Fr. Dave's Articles and Updates

Last week in the bulletin, I introduced a weekly parish holy hour that will begin on Tuesday, September 5 at 6:30 p.m. I want to give some details on what one part of the holy hour will look like.

From the same book I mentioned last week, “You Shall Stand Firm: Preserving the Faith in an Age of Apostasy” by Fr. William Casey, the preacher talked about the Rosary. He said that in his many decades of preaching, it is clearly evident to him that “in those parishes where there is true love for Mary and fervent devotion to her Immaculate Heart, you will find deeper love for Jesus, His Church and His gospel.” He said that you will see “miracles of grace, repentance, and conversion.” He specifically mentioned the power of the Rosary. In a spiritual sense, the Rosary is a weapon. “It is an efficacious weapon for peace, protection, and even victory! History is replete with examples of the victory of the Holy Rosary.”

With this in mind, we will be praying the Rosary together during the holy hour. We will begin this prayer after we expose the Blessed Sacrament and spend a few moments in silence. I envision the Rosary beginning around 6:40 p.m. If you and your family have never prayed the Rosary together, this would be a great time to begin. We know that it is hard for families with young children to stay for the whole hour. If you need to leave after the Rosary, that is fine. I hope you will join us for our prayer.

In addition to praying the Rosary at the holy hour, I think it would be good for us to consider praying the Rosary together before the weekend Masses. I can think of at least two reasons for doing this. First, anytime we pray together, that is a good thing. Prayer changes hearts as mentioned above. The second reason is that it helps us prepare to worship at Mass. We all live busy lives, so it is good for us to slow down and fill our heart and mind with holy things. More details will be forthcoming as we consider the logistics of making this happen.

In my next article, I will talk about one other aspect of the holy hour.

Our parish is blessed to have perpetual adoration. After providing it for over 33 years, imagine the thousands of hours that people have prayed in front of our Lord! I know there are countless stories where many of you have been impacted by your faithfulness to prayer. So many prayers have been answered by our God who is full of compassion and mercy.

The challenge we face is that the number of adorers has dwindled. We notice this especially now when several of our current adorers go away for the winter. While we do have a substitute system, a small number of them have had to cover many of these open hours. While I don’t think they would see it as a burden, it is expecting too much of them to do this. There are also a few hours that remain uncovered.

The best solution to this problem would be to have more people sign up for adoration. Right now, we have many seniors who cover many hours. We need to draw from other age groups in our congregation. Would you be willing to sign up for an hour each week? If it is helpful, perhaps sign up with a partner so you can pray together or cover for one another in case of illness. Another possibility is to rotate every other week with someone. If you are married with children, maybe you can find an hour and while one parent goes to pray and the other stays at home with the children. Or you can consider bringing the children and introducing them to adoration!

The other solution is to reduce the hours of adoration. That would be our last resort but it is something that we may have to consider. Prayer is one of the most important things we do as Christians. Please consider this opportunity to deepen your relationship with Jesus.

To see the openings and sign up, you can go to seasparish.org/adoration. You can also call Mary Scott at 651-437-9908. Please pray that God will send many additional adorers to our chapel.

Leading up to Christmas, have you heard the song, “If Every Day Was Like Christmas?” It was Elvis Presley who made this song popular. It’s a great question to ponder. One priest wrote about this topic and gave some new ways to consider how we look at our lives. When he was a little boy, he knew that Christmas was coming when he would start seeing the Christmas decorations and trees go up. The greatest joy really set in when school was let out. How did he know when Christmas was over? When the decorations were put away and he had to go back to school, he knew it was really over.

Now as an adult, he obviously doesn’t see it that way anymore. Yes, the season of Christmas does begin and end. But Jesus “is not a season or a holiday that ends or a visitor who goes away.” You have probably seen the bumper sticker or signs which say that Jesus is the reason for the season. While that is true, Jesus is not a season that is only part of our life in December.

Going back to the song - how do we allow what we experience this season to be part of our life after Christmas? Every day should be like Christmas, but we all know that the Christmas music and decorations will eventually go away. We will go back to work. We have to face many more months of winter. These realities are part of our lives. The good news is that just as we celebrate Jesus taking on our flesh every Christmas, Jesus is very real every other day of our life.

