Nov. 1, 2009: Solemnity of All Saints

Few days ago, I was invited to give an invocation at a Better Business Bureau's award ceremony to honor local businesses that conducted itself with highest ethical standards. The keynote speaker at the event was LSU baseball head coach, Paul Mainieri, and this following story he shared was very touching. Coach Mainieri described to us at the ceremony the tremendous outpouring of congratulations and welcome that people of Baton Rouge threw for him and his team upon their return from Omaha. They had long police and fire department escort. People lined up LSU campus and cheered for them, and waiting at the Alex Box Stadium were more than 6,000 people! Coach Mainieri was overwhelmed with emotion; it was one of the highest moment of his career. That evening, Coach Mainieri spent a quiet evening with his son at home reminiscing about the entire exhilarating past few days. His son was so proud of his dad. Then breaking the quiet evening was a phone call. His son answered. "Hey dad, it's Sports Illustrated!" Coach Mainieri thought to himself, "Wow, this is an icing on the cake!" His son handed the phone over. "Hello." "Hi, this is Sports Illustrated. Is this Mr. Paul Mainieri?" "This is him." "Congratulations! How would you like to have Sports Illustrated for 99 cents per issue!" It was a cold call from magazine subscription department.

Humility, he said, was what he needed at that moment, and he certainly was given what he needed. In an interview with a new paper, Coach Mainieri reflected that external rewards could be fun, but what was most rewarding for him was trying to be the man God wanted him to be, which he believed was expressed in how good of a husband and father one was, before any career achievements. He said, "I'd much rather be known as a great father, husband, and Catholic...than a great baseball coach." He is a father of four children--ranging in age from 15 to 25--with his wife, Karen.

On this Feast of All-Saints, Our Lord asks us to reflect on the measuring stick by which He will gauge our readiness to come inside the Pearly Gates. You know those cute signs by the amusement park rides where they show the minimum height requirement for each ride? I wonder what kind of sign there will be right by the gates of Heaven to measure our minimum entry requirement. Certainly one important measure will be our humility. Yet, how will our humility be measured? Fr. Miles found a very interesting article on the Internet where a religious sister named Sr. Emmanuel interviewed a lay-woman named Maria Simma (http://www.holysoulscrusade.org/maria-simma1.html). Maria was a simple, country woman from Austria who since 1940, at the age of 25, was visited by souls in Purgatory who requested her prayers and for masses to be said for them to be released to Heaven. After many years of working on behalf of souls in Purgatory, Maria gained some insight about Purgatory.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, those "who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned...From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends alms giving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead." (CCC# 1030-1032) Sr. Emmanuel asked Maria to explain about Purgatory, and Maria gave this analogy of us approaching the entrance of a house where God Himself opens the entrance door:

"Suppose that one day a door opens, and a splendid being appears, extremely beautiful, of a beauty that has never been seen on earth. You are fascinated, overwhelmed by this being of light and beauty, even more so that this being shows that he is madly in love with you -- you have never dreamed of being loved so much. You sense too that he has a great desire to draw you to him, to be one with you. And the fire of love which burns in your heart impels you to throw yourself into his arms. But wait -- you realize at this moment that you haven't washed for months and months, that you smell bad; you nose is running, your hair is greasy and matted, there are big dirty stains on your clothes, etc. So you say to yourself, "No, I just can't present myself in this state. First I must go and wash: a good shower, then straight away I'll come back."
But the love which has been born in your heart is so intense, so burning, so strong, that this delay for the shower is absolutely unbearable. And the pain of the absence, even if it only lasts for a couple of minutes, is an atrocious wound in the heart, proportional to the intensity of the revelation of the love -- it is a "love-wound". Purgatory is exactly this. It's a delay imposed by our impurity, a delay before God's embrace, a wound of love which causes intense suffering, a waiting, if you like, a nostalgia for love. It is precisely this burning, this longing which cleanses us of whatever is still impure in us. Purgatory is a place of desire, a made desire for God, desire for this God whom we already know, for we have seen him, but with whom we are not yet united."

