Carpe Diem

According to Wikipedia - Carpe Diem - is a Latin aphorism - definition - usually translated - seize the day - taken from book 1 of the Roman poet Horace's work Odes (23 BC). In modern terminology - grab it now - do it while you can - take advantage of the opportunity now - while it is there. So to all - today I urge you - carpe diem - Holy Saturday - grab it - become involved with it - become an active participant - because tomorrow it will be gone. This is the final day of the 3-peat - the Triduum - the religious hat trick - the three holiest days of the year. On this day in churches around the world - the final examination - blessing - of the Elect - those preparing for Baptism - Confirmation - Holy Communion. This morning also - the blessing of Easter food baskets - food to be prepared and shared with family and friends at the Easter feast.  A day of fasting - prayer - in preparation for the Easter Vigil - the Mother of all Vigils - celebrated tonight after sundown. The darkness of the night broken by the outdoor lighting of the Easter - Pascal - Candle - in a solemn light service - the entrance into the church - in a victory march to begin the Vigil - Holy Mass. Twelve scriptures - maximum - with sung psalms - the Epistle - Gospel proclamation - words of encouragement - the blessing of water in the font - Baptism - Confirmation - finally Holy Eucharist. The community gathered at prayer - joyfully celebrating - the Resurrection. 

Tonight - Heaven - Earth - join together in a moment when ordinary people experience the Divine. Listening to Holy Scripture proclaimed - reassured by the words spoken in the Vigil Homily - God draws all of us deeper into the Mystery - that is God. Tonight we remember Creation - the Escape - God's Call - Jesus' Passion - the dark moments - the emptiness - the Glory - the Hope. As a family we witness - Baptism - Confirmation - First Communion - the addition of New Members - to the Family of God. Tonight we celebrate Hope - we celebrate Joy - we celebrate Jesus. Carpe Diem.

Deacon Dale  

What Is So Good About Friday?

Today - Good Friday - the day we remember when Jesus was led to the Cross - crucified - unjustly - for our sins - although He had committed no sins of His own. Unjust - not fair - should never have happened - why did God allow this to happen - what went wrong here? In our eyes - a terrible mistake - plans gone wrong. What did this accomplish - how have we benefited - what was the big picture? To many people - Good Friday is nothing more than a day off from work - a holiday - time to party with friends - the beginning of a long weekend. Christ's death - a historical fact - nothing more. The significance of Good Friday lost - in the celebration of Easter joy - hunting for eggs - bunnies - chicks - Easter baskets - family - food - fun. Too many people focus their eyes on the celebration - forget that before the celebration there was suffering - anguish - blood - tears - death. 

In the beginning God knew - knew everything. He knew that this day would come - hoped it would not be necessary - but mankind failed - God intervened - took corrective steps - sent His Son - to save the world from itself. The enemy to be confronted - not people - rather Death. Death - the final enemy - that which robs people of hope - life. Death - an enemy too powerful to be fought by ordinary means - by ordinary people. Only Jesus - the Son of God - able to face head on - that which placed fear in the hearts of men - women. Jesus - armed with spiritual battle gear - prepared from birth - for this one day - this one battle - for mankind. He was prepared - ready for whatever happened - ready to suffer the pain of physical death - prepared to die and sink into the bowels of Hell - to defeat Death where it lived - to escape - rise - to New Life. That is what makes this Friday - Good.

Deacon Dale 

Spiritual Hat Trick

In sports - a hat trick is the achievement of a positive feat three times in a single game or another achievement based on the number three. The most common reference to hat trick is hockey - when one player score three points in a game. Today - Holy Thursday marks the first - of three - very significant events in one series known as the Triduum. In the Triduum - Catholics around the world celebrate the three most holy days in the year - Holy Thursday - Good Friday - Holy Saturday with celebration of the Easter Vigil. Each event on its own is significant - the three - celebrated in three consecutive days - very significant. 