The challenge for us during this Christmas Season is to not only celebrate these days. We also ask God to give us the grace to persevere and in fact, to embrace life after the Christmas Season. We know that Jesus is with us in the Eucharist and the other sacraments. He is with us in Scripture. Every time we pray, Jesus is right there loving us. When we bring kindness and love and mercy to others, Jesus is in our midst.

As you look forward to this new year, what can you do to allow Christ to help you so that every day can be like Christmas? Please consider one of the formation opportunities provided by our parish. Committing yourself to become a regular adorer in our Adoration Chapel can be a game changer for your spiritual life. Regularly going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of the best ways to remain on the path of salvation. Be open to opportunities to serve those in need.

Every day can be like Christmas. The word Emmanuel means that God is with us. Let’s celebrate that great gift! May you all have a blessed Christmas!

Fr. Dave

A couple of weeks ago, I addressed how to receive Communion. After receiving Communion, what are you supposed to do when you return to your pew? The Church does not regulate your body posture or how you pray. It recognizes that everyone is different and has different personal devotions.
As you enter your pew, you can either sit or kneel. You can choose whatever body posture will help you pray. Traditionally, if people are able, they will kneel. You have just had a sacred encounter with God. Kneeling is a posture that signifies your own interior prayer of humility and a reverence for the gift just received.

The purpose of this time is thanksgiving and adoration. For some, you will choose to join in with the communion hymn to give thanks. Others will choose to spend some time in quiet thanksgiving. Some of you may have certain memorized prayers that you pray. Sometimes, the moment is so profound that you just remain silent in awe that Jesus loves you so much to come to you in the Eucharist. It is really a moment of great intimacy. It can also be a time of reflection. Am I living a life worthy of the gift I have just received? Where is the Lord calling me to love greater? How can I be a walking tabernacle after I leave Mass?

These are the moments when we are so close to Jesus. Our Lord is alive in us. You have just received our Savior who died on the cross. In our heart and soul is the creator of the universe. There is no greater gift than the one we have just received. It is God’s gift of Himself in the Eucharist. At this moment, you are a living tabernacle.

One question people have is when they should be seated after communion. Technically, you don’t have to sit down. You can remain kneeling until the prayer after communion. Traditionally at our parish, everyone sits down after vessels are cleansed and the priest and/or deacon is seated. Ideally, if we are going to sit down together as a parish, it is more appropriate to do it after the priest or deacon places the remaining consecrated hosts in the tabernacle. Once this happens, there will likely be a few more moments of a communion meditation song or silence.

Everything that happens at Mass should prepare us for our most important encounter with God - receiving Holy Communion. As you get out of your pew and begin your walk to the sanctuary, is there something that you should be doing at that moment to keep your focus on what is about to happen?

I think it is important to remember that you are not getting in line to get something like you would at a fast food restaurant or to check out at the grocery store. You are being called to an encounter with Jesus. Whether you repeat a prayer or a line from scripture or imagine that Joseph and Mary are escorting you to their son, you want to keep your focus on the Lord.

As you approach the minister, you bow. We bow as a sign of reverence to Jesus. Our King and Lord is right there in front of you. The minister will then say - the Body of Christ. You boldly respond by saying “Amen”. Our amen states that we believe it is the Body of Christ. Our amen states that we would stake our life on this gift given to the Catholic Church. Then we receive.

The ancient practice of the Church has been the reception of Communion on the tongue. If you receive this way, simply open your mouth and place your tongue out and hold your head still. The minister will place the host on your tongue. The other option is to receive Communion on the hand. St. Cyril of Jerusalem in the fourth century is quoted as saying “Receive Communion by making a throne, one hand under the other, and receive our great King.” Make a throne with your hands with your dominant hand underneath the other hand. Once the host is placed in your hand, step to the side, place the host in your mouth and then walk away. Communion in the hand requires the use of two free hands. If that is not possible, you should receive it on the tongue.

As a priest, it is my responsibility to protect the Blessed Sacrament. It is important that either myself or the deacon of the other ministers see you consume the host. Far too often the host is found in the pew or in a hymnal. An even more grave possibility is that the host is used for desecration.