In our gospel today, Our Lord gives the sign that describes minimum entry requirement to the gates of Heaven. "Blessed are those," or 'Happy are those' who are humble, meek, lowly, mourning, suffering, persecuted, and peace makers. The irony is that there will not be throngs of people here on earth who will line the LSU campus and the Alex Box Stadium to congratulate those who achieve these requirements. The reason for the Feast of All-Saints is to remind us that there will be throngs lining up the streets of Heaven to cheer and congratulate those of us who live the humble lives of Beatitudes of Jesus. At the award ceremony, I began the invocation with the following words:

"An hour ago, I was at a bed side of an elderly lady in her 90s who was recovering from a fall. Perhaps this was her last confession she would make on this earth. During the past year and a half as a newly ordained priest, I have done over 60 funerals and was present in the very rooms where souls expired to go from this world to the next. And I'm convinced of one thing. We go to the next world, empty handed. We cannot take any property with us. All I can take to the next world is that my daughter, my son, my husband, my siblings, all told me that they loved me."

Isn't that the heart of Jesus' Beatitudes? Humility and charity. Coach Mainieri summarized it best when he said, "With success come championships, awards and advancement. Those things come and go, though, and don’t mean as much as knowing you had a positive impact on a person’s life. For me, it is all about the relationships that are developed and knowing you have helped someone." And that's what we take to the Pearly Gates.

Oct. 25, 2009: 30th Sunday Ordinary (B)

I was in Lourdes, France about 3 weeks ago on a pilgrimage and retreat. On the day I arrived at Lourdes, I found out that an English mass was going to be celebrated the next morning at

6:45AM right at the Grotto where Blessed Mother appeared to St. Bernadette. I was told to be at 6:30AM at the sacristy in order to concelebrate the mass. I said to myself, ‘How special it’s going to be to concelebrate mass there!’ So before I slept, I set my alarm for 6 AM and told my guardian angel, whom I named, “Michael”, to be sure to wake me up. Wouldn’t you know I slept through my 6AM alarm, and my eyes opened in a panic at 6:20AM. I said, “Michael, why didn’t you wake me up?” It takes 15 minute walk to get to the grotto, so I hurriedly started to run. Some Irish pilgrims who were on their way to the Grotto, gave me the look, ‘What’s wrong with that priest?’ So I took out my white tab from my collar as I was running. So now, I looked like a Korean jogger on the streets of Lourdes rather than a Korean priest running frantically on the streets of Lourdes.

After concelebrating the mass, I sat on one of the benches in front of the Grotto and watched an endless line of people filing through the Grotto. They walked from one side of the Grotto to the opposite side where there was a statue of Blessed Mother above on a niche where she appeared to St. Bernadette. As they walked, they traced their hands on the walls of the Grotto. It reminded me of little children who cling unto their mama’s skirt with their hands. One lady on that line caught my eye. When she reached the point right below the statue, she rested her head against the wall and stood there motionless. It was as if a little girl was burying her head into her mama’s lap, to cry and to pour her heart out. After several minutes, she lifted her head, touched the wall, and joined the line again. And on her face were streams of tears. How great were the desires of all those who were sick and suffering to be consoled by their Heavenly Mother. For many, coming to Lourdes was their last life-line. They have already suffered many years, and they wanted to give it a last try with God. How similar in desire in these pilgrims as the blind Bartimaeus of today’s gospel who desired simply to see just like everyone else. He sat there on the road dejected, ‘God why did you punish me with this blindness? What did I do to deserve this?’

