Mundane Monday

The day after Easter - the day life returns to normal - the day after the big celebration - the day when churches, homes, restaurants get back to normal - OR - the day when mundane and boring have disappeared and something new has entered your life. Many people woke up this morning to something quite different from their normal mornings. They saw things in a different light - the world looked different - people acted different - and what was the change - what happened to change all these things? Maybe others have not changed at all - maybe it was them!

If you are one of the lucky ones - you walked away from and woke up this morning to a new perspective that has entered your life because during the celebration of Easter - you experienced something quite special - so special that your life has been re-created into something different and beautiful. Perhaps in celebrating Jesus' resurrection - Christ was born newly in your heart - just maybe - perhaps for the first time today - you see life just as God intended it.  Just maybe - Alleluia! Alleluia!


Deacon Dale 

This Is The Day!

This is the day the Lord has made - let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24) And what a day it was - Morning Mass with over flowing crowds - lots of smiling faces - happy faces and happy families - the joy of Resurrection and a celebration of new life in Christ. Our casual Christians who made an extra effort to attend Church on this special day - gathered with the parish family in this joyful time. In some places our casual Christian friends are treated like a burden - but in my life I see them as family who have been unable to gather on other occasions - but on this day - finally, the whole family is together. Although we have to move around the furniture and make an effort to create enough space so that everybody may be comfortable - it is a task of joy and love. 

The act of remembering or re-membering i.e. putting all the members back together into one complete family is an exciting and happy chore. As we gathered in one very large group - we sang the praises of God and for that hour were united in the love of Christ that goes beyond understanding.  As we gathered later with family in our homes we celebrated the Easter rituals so common in all families. The theme of this day was joy and for all of us - we need to keep this joy alive in our hearts and minds as we celebrate the entire season of Easter. Alleluia! Alleluia!


Deacon Dale 

Waiting at Night

The Easter Vigil Mass which must begin after dark - started at 8:00pm last evening and ended at 11:20pm Saturday. Not enough time to blog about it and get it posted on Holy Saturday - so I write about that service on Easter Sunday morning. In our parish too many people stay away from this Mass because of the length - but in doing so they are depriving themselves of attending the Holiest Mass of the liturgical year. It is at this Mass when we bless Fire and light a New Paschal Candle which will be used throughout this liturgical year. We also bless water, baptize, receive Christians from other faith expressions into the Cathodic Church, Confirm and give Holy Eucharist (communion) to the new received and confirmed. It is a night of firsts - in which we listen to seven readings from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) about God and His selection of the Jewish people as His chosen Ones - about their struggle and escape from Egypt into the Promised Land - about God's manifold blessings. In the Gospel we are united with our Jewish ancestors as we too become people of Hope - Hope in Christ's Resurrection and our eventual Resurrection as we look forward to a New Life in Christ - here in the present and later in Eternity with God Almighty.

From the Cross and the grave in the Garden - to Resurrection and New Life - that is the Gift of Easter - when Jesus, who took our sins upon Himself, died and rose - that we might have everlasting life with God. Alleluia! He is Risen!


Deacon Dale 

Blessing of Baskets

This day in churches around the world the faithful bring baskets filled with food which they will share on Easter Sunday as they gather with family and friends to end the Lenten and Triduum fasts and join in celebrating the victory that Jesus won over death.  The Old World custom of the traditional blessing of  foods to be shared on Easter Sunday is observed by many Eastern European countries such as Poland, Croatia and Ukraine and is kept alive in America in many local parishes. The foods to be blessed as well as the baskets are very symbolic.  Baskets are selected to reflect the dignity and importance of this special occasion. The white linen cloth embellished with lace that lines the basket reminds us of the shroud of Christ and it is this cloth that will hold other significant symbols. The bread represents the bread of life given by God. The small lamb made of butter, sugar or dough reminds us of Jesus the Paschal Lamb.  The hard boiled eggs and colored eggs reminds us of new life and Jesus rising from  the tomb. Horseradish symbolizes accepting the bitter with the sweet in life.  The vinegar represents the sour wine given to Jesus on the cross. The ham, bacon and sausages represent the resurrected Christ . Salt is to add zest to life and preserve us from corruption.  Sweets suggest the promise of eternal life and the good things to come. The candle represents Jesus the Light of  the World and the optional bottle of wine the product of a bountiful harvest and blessing of God. Optional sprigs of green are also added by some people.  The baskets are blessed by the parish priest or deacon in a ceremony typicaly held on Holy Saturday. 

This year in our parish I was privileged to share the task of this annual blessing with Deacon Jerry and about one hundred parishioners. This is very meaningful for us as Catholics and especially those of us with family in Europe. Now that the baskets have been blessed - we set them aside and continue our preparation for celebration of tonight's Vigil Mass in which we start in darkness and the Light of Christ is revealed as the evening progresses.


Deacon Dale 

What Is So Good About Friday?

Why do Christians call it Good Friday if we remember the crucifixion and death of Jesus in such somber tones?  At first you have to ask yourself what is so good about this day. Then when you stop to reflect on the events of that day and what that means to us - you begin to understand that the suffering and death of Jesus opened the gates of heaven for all mankind.  Without that sacrificial gift - none of us would have any chance of attaining heaven. 

So as we pray and mourn and wipe tears from our eyes - we have to allow joy to enter our minds and hearts as we celebrate the awesome sacrificial act that Jesus did for you and me. "Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God something to be grasped..." Philippians 2:6-11


Jesus - the humble servant - obedient to God even to His death - not for His good but for ours -now that makes a Good Friday!


