Immaculate Conception Church

Pastor’s Ramblings Wednesday February 3, 2021 Today is the feast day of Saint Blaise, Bishop and Martyr. As soon as we hear the name of this saint, we immediately think of the tradition of blessing the throats on this day. This has its origins in the story of a mother who came to him with her young son who had a fish bone lodged in his throat. At Blaise’s command the child was able to cough up the bone. It is a fine and inspiring story but, as with so many of the saints, it i...s the tip of the iceberg. This saint’s life holds much more than this healing to inspire us. St. Blaise was a bishop in Sebastea, Armenia in 316. He worked hard to encourage the spiritual and physical health of his people. This was still a time of persecution of the Church and he was forced to flee to the back country where he lived as a hermit in solitude and prayer, but he made friends with the wild animals. Here again is yet another story of this saint. One day a group of hunters seeking wild animals for the amphitheater stumbled upon Blaise’s cave. They were first surprised and then frightened. The bishop was kneeling in prayer surrounded by patiently waiting wolves, lions and bears. Eventually he was captured and taken to Agricolaus, governor of Cappadocia, who tried to persuade Blaise to sacrifice to pagan idols. The first time Blaise refused; he was beaten. The next time he was suspended from a tree and his flesh torn with iron combs or rakes. Finally, he was beheaded. I think we can see in these facts of his life that here was a man who did much more than cure difficulties of the throat. The first reading, (Hebrews 12:4-7, 11-15), from our mass today certainly goes well with the life of St. Blaise. The author of the letter, which may have been St. Paul or someone else, addresses the persecution the Church was undergoing at this time. Many were leaving the faith out of fear. The letter speaks to these trials that the community is undergoing, comparing them to the discipline a father gives to a son. Within this framework he encourages the community to see it as God’s children and to Endure your trials as ‘discipline’; God treats you as his sons. Today these struggles continue. We see many turning away from the faith and falling prey to our secular society. Thus, the words of that reading are still valid for us. We cannot escape temptation and suffering in this life. But what we do with it speaks volumes about who we are in Christ. Do we look at them only as negative or do we look at them as opportunities? From such times we can grow in the faith. If we try not to overcome them by ourselves but look to God, then we find new strength and strengthen our faith. Let us strive to treat struggles as moments of discipline, painful and yet strengthening, remembering that they will pass but by turning to God we will come away with a deeper sense of peace, holiness, and grace. Fr. John

Pastor’s Ramblings Tuesday February 2, 2021 Today’s celebration of the Presentation of the Lord shows Mary and Joseph doing something that was very common and required by the Mosaic law, the presentation of the first born to God. What was an ordinary duty being fulfilled became an incredible moment of revelation. They encounter two people who shared a common desire, to see the consolation of Israel, the coming of the Messiah. This is in part due to their coming to the temple ...Continue reading

Pastor’s Ramblings Monday February 1, 2021 The readings for today’s mass run a very close parallel to what we heard this Sunday. This expelling of an unclean spirit took place not in a synagogue but on the open road. The first reading, (Hebrews 11:32-40), shows prominent Old Testament figures. Some of them won great victories, while others suffered terribly. This was meant as an encouragement to the early Church as they were being persecuted. The Gospel story, (Mark 5:1-20), ...is a great tale of another cleansing: a man possessed, shunned, suffering, and self-harming is released from the prison of his torment. The method is somewhat different but again there is no exotic rituals, no fancy promises, no bargains struck. A request for deliverance was made, and the Lord granted it. Both of these offered the early Church great hope as they saw and understood that no matter what lay before them Jesus would be there to aid and comfort them. Like the man with the unclean spirit the early Christians probably desired deliverance from their persecution. They were, however, aware that there was the need to be freed from sin that remained in them and that for some this might mean actions that revealed them as Christians and thus suffering. The suffering would not be in vain but rather would lead them to the salvation promised by Christ, who had come and would come again. When we hear this message, we need to remember that is a message for us as well. Whatever suffering comes our way, great or small, we know Christ is with us and listens to us especially when we ask for his assistance in purging ourselves of sin. Like the man with the unclean spirit, we should desire this freedom, from sin, from doubt from temptation. All we need is to ask for it. Jesus will answer. Fr. John