The Church has approved over 67 healings in Lourdes as miraculous; each of these healings took many years of scientific verification before the Church announced them as authentic. But there are thousands of healings that do not get reported. A priest who taught me at the seminary was a case in point. Many years ago as a young priest, he got into an auto accident which required more than two years of recuperation. The physical pain was so great that he began to drink to ease the pain. Soon enough he came an alcoholic. Even after treatments, he did not recover from his addiction. So his bishop sent him to Lourdes, against his wishes. When he arrived in Lourdes, he was at his lowest point of his life. He was depressed, and what was worse, he had lost his faith. Unlike Bartimaeus, there was not even the desire to ask God, “I want to see You.” He was sitting on a bench when he noticed a person on a wheel chair was being pushed by a volunteer. The volunteer had difficulty pushing, so he got up to help. On the wheel chair was a lady suffering from terminal cancer. She told him, this was her 3rd time in Lourdes. She has been telling the Lord, ‘You can take me anytime you want. I’m ready.’ But she did not understand why she was still here on earth. The priest told his side of the story, about his addiction and about his loss of faith. Then the lady said to him, “I know why I’m still here. I’m here to give you my faith.” The next morning, the priest woke up feeling very different. He felt as if it was the day of his ordination to priesthood, the day when he felt his faith was the strongest. Later in the morning, he learned that lady whom he talked with the day before had passed away. And he thought to himself, “She did give me her faith!” Isn’t God so generous? Here was a priest who lost all hope and faith, who came to Lourdes against his wishes. His deepest desire was to ‘see’ God again, to regain his faith. And God granted him that gift through another person’s suffering and sacrifice.

When I sit here in the church early in the morning, I notice a number of people stopping by each of the statues, placing their hands on the feet of the statue, and praying for some need. I’m sure in some mysterious way, they hear the question that Jesus asked Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” Bartimaeus replied, “Master, I want to see.” But he’s not simply asking for physical sight, because when he did receive his sight, he did not just go away to celebrate. Instead, he saw Jesus and was inexplicably drawn to follow him. So of many things he could have done with his gift of sight, he realized that what he hoped to regain paled in comparison to Whom he sees in front of him. That’s the gift of sight we all desire; the very Person, Jesus, who captures and mesmerizes us to the point that we give up everything else for. Eight million people who travel to Lourdes every year as their last ditch hope, gains that true sight. They initially hoped for physical healings and freedom from suffering. But in that silent moment spent below the statue of the Blessed Mother in the Grotto, touching the hems of her garment as they touch the rock, and burying their heads into her lap to cry, they hear and understand what Blessed Mother meant when she told St. Bernadette, “I do not promise you happiness in this world, but in the other.” The promise of this world is fleeting, therefore cannot lead us to true happiness.

Bernadette was promised to be able to see her Jesus in her own suffering. While living in the convent as Sr. Marie Bernard she had excruciatingly painful tuberculosis of the bones. Yet she hid it from her fellow nuns, because in it, she saw her Lord carrying the Cross and embracing it for her. How mesmerizing that sight of Jesus have been for her to keep her suffering unknown and to refuse the miraculous healing water of Lourdes saying, “The water is not for me.” So we ask the Lord today. “Jesus I want to see you. May whatever I suffer allow me to see you. And may the sight of you capture my heart and long for the promised happiness in the next world.”

Vera Windham Guillot-Funeral-10-22-09

Vera Windham Guillot, 85, a longtime resident of Baton Rouge, passed away on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009. She was 85, a homemaker and native of Belah. She was a member of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church and a loving mother and grandmother. Survivors include her son, Michael Guillot and daughter-in-law Ladonna Cameron Guillot; three grandchildren, Meredith, Matthew and Laura Guillot; and two sisters, Annie Bell Price and Virginia Elizabeth Heinemann. Preceded in death by her husband of 56 years, John L. Guillot; parents, Stephen and Fannie Windham; brother, Noah Windham; and two sisters, Gracie Myrtle Powell and Dorothy Chester Windham. Visitation at Greenoaks Funeral Home on Thursday, Oct. 22, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church on Thursday at 1 p.m. Interment in Greenoaks Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Baton Rouge.

On her cable TV, Vera was known to watch Mother Angelica's programs on EWTN. On one occasion, Mother Angelica said the following: "Where most men work for degrees after their names, we work for one before our names: 'St.' It's a much more difficult degree to attain. It takes a lifetime, and you don't get your diploma until you're dead."