The Church gives us these three very holy days - to remind and reassure us that all that we profess and believe - is true. So true that it bears repeating - year after year. Holy Thursday we celebrate the institution of Holy Eucharist and the Priesthood - the washing of the feet of the twelve - being called by God - ordained to service to each other - strengthened by the spiritual food of Holy Communion. Each day of the three - the final teachings - lessons in preparation - for the celebration of Easter. 

Deacon Dale  

Wrapping Up

Wednesday of Holy Week - time to wrap up our Lenten experience - gather up all that we have accomplished - review all that we have done - looking forward to the Triduum on Thursday. Similar to getting our vacation house in order as we prepare to leave  - putting things away - turning things off - shutting down this and that. One final cleaning - getting our spiritual house in order - as we move on.

Thursday a rest day for the most part - all the action to take place at Holy Mass - Thursday evening. Jesus stands at our side as we take inventory of all that has been accomplished this Lent. Great and small - any improvement - a positive - moving us to the Triduum - closer to Easter. One day of rest - then three days - focused on the Passion.

Deacon Dale 

Winding Down

When we refer to something as winding down - losing power - coming to a stand still - we acknowledge that it is coming to an end. So many things happen in our lives - we will experience  this winding down - over and over again. We begin the work week - full of energy - as the days pass - it slows down comes to a halt. Schools open their doors - full steam ahead in August - wind down - shut down in June. The same goes for most professional sports - each has a season - training - active games - wind down with only a few teams - final competition. We are now in the winding down days of Lent - three days left - then over. In these last three days we focus - on ourselves - our growth - what we have accomplished. We slowly move from the Lenten season in preparation for the Triduum - the three Holiest Days of the Christian Year.

God gives us the ability to learn - grow - adapt - adjust - to prepare ourselves for an eternal life with Him. In the season of Lent we have taken time - away from other concerns - issues - to focus on the spiritual side of life. We have paused - prayed - reflected - meditated - on our relationship with Jesus - with God. In our spiritual exercises we have experienced growth - understanding - prepared ourselves to participate more fully in the special three days to come - the Triduum and Easter celebrations to follow.

Deacon Dale 

The Anointed

Normally when someone refers to - the anointed - visions of a person of great importance - jumps into your head - a religious leader - one elected to an office of great power - influence. To be anointed - means - standing out - selected from the many - to be included with the few. In most Roman Catholic dioceses - tonight - Monday of Holy Week - the local bishop celebrated the Mass of the Oils - special oils blessed - by the bishop - Oil of Catechumens - Oil of the Sick - Sacred Chrism - to be used in all the parishes of the diocese during the next year - in celebration of the sacraments of baptism - healing - confirmation - dedication. Sacred Chrism might be used in the dedication of a new altar - church building - the majority of the oil - used on people - ordinary people - receiving extra ordinary blessings.

Throughout history - religions - cults - have used oil as a special sign - blessing - healing - power - anointing from powers beyond our understanding. In Christian theology - anointing with oil - a special calling from God - to ordinary people - to become more than ordinary - to become people - of faith. The oils blessed tonight - presented to the parish family on Holy Thursday evening at the celebration of Holy Mass - the commemoration of the Eucharist - Priesthood - to be used on Holy Saturday at the Easter Vigil. God calls each of us to reflect on the anointings we have already received - will receive - in the future.

Deacon Dale 

Holy Week 2016

Today marks the beginning of Holy Week 2016 - we commemorate Jesus' entry into Jerusalem - riding on a donkey - palms waving - people cheering - chanting - excited - the entrance of the Messiah. How quickly things went from joy - excitement - to - despair - anger - sadness - loss of hope. Today we begin our annual walk down memory lane - we recreate the events of this week - complete with all the emotions - happy - sad. For over 2000 years now - we remember - has it done us any good - has it made us a better people. Most - weather Christian or not - would agree that Jesus' appearance in the world was one of the biggest events in the history of man - affected the development of cultures - people - around the world. Yet - two millennium later - do we act like we learned anything. If you have watched even a minimum of the current political shenanigans - it would be almost impossible to see any Christ like actions among the candidates. Trash talk - innuendos - misdirection - comments taken out of context - all confusing the public - creating a very unhealthy environment. At a time in history when we should be people of peace - compassion - understanding - we have nothing - reeds - palms blowing in the wind - our leaders - acting like children - immature - themselves victims of their own tactics.