Deacon Dale 

A Nights of Firsts

Holy Thursday - No Morning Mass is allowed this day - the only Mass to be celebrated is in the evening when we celebrate the Mass of the Last Supper.  At this Mass we do three very important things 1) we wash feet 2) we celebrate the institution of the Priesthood and 3) we celebrate the institution of the most Holy Eucharist. 


Just as Jesus did - Reverend Father will remove his priestly garment - the chasuble - and in an act of humility - will wash the feet of twelve men - modern day disciples - as a sign of our universal call to share in the Royal Priesthood of Christ. As our spiritual Father - Reverend Pastor acts as a role model for each of us to be an active - yet humble - servant of God.

In his homily this evening Reverend Pastor will remember the Last Supper at which Jesus did two special things. First he took bread and proclaimed that it was his body and then the cup of wine and proclaimed it his blood and in doing so performed the first consecration of unleavened bread and ordinary wine and - through the mystery of transubstantiation - made them into His Most Holy Body and Precious Blood. 

After Jesus had completed this act of mystery he told his disciples to do the same and in that action he commissioned them and gave them the power and authority to perform this action over and over again as they gathered and remembered - thus was the first ordination and creation of Holy Priesthood.

As we sit and stand and kneel during this very special Holy Mass this evening we are allowed the privilege of remembering and recreating that very special Last Supper. This is the beginning of The Paschal Triduum - the three Most Holy days of the Church year - and our time to be united with Jesus in His pain and suffering - His Passion and crucifixion - His resurrection and victory over Death - as we pray in vigilant fervor for His rising at Easter.


Deacon Dale 

Sticks and Stones

"Sticks and stones may break my bones..... "   Remember how you would say that when you were much younger and somebody was taunting you and making fun of you? Usually there were too many for you to fight back or they were too big to take on yourself or you had been taught that it was not proper for you to retaliate.  So you  said this if you had enough courage to say it or you just closed your mouth and said nothing.  How we handle trauma such as this varies among all of us - and for many silence is the only way to cope. The prisons of our fears binds us to a loneliness.

It is not surprising that Jesus made the decision to remain silent as He was being beaten and abused by the soldiers. He could have spoken out or made threats against His attackers - He could have offered all sorts of information - but at that point He had already spoken the truth time after time. At some point in time it is always better to not say anything at all. Jesus became silent and so today as we walk the Stations of the Cross it is we who should speak out - about unjust treatment of others - about discrimination - about poor living conditions - about unfair treatment of workers - about mandates by government that go against religious beliefs - about anything that does not come from God. Today - with the strength of God - we break free from the bars of our fears as we face the Passion of Christ.


Deacon Dale 

Tuesday's Child

Have you ever heard the poem Tuesday's Child ?  The actual title was Monday's Child but for some odd reason the poem became better known under the title Tuesday's Child. In the poem it goes through the days of the week and describes different attributes of a child. It was not written to glorify children or any child in particular - the reality is that it was written as a way to remember the days of the week! According to my sources the poem was written as a way to help children remember the names and the order of the days of the week. Learn the poem and you not only learned the names of each day but also the correct order.

So on this Tuesday in Holy Week we consider the order of this special week and the events that happened this past Sunday and those coming up later in the week. We reflect on Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Sunday - we joined the Bishop on Monday as he blessed the Holy Oils - today we celebrated the Mass of Resurrection for our former director of the diaconate program for the diocese - Wednesday night we celebrate Stations as walked in the Holy Land - Thursday we celebrate the institution of the Priesthood and Holy Eucharist - Friday we commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus and then we wait - we wait in silence - we wait patiently - we wait in hope.


Deacon Dale  

Smells and Bells

Today in the Joliet Diocese we will celebrate the annual Chrism Mass when the Bishop consecrates the three Holy Oils that are used throughout the year in various sacraments. He will bless the Oil of Catechumens (Oil of Salvation) , the Oil of the Sick (Oil of Infirm) and Holy Chrism (Sacred Chrism).  This special Mass which normally would be celebrated on Holy Thursday is moved to Monday of Holy Week for pastoral reasons - so that the priests and deacons of the diocese may be in their home parishes to celebrate Holy Thursday Mass in the evening with their own congregation. Tonight the Bishop will not only bless the three oils but he will also ask his priests to recommit themselves to their ordination promises to serve the people of God in charity and humility.

As for the rest of the faithful - we are asked to be vigilant in our prayers and to assist our parish priests as they make their best efforts to minister to their flocks. While we watch and observe our parish leaders - as we listen to the bells of the church and smell the sweet perfume of Chrism -  we need to also ask ourselves what it is that we can bring to the table - to the Holy Altar of God as we begin our personal preparation for the Holy Triduum and Easter. In these last days before we can approach the Altar at Easter and wave the banner of victory of Christ - we first have to journey through the three Holy days of Triduum - to the Cross and Christ's death before we pick up our flags of victory.

Deacon Dale 

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday - A day of triumphant entry - a celebration of the coming of the King. Today we stood with palms in hand and listened to the annual reading of the longest Gospel of the year. We celebrated Jesus' entry and welcome into Jerusalem and listened as joy and celebration turned into deception - lies and treachery. Our joyful hearts light with pregnant expectation turned heavy with sadness as we recounted the betrayal of Jesus by Judas.

How does a triumphant entry on one day turn so wrong in a matter of a few days? Today the entry and later in the week celebration of Passover. As this week unfolds allow yourself to take in each day the events of each day so that you may fully experience the awesomeness of Holy Week.

Deacon Dale