How do you get to earn this diploma while here on earth? Let's see what Vera did to earn hers, and perhaps that will give us a clue. Vera enjoyed gardening, crocheting, and knitting. She was devoted to her grand children, to her son and daughter-in-law. During Christmas, Vera was well known for distributing tins of cookies for family at Christmas and making her chocolate mousse pie. She enjoyed her exercise classes for seniors at BREC for 25 years. Spiritually, she read and meditated on scripture daily, and she was a committed adorer at Our Lady of Mercy's perpetual adoration chapel. But this all seems ordinary, not extraordinary. She lived what we would call, a 'normal' life.

Perhaps in order to earn the letters 'St.' before our name involves more than what is visible to our eyes. Our Second Reading from the letter of Paul to the Corinthians may give us a clue. St. Paul said,

"If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.

It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

Patience, kindness, humility, faith, hope, and long-suffering are invisible things--things that are seen only in the heart of a person. With these you don't win ribbons, honors, or trophies that you can display on the mantles. But these are the virtues for which Vera is recognized for. Those who earned PhD, M.D., D.D.S behind their names certainly can show the world that they are learned, accomplished, and important in this world. But those with the letters, 'St.' before their names do not have fancy name plates on office doors or on desks. Hence this world does not recognize them. Yet, when they arrive at the Pearly Gates with their diploma, they are readily recognized by St. Peter. You can say that at her graduation, she received a degree in 'St.' with emphasis on L.O.V.E.

Oct. 20, 2009: Tuesday Ordinary (B)

The other day, I spent some time chatting with a seminarian at the Coffee Call by College Drive. We were on our way out, and a disheveled man approached us saying that he was hungry. I told him that I will get him a meal from McDonald's. I worried that if I gave him cash, he might have simply gone out and got some alcohol. I ordered him a deluxe breakfast meal with a large glass of orange juice which came out to be around $8. When I drove back and handed him the breakfast, he said, "I don't want orange juice. I want a root beer." I was speechless. I learned that beggars CAN BE choosers.

$8 dollar is not much of a security for any of us, only enough for a good breakfast at McDonald's. What if that's all we had left? How insecure would we feel? Earlier today, I did a funeral for an 83 yr. old lady. She was not married, and spent most of her life taking care of her sickly father, mother, brother who was mentally challenged, and friends who had cancer. When all of her family died, there was no one to take care of her except her two friends. The two friends told me that she was a giving person. Perhaps too much so. She has been giving her money away for some time. Her mailbox was always full of envelopes from charitable organizations that requested donations. Every week, she would withdraw $300 in cash and mail $10 here, $20 there to all these organizations. The two friends were alarmed that she would not have anything to live on, so they took stamps away from her. But she would ask another friend to get her some stamps. The day she died, all she had was $8. At the funeral today, we didn't have her body because she gave away even her body to the science.

Jesus tells us in our Gospel today, “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival." The lady who only had $8 left wrote this poem for her friends to read at her funeral. And it reveals a person who was ready for her Master's return.

A Proud Catholic

Thank God that I'm a Catholic,

and ever so proud to be,

I thank the Lord my parents

saw fit to baptize me.

Though I don't remember it,

it was the day that I began

my journey as a Catholic

in quest of the Promised Land.

I've lost my mom and dad,

my brother left me too.

I've lost dear friends and relatives,

but God will see me through.

I'm proud to be a Catholic,

to follow the Jesus way,

to go to mass and communion,

and with my rosary pray.

To ask the Lord to help me,

with the problems I have had,

to lead me on my journey,

and to help me when I'm sad.

I'm proud to be a Catholic,

and one day I hope to be

united with my family

in blissful eternity.

