair number of baptisms and weddings. I don’t bring this up to brag about my family (after all, I am not the cause of this big family, only one of the many happy beneficiaries), but to reflect upon the fruitfulness of human love which is possible by God’s Grace. The scripture readings of today’s Mass (especially Isaiah and Matthew) speak to us about God’s Word, which potentially “bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” Is God’s fruitfulness not also demonstrated in the blessings of children, by which the human family - made in the image of God - grows and develops? Too frequently children are seen merely as burdens, or as a drain on our material resources. Such an attitude is the corrupt fruit of a culture of death. But the Gospel of Jesus is a Gospel of Life! I feel tremendously blessed by God to have been born into my family (the eleventh of twelve!). My mother, at her death, had over 120 direct descendants. What a blessing that she lived to see her “hundredfold” and more!
May God bless you! Fr. Schaller The Feast of Corpus Christi (The Body of Christ) is an opportunity for the Church to reflect more deeply on the mystery of the Gift which the Lord left us in the Mass. At every Mass our offerings of bread and wine are brought to the Altar of Sacrifice and, by the words and actions of the priest who stands in persona Christi (in the person of Christ), they become the Body and Blood of Christ. Though the appearances of bread and wine remain, by faith (in the promise the Lord Himself gave at the Last Supper) we know that we receive the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Savior Jesus Christ. According to the constant teaching of the Church, we receive the “whole Lord” whether we receive Him under the “form of bread” or the “form of wine”. Therefore, when we receive the Sacred Host (or the Precious Blood) alone, we do not lack the full Gift of the Lord in the Eucharist. Lord, we thank You for giving us Your very Self in the Holy Eucharist! “Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore! Oh, make us love Thee, more and more! Oh, make us love Thee, more and more!”
The celebration of the Holy Eucharist is a true Sacrifice and a Sacred Banquet. It is our highest expression of worship to our God. It is for this reason that all who participate in the Mass should prepare themselves properly – interiorly and exteriorly. It is most fitting that the priest wears special vestments in order to indicate the special and sacred character of the Liturgy. A similar principle applies to all the faithful who participate in the Mass. Though styles may change depending on a number of variables (culture, place, climate, time) there still remains the necessity for all to dress in such a way as to express our love and reverence for the Lord (and respect for each other). The argument that “God doesn’t care what I wear in church” indicates a careless attitude towards God and others. The careful manner with which we groom and dress our body always demonstrates our respect for others. I hope these few guidelines may help: don’t wear shorts, t-shirts, beach wear, clothing with advertising, or any clothing which is immodest. Many people still recall the meaning of a phrase which was commonly used in past years: wear your Sunday Best! God deserves it! May God bless you! Fr. Schaller The Solemnity of Pentecost marks the end of the Church’s observance of the Easter Season. This celebration commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, the Blessed Mother, and the whole Church. The coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost also fulfills God’s revelation of Himself in three divine persons. Though existing eternally, the Father is made known through His creation, the Son in the Incarnation, and now the Holy Spirit is revealed as “the Lord and giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father and the Son” (Nicene Creed). Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, promised to send to His Church the Comforter, the Advocate, Who would strengthen and confirm us in our faith. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love! The period of time between the Lord’s Ascension into heaven and the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday has always been observed as a special time of prayer. Scripture tells us that Jesus ascended to heaven 40 days after Easter and Pentecost occurred 50 days after Easter. The Lord instructed His disciples to spend the nine days between those events praying. This is the origin of the Catholic practice of the “novena” (from the Latin word for “nine”.) A novena consists of praying for some particular intention for nine consecutive days. Sometimes this is expressed in prayers or practices which are observed over nine weeks or nine months (such as the custom of attending Mass for nine consecutive First Fridays). It’s just another example of one of the those “Catholic things” that we didn’t just make up, but comes from the scriptures and the practice of the early Church. May God bless you! Fr. Schaller The Ascension of the Lord marks a turning point in the life of the early Church. It signifies the transition which takes place when the Lord leaves His disciples – but with the promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus leaves, but He does not leave them alone. He is still present with us today, especially in the Blessed Sacrament. And the Holy Spirit continues to strengthen His Church. Several decades ago the Bishops of the Dioceses of Wisconsin (with the permission of Rome) moved the observance of the Lord’s Ascension from the 40th day after Easter (always a Thursday) to the Sunday following. This was a concession to the secular commercial and business practices which make it difficult for many Catholics to attend Mass on a Thursday. On this Solemnity the Church celebrates that event in the life of the early Church when they witnessed the Lord’s return to His Father forty days after His resurrection. With the Father, the risen (and now ascended) Lord promised to send the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and the Church. Liturgically, this time from the Lord’s ascension until the feast of Pentecost is a time for us to pray more earnestly for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Next Sunday the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Blessed Mother, the Apostles, and the disciples of the Lord. To help us observe the coming of the “Fire of the Holy Spirit”, I invite everyone to wear something red to Mass next Sunday. May God bless you! Fr. Schaller The Holy Father has designated this Sunday as the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. We commonly associate the word vocations with those called to the priesthood or religious life. I confess that I probably encourage that association by regularly praying at Mass for an increase of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. And I will continue to pray for that. But that does not detract from the truth that all Christians have a vocation. We have a common vocation – that is, a call from God (from the Latin vocare: to call) – to holiness. But the common vocation to holiness that God calls us to must be lived out in a definite way. For priests it means a certain way of living, for consecrated men and women (the religious life) it means another, and for single people and married people it means living faithfully according to those states of life. For all, the common goal is holiness – that is, a life in communion with God. All too frequently we settle for so much less. We fall into the trap of thinking: “What’s the least I have to do to get into Heaven?” or, “What’s the most I can get away with, and still avoid Hell?” The example of Saint John Paul II has shaken us from this sort of spiritual lethargy. His life was a visible reminder of the sacrifice that is required from each authentic follower of Christ – and validation that the sacrifice is worth it. While affirming the truth that ALL of us are called to a life of holiness, the Church still demands a unique witness from her priests. Some people suggest that if we would ‘soften the sacrifice’ of the priesthood – by relaxing the rule of celibacy and ordaining married men – we would have many more priests. But that argument fails even on natural grounds. John Paul II understood that principle very well. He challenged young people to reject the selfishness of materialism, and to follow Christ. And the young people loved him. To these same young people, the Pope has entrusted the mission of the New Evangelization. What is that mission? To help each person follow Christ. To help each person be holy. Please join me in continuing to pray for our bishops and civil leaders. There are many difficulties in the culture, in our country, and in the Church. Good Shepherd Sunday is an especially fitting day to pray that God will fill our bishops and civil leaders with wisdom, prudence, and courage! May the Lord bless you all throughout the Easter Season!
Fr. Schaller The Church celebrates Easter for fifty days (from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday inclusive), but observes the Octave of Easter (octave means eight), from Easter Sunday through Second Sunday of Easter inclusive, with particular solemnity. This always serves as a great contrast to the secular society which, as it does with Christmas, throws away all reminders of the Feast the following day. Make sure you continue to make the Easter Season a festive time of celebrating our Savior’s Resurrection. I look forward each year to the Sunday following Easter because of the beautiful Gospel account from St. John. The story of ‘Doubting Thomas’ is recorded for our benefit, so that his doubt – satisfied by the appearance of the Risen Lord – might be the means of strengthening our faith. Do you sometimes doubt certain doctrines of our Faith? Or do you even doubt, from time to time, the existence of God? Then you need to ask for the intercession of St. Thomas! His simple profession of faith, “My Lord and my God,” is one each one of us should utter often. This is especially true when we gaze upon the Lord in the Eucharist during Mass (when the Priest elevates the Host, and then the Chalice containing the Precious Blood, during the Eucharistic Prayer).
Today is also observed as “Divine Mercy Sunday.” Sister Faustina Kowalska, to whom the Lord Jesus mystically appeared, was canonized 23 years ago on this Sunday by Pope John Paul II in a ceremony at St. Peter’s Square in Rome – the first saint canonized in the New Millennium. And nine years ago Pope Francis canonized John Paul II! This is a great day to reflect upon the mercy of God, which Saint Faustina and Saint John Paul II both fostered in their lives. Divine Mercy devotions will be observed today (Sunday) at Sacred Heart Church in Nekoosa. Yesterday (Saturday) we hosted all the WI Rapids deanery parishes for the annual Confirmation Mass. May all our young people who have been “sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit” be drawn ever closer to our Lord Jesus Christ, and remain always His faithful disciples! May the Lord bless you and your family today and throughout this Holy Easter Season!! May God bless you! Fr. Schaller |