Next week, I will talk about what to do once you return to your pew.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the important role that music plays in worship. In this article, I am going to the other extreme in advocating for the role that silence plays in worship. We have a large gathering space where you can have great conversations with friends and fellow parishioners before and after Mass. We want it to be a place where you are welcomed. But once we step inside our church, we begin our preparation for Mass. There is a temptation to carry on many conversations there or read the bulletin or balance your checkbook. The purpose is to get ourselves ready for a sacred celebration. We are about to encounter God. We are silent not only for ourselves but also out of respect for others.

During the Mass, there are two moments of prolonged silence. The first moment is after the homily. After hearing God’s Word and the homily, we allow this period of silence to stir our soul. What word or image or teaching spoke to me today? What is God asking of me? Deacon Rod and myself are making an effort to give more time in silence after the homily.

The second moment is after Communion. After everyone has received Communion and the music is finished, we kneel or sit in silence. We have just been nourished by the bread of life. Jesus is dwelling in our heart and soul. Does it get any better than that? Even with all that is going on in our lives, we treasure the great gift of the Eucharist.

For parents with young children, we know that you do your best to foster silence. But sometimes your children have something to say. We love to hear children’s voices. So don’t worry if your child makes noise during the silence. Maybe it’s God reminding us of His presence.

Once Mass is over, don’t feel rushed to leave. I would encourage everyone to pause for a few moments in silence to give thanks. If you are not able to do that, be respectful of those who are praying after Mass.

It was St. John of the Cross who said - “God’s first language is silence.” May we all find silence in our lives to hear the voice of God.

For many people who come to worship at Mass on the weekend, music plays an important role. As you can imagine, there are many opinions. Some prefer praise and worship. Others want traditional hymns or chants. Then there are a few who want no music. The director of liturgy is in a no-win situation because not everyone is always going to get what they want. I read an article written by a priest and he said that music sets the stage. What is it setting the stage for? An encounter with God.

Its purpose is to lift our heart, mind, and body in worship. He goes on to say that “music serves and prepares the table but it’s not the feast. It clears the room of the heart and mind that comes in so busy but doesn’t fill it with its own busyness…Sacred music is that beauty that prepares us to pray, that opens our heart to receive the Word within us.” The priest also mentioned that if we leave Mass “far more engaged with the musicians and the composition than the fact we met our Lord, then yes, we need some correcting.”

As a priest, I like many different types of music. Whether it's a traditional hymn played on the organ or a Latin hymn sung by our choir or a praise and worship song, each of them can touch my soul in different ways. If it happens that I don’t like a song or it is one that I have never heard before, I am still grateful that we have musicians in our parish who share their talents. I keep reminding myself that I am not at Mass to be entertained but to worship God.

The one thing that all these songs must have in common is that God is the focus and holiness is the goal. When a song focuses on me or earthly things, it is no longer worship. Before Mass begins, you may want to open your hymnal to look at the songs selected (the song numbers are listed on boards hanging from the pillars.) You will probably notice some theme that will connect with the readings. This can also be a way to pray before Mass begins.

In last week's article, I talked about two gestures - dipping our hand in the holy water and making the sign of the cross and genuflecting before we enter the pew. Now that you are in your pew, what do you notice? When you look around, what do you see? This is where the environment in the church makes an impact.

This is one of the reasons we are considering a renovation to our worship space. In an article on beautiful churches, Fr. Landry said that “one of the most important means of calling people to transcendence, to lifting up their hearts to the Lord, to tasting and seeing the possibility of eternal human excellence, is through beauty in sacred art.”

Pope Francis recently wrote a letter on the liturgy. He wants all Catholics to be well formed in the liturgy “in order to revive a sense of wonder at the mystery of the sacrifice of the Mass.” Before we even do anything after entering the pew, we want our surroundings to raise our hearts and minds to heaven.

Because our life is so filled with earthly realities, we want to leave that behind at Mass and put our focus on heaven. At Mass, I want to be inspired by images of the saints and angels. When we sing the Holy Holy, I want to imagine the angels of heaven surrounding the altar. When I hear the saints' names mentioned in the prayers, I want to be reminded by their presence in our church.

When I see the candles burning by the side altars, it will remind me to pray for all those who have offered their prayers. The confessionals will be an expression of God’s gracious mercy in that sacrament and at Mass.