(by Carrol Jennaro, RIP 10/14/2009)

Oct. 18, 2009: 29th Sunday Ordinary (B)

For the most of this week, the priests of our diocese was in retreat in Manresa House of Retreat in Convent, Louisiana. It's one time of the year when all of us priests are able to see each other and catch up. We find out what everyone has been up to--the good news. But it is also the time to find out some bad news as well, especially regarding health. One of our priest, Fr. Than Vu, was diagnosed with cancer recently, and another priest, Fr. Fred Youngs, was having a surgery done during our retreat. During one of our masses together, Bishop Muench held a communal anointing of the sick for all of the priests who either suffer from illness at this present moment or are recovering. There were around 15 priests who came forward. If you ever have received the anointing of the sick, there is a part where the priest lays his hand in silence on the person's head and prays for the Holy Spirit to descend on the sick person to renew their body and their soul. The bishop invited rest of the priests, one by one, to lay our hands on our brother priest who was sick. Here I was laying hand on priests who spend more than half of their lives in priesthood to ask God for their healing. It was a very moving moment for all of us, and there were no dry eyes in that chapel.

Somethings in life, we sign up knowing ahead of time what we'll expect. But somethings, like priesthood, religious life, and marriage, you'll never know what to expect. For the married couples here, did you expect ahead of time all the things you have faced over the years? Doesn't it feel like being blindfolded and being led by the hand of God? Earlier that day, before the communal anointing, our retreat director asked us to meditate on Jesus entering the Garden of Gethsemane. In the Garden, Jesus falls to the ground and pours out his heart to his Father, "Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will." (Mark 14:35-36) Jesus does something here what is difficult for most of us--to set aside what we want and to face the uncertain future with trust and confidence what the Father has in store for us. Our retreat director simply asked us to stay in meditation of that Garden long enough to be able to see why Jesus was able accept what Father was giving him. For the priests who were just diagnosed with cancer or were having surgery done, suffering is something that they did not anticipate and did not want. Yet, Heavenly Father was requesting them to drink this chalice.

In our gospel, James and John asked Jesus something that all of us ask of God--what we want and when we want it. They asked, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." Jesus replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?" They answered him, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." In reply Jesus asked this crucial question, "Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" James and John unanimously said, "We can." Did they know what they were saying 'yes' to? I don't think so. Did we know what we were saying 'yes' to? As I prayed with this scripture, it dawned on me that when I got baptized and when I received my First Communion, I was saying to Jesus, 'Yes, I want to drink the cup that you drank and want to be baptized with the same baptism that you went through.' I was saying 'Yes, Lord, I want to be a suffering servant just like you.' Do you know what God does to a willing servant who says 'yes' to Him? Our First Reading tells us, "The Lord was pleased to crush him in infirmity." Yikes! So are we just to bear our suffering, clinching our teeth? Our Manresa retreat director told us, 'What's unseen in that Garden scene is how Jesus was filled with courage and resolve because he was so loved by his Father. 'Perfect love casts out fear.' (1 John 4:18)

At Manresa after one of the evening prayers, I sat down to spend a little more time in silence in prayer. I had my eyes closed, but I began to hear some clicking and clacking noise. I opened my eyes and saw Fr. Pat Mascarella trying to go near the tabernacle in the sanctuary. His sight was failing him gradually in the past two decades, and now he can only distinguish light and darkness; so his 'eyes' are his walking stick. He knew that the chapel was remodeled this year, and he wanted to 'see' how the remodeling came about. He used his hands to feel the new altar and the ambo. He approached the tabernacle with his walking stick and slowly began to feel the relief that was etched on to the tabernacle door. It was a relief of Jesus being baptized by St. John the Baptist.

After he traced the figures on the door, he placed his palm on the door of the tabernacle and stayed there in prayer. I don't know if he was aware, but the crucifix with the life-like Jesus above him, was looking down upon him with gentle love. I was thinking to myself, 'Here is a priest who dedicated more than 40 years of his life in priesthood.' Perhaps when he lost his sight he was angry and even bitter. Yet, here as he rests his palm on the image of Jesus being baptized and hearing from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I'm well pleased," I know Fr. Pat in someway was receiving that affirmation from God the Father as well--a beloved son of the Father. I know in that very few minutes, Fr. Pat was filled with courage and resolve to say, "not what I will but what you will."