Pastor’s Ramblings Thursday January 28, 2021 Today is the feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas, priest and doctor. Throughout the year we hear this term Doctor of the Church but what does that mean. It certainly isn’t referring to a physician. For the Church, as it is used for St. Thomas, it refers to a great teacher. As I was looking over material on St. Thomas, I found him referred to also as Angelic Doctor. That was a term I didn’t recall so I dug a bit deeper into it. It see...ms that this type of title is not uncommon for Doctors of the Church and what the second title does is to refer to the content of their teaching or a personal virtue. Some other examples of this title would be St. Augustine, for example, is known as the Doctor of Grace because he was instrumental in developing the Church’s theology of grace. St. Albert, who wrote on nearly every subjecteven the natural sciencesis known as the Universal Doctor. St. Bernard of Clairvaux is called the Mellifluous Doctor because of his eloquence, and St. Anthony of Padua is the Evangelical Doctor because of his burning desire to win souls for God. St. John of the Cross is called the Mystical Doctor because his work teaches about how to attain mystical union with God. Pope Benedict XVI said that Thomas held this title due to his virtues and the loftiness of his thought and purity of life. There are several ways that this can be seen. First, as our guardian angels guide us to God, so Thomas’s theology leads us to God. Second, Thomas’s wisdom is like that of the angels, seeing the whole of God’s truth as one in a single, unified vision. Third, piety and purity are characteristic especially of angels, and Thomas was known for his personal piety and purity of heart. Fourth, Thomas wrote more about the angels than any other Doctor. Finally, St. Thomas is also called the Common Doctor, because his remarkable breadth and depth of learning made him the Doctor, not only of one specific field of theology, but of every field of theology. His works are still used in seminary, most especially the Summa Theologiae. This was his last work and was never completed. Its goal was to cover the whole of Catholic theology and it is a work beyond compare in its treatment of the topic. One of the sources I looked at summed up his work this way. His greatest contribution to the Catholic Church is his writings. The unity, harmony, and continuity of faith and reason, of revealed and natural human knowledge, pervades his writings. One might expect Thomas, as a man of the gospel, to be an ardent defender of revealed truth. But he was broad enough, deep enough, to see the whole natural order as coming from God the Creator, and to see reason as a divine gift to be highly cherished. That is certainly a vision and way of seeing God and all he created in an age such as ours. Not conflict between faith, logic or science but rather all flowing from the same source, that being God. Fr. John

Pastor’s Ramblings Wednesday January 27, 2021 We are all familiar with the parable of the Sower and the Seed. We often look at it in light of how certain things deter us from hearing God’s work and growing in knowledge of that word. And while there is much fruit in reflecting on that there is another way we can view it. If we think about the sower we might wonder, why so much of the seed is going to waste. It lands among rock, in thorns and on the path. What blocks us in part... from the answer is that we are used to modern day farming techniques. We see the fields plowed, seeds placed precisely in each row and then covered. There was no way for the people of Jesus’ time to do that. Yes, they could plow if they had the animals and equipment to do so but most had to prepare the fields by hand. They broke up the ground not in neat rows but over the entire field. Then, to plant, they cast the seed across all the ground that was prepared. This was called broadcasting the seed. If we think about the modern usage of that term, to broadcast a radio, TV or other frequency we might have a better understanding of it. The signals are not sent directly to listeners but openly distributed so that it can be picked up anywhere. In the case of seed that meant finding a good place to grow. Hand cleared land was seldom completely cleared. It takes time and effort to clear every stone, to uproot every plant and have a perfect field. Thus, as in the parable, seed could fall in many unproductive places. The other side of that was that where it did have good soil, and the abundance of seed going there, it would yield good results. What is the analogy? Think of the seed as God’s love, His mercy and forgiveness. Whether the ground is good, or bad, prepared, or unprepared God showers it with his offer of all these things. He is not a God who looks only for the ideal place but will be there in the dark, untilled places of the heart, soul, and world. For us, we need to be as open as possible so the holy seed that comes our way can be well received and given thanks for. Fr. John

Pastor’s Ramblings Tuesday January 26, 2021 Today is the celebration of Saints Timothy and Titus whom I mistakenly referred to as apostles yesterday. And though that may not be their title from their work with Saint Paul and work with the Christian communities he started, they are certainly worthy of great praise. Both had apostolic zeal and virtues. They were the first to receive what is still proclaimed in the ordination of a bishop, that they are the successors of the apos...tles. This is called Apostolic succession which is defined as follows. Apostolic succession, in Christianity, is the teaching that bishops represent a direct, uninterrupted line of continuity from the Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to this teaching, bishops possess certain special powers handed down to them from the Apostles. We see these two early bishops and their work in the Acts of the Apostles and in a number of Paul’s letters. Timothy was a companion to Paul on his second missionary journey. He was also entrusted by Paul with the care of the communities in Thessalonians, Corinthians and Ephesians. Titus, who was addressed by Paul as ‘true child after a common faith’ was with him on his mission as well and given the care of those in Crete. Timothy, whose grandmother became a Christian first, was converted to the faith by Paul and later joined Paul on many of his missions. He was often Paul’s choice to be sent on missions of his own. On these he was often faced with great disturbances in local churches which Paul had founded. He was also with Paul during his house arrest in Rome. Finally, Paul installed him as his representative at the Church of Ephesus. Titus was a Greek believed to be from Antioch. He became a close friend of Paul. Some of what Paul writes to him shows that he might have been timid in nature. Titus also became a point of contention during the journey to Jerusalem as many, because he was Greek, wanted to have him circumcised. Paul stood fast against this and set a precedence that allowed many more gentiles to enter the church. He is seen as a peacemaker, administrator who bore letters for Paul, including the severe letter sent to Corinth. In that mission he was greatly praised for his work, (2 Corinthians 7:7a, 15). From one of Paul’s letters, it appears he became the administrator of the Christian community on the island of Crete, and was charged with organizing it, correcting abuses, and appointing presbyter-bishops. In both of these men we see great zeal in the apostolate, great communion in Christ, great friendship. They were examples for their time of what leaders in the Christian communities should be. We can learn much from their lives and their work that we ourselves can put into practice. May we, on their saints day, use their example and reflect on how we, like they, may be peace makers and teachers in the way of Christian community and love. Fr. John