I would encourage you to watch a video we have produced in regard to the renovation. I know many of you were not able to come to the presentations. Hopefully this video will help you to see why this is an important step for our parish. This video is available HERE.

Last week, I left you with the question, “What is one thing you can do to help your experience of Mass be focused on worship?” I want to continue and talk about ways to strengthen our worship at Mass.

There are two things that can have a dramatic impact and they happen before Mass even starts. The first thing is to read the scripture readings before you arrive. They are always listed in the bulletin and reading them just once helps in your preparation for worship. If you can read them more than once and even check out a commentary, that will even further enhance your worship. Has it ever happened to you where you can’t hear the lector or your mind wanders during the readings? If you are already familiar with the readings, you still will be able recall the readings and hopefully the homily will still make sense. Sometimes there are names or stories that can be hard to follow if you are hearing it for the first time at Mass. If you are familiar with them, you will not get lost or frustrated.

Most importantly, your familiarity with the readings will help you to see the connection between the hymns, the message of the homily and the prayers at Mass. All of this should lead you to deeper devotion and awe for your encounter with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

The second thing that can have a dramatic impact is to arrive early for Mass. It gives you a chance to greet people. You can find your seat and quiet yourself with prayer or maybe read the scripture readings again. We are not robots. We cannot just turn off the busyness of life. This time will prepare your heart, mind, and body for worship.

Arriving late is also a distraction for those who arrive on time. Obviously, there are circumstances out of your control that may prevent you from arriving early. If that is the case, begin your preparation in the car. Turn off the radio. Maybe say a prayer or just be silent. When you enter the church, try to be as discreet as possible.

Together, let us allow these two things to inspire us to greater worship.

Many of you are probably wondering who will be replacing Fr. Matt. Unfortunately, the Archdiocese will not be assigning an associate pastor to our parish. If there was a priest available, we surely would have welcomed one. I am hoping that within the next year or two we will once again have an associate pastor.

This change will affect us in several ways. Beginning June 20th, we will no longer have confessions or Mass on Monday mornings. The confession and daily Mass schedule will remain the same for the rest of the week except for Saturday morning. Morning Mass with confessions following it will only be offered on the first Saturday of each month. The biggest challenge will be scheduling funerals. With two priests, we could usually accommodate a family's request along with the other Masses we offer at our school, the care centers and senior living facilities. Going forward, it will not be as easy.

For almost a year, Fr. Matt and I have been celebrating Mass on Sundays at Regina. We are working with Regina to see how they plan on moving forward without a priest available on Sunday. I will continue to offer the sacrament of anointing and viaticum (last rites) to the residents in senior living and patients in the hospital.

One area that we are still working on is what to do when I am not available for emergency situations. On my day off or when on vacation, I could always count on the associate to take care of that. When we have a procedure in place, we will let you know.

Many school parents have asked me if I am going to take Fr. Matt’s place at recess for kickball. After pondering that for a while, my answer remains - no, unless Pope Francis makes me. I am getting too old. I will see if Deacon Rod would like to take Fr. Matt’s place. I will continue to offer Mass each week at the school and be present in the classrooms and at lunch.

We are trying to turn this into a blessing for our parish. We are coming up with ways to invite parishioners to be more involved in the life of the parish. There are many things that can be done that do not need a priest present. I am also meeting with Deacon Rod to see where we can use his skills and pastoral presence.

This shortage of priests also reveals to us the need for more vocations. We are blessed to have our own parishioner, Deacon John Utecht, who will be ordained a priest in just a few weeks. We are in the process of starting a vocations committee for our parish and we know there are young men and women being called by God to a religious vocation.

Please pray for Fr. Matt and our parish during this transition. Change is difficult but we know that God is in the midst of it. We place our trust in God who will make us stronger and more faithful during this time.

You probably know that our Church believes that all life is sacred. As we continue to rediscover the sacred, I want to focus on the sacredness of young families in our worship at Mass. I recently read an insert that a parish placed in the pews of their parish. I think they state it wonderfully.

Dear Parents of Young Children,

Welcome! We are grateful that you and your family have joined us for Mass. It is our hope that your little ones will grow up to be vital members of our parish family. We are grateful that you begin this journey with us.