Oct. 11, 2009: SJA Peer Ministry Talk

Has anyone been to France? Any French beach, like Nice? So I want you to imagine this scene. It’s 2AM in the morning. There is a night club blaring out techno music near the sea shore. On a sandy shore there sitting on benches and on sand are about a hundred or so young people like yourselves. Some are drinking, and the bottles are strewn here and there. Some are smoking. Some are buying and trying drugs like Ecstasy. And some are pairing off to go off to some private places. And off to the side, away from the beach are a group of eight people, watching all this activity with curiosity, yet with hesitation. In this group of eight, there were 5 young people like yourselves, one young priest, and two nuns in their white and brown habits. This was the first night Sr. Catherine was out doing evangelization. She was quite nervous. What should I say to them? God is the last thing that they want to hear about, she thought. She asked the other sister, “What should I do when I meet them?” And the sister replied, “Love them. Listen to them. Be present to them. Listen to their questions and reflections. Listen for where their hurts are.” Sr. Catherine thought, ‘Honestly, walking over to a group of young people who were out for a good time and to talk to them about God was not something she had in mind, especially at 2 in the morning.’ Yet, St. Catherine was haunted by the call of God, “Whom should I send? Whom should I send to let these young people know about Me?” And Sr. Catherine reluctantly said to God in silence, “Oh, okay. Send me.” As the sisters and the team approached the young people, few of them turned around and with amusement said, “Hey look! Nuns.” And the dialogue began.

Sr. Catherine began to talk with a 22 yr. old young man named Steffen. He had plenty of piercings on his face. Steffen told the sister that he has been frequenting this night club area since the age of 16. He said one of only joys in his life is to go on Raves (large techno parties). Sr. Catherine began to tell him about her personal encounter with Jesus. Steffen asked, "Did you take something, Sister?" he meant did you take Ecstasy? No, she said. They talked a little bit. Without question, he accepted her request if she could pray together. And she asked him, what would you like to ask Jesus? "I want to be happy." So sitting there with Steffen, Sr. Catherine addressed herself to Jesus with very simple words. A very sweet peace immersed both of them. And he asked the sister, “What is this thing filling my heart? I have a feeling that it's going to explode. I even want to cry. But I never cry. Is this the love of God?” So she asked him smiling, "Did you take something?" "No." As they were finishing up the prayer, he ran up to the young priest and said, "Are you a priest, a real priest? Can you do that thing where we tell you the bad things that we've done and you forgive us?" He meant the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The last time he had gone was when he was a child. Right there on the sand, with the musical background of the techno just a few feet away, he received the forgiveness of God. Sr. Catherine said, “From that moment I said, ‘What a joy to be an instrument of God.’”

But sometimes conversations don’t go so smoothly. Those that sisters and the team approach are sometimes terrible and angry. One night a sister a young person from the team were talking to a 19 yr old and his friends. A young man named Roman suddenly came up and said, "What you're saying is stupid. It doesn't mean anything!" And he began to shoot out all sorts of blasphemies against God and vulgarities. And the sister and the young person simply listened. They tried to understand where all these anger and violence were coming from. They didn’t respond to the violence because many times it was hiding great suffering. When he was done spewing out his anger, he cried out, "Where was this God of love when my father beat my mother? When I was beat trying to separate them?” The sister said, "It's not by chance that we met tonight. God wanted to put himself at your feet. Jesus was sorry that you had the impression that you were alone, that He was not there. In those difficult moments, Jesus was there then as He is here now. Roman began to cry, touched by God's presence. Sr. Catherine was amazed at the series of circumstances that put them right place at the right time.

In the beginning, Sr. Catherine felt that talking about Jesus was going to be tough and complicated, but she realized that it was very simple. All it took was to take an interest in them and to love them. This will surely open their heart to the love of God.