In this holiest week of the Christian calendar - we experience God's Divine Mercy -  His compassion - understanding - forgiveness - healing. God is able - will forgive our sins - even the comedy that is the political scene in America. All we need to do is ask - period. We do not understand why - but He will. Jesus - the compassionate teacher - Son of God - the gentle spokesperson - calls each of us to a deeper relationship with Him - with His Father. In this week - it is possible - Jesus waits - quietly - for your next move.

Deacon Dale 

More?

We have all been there - done our best - worked our hardest - went above and beyond the call of duty - only to be told - not good enough. To say it is frustrating - does not even begin to describe our frustration. It may be a project at work - in school - at home - for a employer - teacher - family member. We plan - design - develop - create - review the finished project - only to be told - not good enough - needs improvement - design change - more time to complete. Unfortunately - some people - never happy with the results.

God knows our limitations - our natural abilities - skills that we have developed - skills that we are improving upon. Many - right now feeling frustrated that the end of Lent is so close - yet not happy with their results - efforts - knowing that come Holy Thursday evening - over - done - finished. The reality is that whatever has been done - accomplished - is all that there is - final results - no more - no less. God does not expect perfection - only an honest effort - doing what you were able to do. Jesus does not judge - He urges you to look at the positive - improvements - even if small - still improvements - something achieved. Focus on the goal - holiness - you might just be surprised how far you have grown.

Deacon Dale 

Feeling Ignored

Being ignored - left out of the conversation - overlooked - does not make one feel very good. Poor Saint Joseph - his day a minor celebration - nothing compared to Saint Patrick's Day. In reality both men - very important figures - in Church history - in the world. Both very significant - in different ways - different times. Saint Joseph unfortunately overshadowed by Saint Mary. In a contested field of important persons - a second contender. Little is written about him - many assumptions - nothing of his death - accomplishments - except - he was the step-father of Jesus. Italians revere him - wear red - Saint Joseph's tables - food - family - fun - on a smaller scale compared to Saint Patrick.

God knows each of us - none of us are ignored - in His eyes we are all important. No need for a special day - color - event. Scripture tells us that he knows the count of the hairs on our heads - what we do - want to do. He knows our hearts - each and every one of us. That alone - far more important than being a household name. The only house we need be concerned with is God's house - sitting at His table - spending eternity with Him. These last days of Lent call us - to deepen our efforts - to make that last mile - our last steps - count. Jesus stands at the finish line - waiting - for each of us.

Deacon Dale 

Saint Of The Day

Today is Saint Patrick's Day - the Saint of the Day - honored in today's liturgy at Holy Mass. Of course today - everybody is Irish - wears green - eats and drinks green food and drink - tries their best to speak with an Irish brogue. There are a lot of saints - not all are as popular as Saint Patrick - most daily Masses in the Catholic church - celebrate one saint or another. Many more saints - than most can count - are aware of. Saints are everyday people who - for the most part - lived ordinary lives - did out of the ordinary things. Everyone has a chance to become a saint - not necessarily recognized by the Church - people who live good lives - trying their best - commendable - for all the good they did while alive.

God calls all of us to sainthood - to holiness - to live honorable - upstanding lives - as role models for others. As we complete this fifth week of Lent - look forward to Holy Week - the Triduum - Easter - we ask ourselves - have we done enough - prayed enough prayers - attended enough extra services - made an effort to take unnecessary things out of our lives - put good things - ideas into our lives. We still have time for personal examination - evaluation of ourselves. Lent continues until Holy Thursday evening - one last week to make it happen. Jesus calls each of us to Himself - to be embraced in His arms - to feel His warmth - His presence - as you journey - to sainthood.

Deacon Dale