Please relax! We know that it’s not easy to get your whole family to Mass, and it can be even more difficult to keep all of your little ones still throughout, but your kids should know that this church is their home and we, the community, are all brothers and sisters. They should feel welcome and at home in this place of worship, in the house of God.

We invite you to sing, pray, teach, respond, and explain what is going on at Mass with your children. Our liturgy is full of life and our little ones learn how to worship through you and your participation. Children learn by example and your dedication to coming to Mass and attentiveness to it will be their best lesson.

Also, everyone knows that children sometimes cry, make noise, or escape from your watchful care. Don’t be overwhelmed, and don’t be afraid to ask for help! We are one family, and in christian charity we are called to help our brothers and sisters.

Here at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, we need to go out of our way to welcome and encourage young families. That effort can go a long way in helping our families feel that they are part of our parish family. So rather than giving a dirty look or making comments about a young family who struggled with their children at Mass, offer to help them or give them some supporting words after Mass. Young families at Mass are such a sign of hope. Let us make sure that each young family knows how much of a treasure they are to our parish family.

For the past two weekends, I have mentioned how we are trying to “rediscover the sacred.” For some, the word sacred often brings up images of monks in a monastery or Sisters living in a cloistered convent. Their pace of life is routine. There is a lot of silence. Some would even say it is somber and very serious and boring. Those who live in a monastery or convent would probably disagree with that assessment but that is our perception. Is that what we want here in our parish and in our life? Is that what sacred will look like?

Our celebration of Easter reveals an aspect of the sacred that is often forgotten. There is a lot of JOY in the sacred! Imagine when Mary Magdalen realized that Jesus was alive, or when Peter and John understood that Jesus was not dead; those were incredibly sacred moments. On the road to Emmaus, imagine the sacredness of the moment when the two disciples realized Jesus was in their midst.

Those sacred moments were filled with joy! There is nothing somber or serious about them. That is the sacred that I want all of us to experience. Every encounter with our living God is both sacred and filled with joy.

The challenge for us is to find the sacred in our daily lives. Where do you see the sacred in your daily life? Whether it is in your work or family or nature, the resurrection of Jesus allows us to see everything differently. You may have heard that we are called to be Easter people. No matter where we are, we can have hope and joy because we know there is something greater waiting for us. God is not only with us at Mass but also in every moment of daily life.
During this Easter Season, let us ask God to help us see the sacred. As we see and experience God, let us be like those who experienced the resurrection of Jesus. Probably a bit surprised, but more importantly, filled with joy that our God is alive and is always with us.

I have some good news! I am not going to talk about finances in this article. Instead, I want to talk about something that has been on my heart for a while. I think most of you know that something is not right here in the parish. Many of you notice the empty pews at mass that should be filled with our family and friends.

Much of what Catholic parishes have been doing over the past 40-50 years has not kept people here. One of the mistakes we have been making for decades is that we have been trying to evangelize through the Mass. Unfortunately, the Mass is not meant for evangelization. The Mass is for our worship of God. Yet, we have tried to make the Mass more accessible. In doing so, the Mass has lost its sense of awe and wonder. We only need to look at the low percentage of Catholics who believe in the real presence of the Eucharist to realize that these changes did not have the desired impact. In fact, many expect the Mass to be like the other secular activities in their lives. When people come to Mass and step into the church, there should be a drastic difference from everything else they do the rest of the week.

Because of that, we at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton are implementing our mission of forming disciples who make Jesus Christ known and loved. That will always be at the forefront of what we do as a parish and school. I read a bulletin article about a parish down south that said they were trying to “restore the sacred”. For our parish, I would suggest that we “rediscover the sacred”. For too long, we have lowered the bar on what the Mass should be. We no longer expect people to dress up for Mass. We don’t expect people to be silent when in the sanctuary. Even the architecture in churches has changed to where we see it as a space to gather rather than a sacred and holy place to encounter and worship our God.I want to address a number of these things over the next few weeks.

Next week, I want to discuss some significant renovations to our church that may help us rediscover the sacred. Some of you may be wondering if this is about going back to pre-Vatican II times. I don’t believe in looking back or living in the past. Yet, there are some aspects of our church history that stand the test of time. A beautiful church that inspires our worship is one thing that has been true for centuries. I look forward to what happens at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton as we rediscover the sacred.