Ladies, we don’t have to go out to the French beach to find persons who are suffering and have lots of hurts in their life. We can find them right here in our school. God sincerely desires to touch them and to let them know that He loves them. He has chosen you as peer ministers. And He asks you, “Whom should I send?” Ladies, Sr. Catherine has taught us that it’s not tough and complicated to talk about Jesus. She taught us that all it takes is our desire to listen and to be simply be present. Ladies, it what ways can you respond to Jesus, “Here I am. Send me.”

Oct. 11, 2009: 28th Sunday Ordinary (B)

The other day someone asked me Fr. Paul what is the most memorable experience as a priest? I can say that it is baptizing children. One of the most memorable baptism experience was last year when I was assigned to St. Aloysius. On the very first Sunday of my assignment, I was told to do four baptisms during mass. How many of you have seen baptism at St. Aloysius? In the middle of the mass, all the children from the pews are invited to surround the baptismal font in the back. On that Sunday around 25 children surrounded that font. I took my first infant, declared the words, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit," then took the infant to the front of the church. I took few steps up to the sanctuary and showed the infant to the entire congregation like in the movie, "Lion King," when the newborn lion cub Simba was held up in the air by a baboon for all to see. As I walked back to the baptismal font with my first Lion King infant I muttered, "They don't teach this in the seminary." And everyone laughed. Do you know how we practiced baptism in the seminary? We had a plastic doll--the kind which has the eye lids that open and shut depend on whether it's on its feet or lying down.This plastic baby didn't cry, did not complain if it was held the wrong way, nor did it drool. This idyllic plastic baptismal experience was shattered on one Sunday afternoon when I was doing a private baptism. And this real, living infant squirmed, screamed, drooled, and kicked its way into baptism. And I had a headache this big to prove it.

A couple of months ago, here at Our Lady of Mercy on one Saturday afternoon, I baptized a baby boy in the presence of his parents, uncles, aunts, mawmaw, and pawpaw. That infant boy was the ideal plastic doll who didn't scream or kick during baptism. At that baptism I asked his parents the following question: "You have asked to have your child baptized. In doing so you are accepting the responsibility of training him in the practice of the faith. It will be your duty to bring him up to keep God's commandments as Christ taught us, by loving God and our neighbor. Do you clearly understand what you are undertaking?" And the parents answered, "We do." Just besides the parents, there sitting on a wheelchair was his great grandmother whom I knew well. She was suffering from a recurrence of cancer. So here before me was a great mystery. This great grand mother many years ago at the altar on the wedding day answered the following question from a priest, "Will you accept children lovingly from God, and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?" She said, "yes," and her openness to children that God planned give her had far more reaching consequences than she could imagine. She was now beholding her great grand son. How could she have foreseen that she would live long enough to hold generations of God's miraculous gift in her arms.

In today's gospel, a man runs up to Jesus to ask him a very pressing question. It's a question that all of us like to have an answer to. He asks, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Here you can feel his desire for life beyond death. He acknowledges that he will face death, and he acknowledges that there is life after death. But his desire was to know, 'Am I doing well everything that God is asking of me here on earth in order to go to heaven?' If we really want to know what God is asking of us to do, then may I remind those of us who are married, we already know what God is asking of us?

On Friday night I did a wedding, and during homily I asked the wedding guests what they remembered about their wedding day. So I asked them, "How many of you remember the date of your wedding?" "Place? Priest's name? Names of Best Man and Maid of Honor? Where you had your wedding reception? Where you went to honeymoon?" They did quite well on all these questions. Then I asked, "Do you remember what questions the priest asked you about your intention to marry?" No one knew. I asked, "Do you remember the words to your wedding vows?" No one knew. "Do you remember the words you said when you exchanged the rings?" No one knew. In attempt to make our wedding day the most memorable, we forgot what the wedding day was really all about. We focus what goes on right before the wedding vow and right after the wedding vow, but not on the wedding vow itself.

The three questions that priests asks regarding intentions are:
1) Have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?
2) Will you love and honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives?
3) Will you accept children lovingly from God and raise them according to the laws of Christ and his Church?

Particularly the last intention, have we been faithful to being open to God's gift of children? And this openness also means accepting God's teaching on contraception. If we are faithful to him in little things that we promised him, God is going to be faithful to us in big things.

This past Tuesday I visited the great grand mother of the infant that I baptized in a hospice. She was too weak to even make a sign of the cross for herself. She asked me to take her right hand to make the sign of the cross. Before I gave her the Last Rites, I told her, "You have been a faithful servant of Jesus here on earth. Please pray for this poor priest when you are in heaven with the Lord." She said, "I certainly will." I then pronounced these words of Last Rites to her, "I commend you, my dear sister, to almighty God, and entrust you to your Creator. May you return to him who formed you from the dust of the earth. May holy Mary, the angels, and all the saints come to meet you as you go forth from this life. May Christ who was crucified for you bring you freedom and peace. May he forgive all your sins, and set you among those he has chosen." She passed away the next day, with a serene peace and smile on her face. And you could hear Jesus say as he welcomed her, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!” Have we been faithful, like this great grand mother, to the little promises we made to the Lord on our wedding day?

Oct. 10, 2009: Funeral for Jeanette Silvio

This past Monday Carolyn, Jeanette's daughter, called me and said that Jeanette was in a hospice. I drove there on Tuesday afternoon. I went into her room, and I saw Carolyn her daughter and Amy her grand daughter who was holding 4 month old Graham whom I baptized a couple of months ago. Immediately tears streamed from both. Jeanette had her eyes closed; her usual vibrant smile wasn't there. Carolyn said, 'Mama, look who is here,' and Jeanette immediately opened her eyes. She said inaudibly, 'I can't talk.' I touched her arm, and it was ice cold. She said, 'Grab my hand and make the Sign of the Cross for me.' I sensed that she knew it was her time to go home. I began the Last Rites, saying the words, 'Blessed Virgin Mary, pray for her...All the angels and saints, pray for her...Go forth Christian soul.' I asked her, "Jeanette, you have been a faithful servant of Jesus here on earth. Will you make sure to pray for this poor priest when you are with Him in Heaven?" She replied, "I certainly will." I knew she worked tirelessly for the Lord here on earth. And I also knew that she will tirelessly work for Him even in Heaven.

Her life was about saying 'yes' to whatever the Lord asked her to do. Over 60 years ago at the young age of 17, she said 'yes' to her groom, Lucas. At her wedding day, the priest asked her the following three questions:

1) "Have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?"

2) "Will you love and honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives?"

3) "Will you accept children lovingly from God and raise them according to the laws of Christ and his Church?"

And she has been faithful to her promises to God from that day onward. She was open to God's gift of children, and so she welcomed Carlin and Carolyn her children, Amy, Todd, Tony, Morgan, and Kelcie her grand children, and Graham her great grand children. She was a mother to her daughter-in-law Karla and son-in-law Mike. And when she made promises, she kept them. So when she made the promise to God to raise them according to the laws of Christ and his Church, she made sure her children personally knew Jesus. Carlin and Carolyn remember their mother asking which mass they went to, what the priest said in the homily, to make sure that they really went to mass. They both said that our First Reading from the book of Proverbs described her perfectly.

"When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls.

Her husband entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize.

She brings him good, and not evil, all the days of her life.

She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy.

She opens her mouth in wisdom, and her tongue is kindly counsel.

She watches the conduct of her household, and eats not her food in idleness.

Her children rise up and praise her; her husband too extols her."

She was of pure French descent who married a pure Italian husband. She was so devoted to him that she wanted to learn the way his mother cooked. So she learned how to cook from Lucas' mother. Till this day, her children and grand children refuses to order red gravy spaghetti or brown gravy and rice in restaurants because nothing compares to Jeanette's.

Those of you who are part of the Catholic Daughters know how she was devoted to the cause of Catholic Daughters. She was the regent for two terms, and she coaxed her daughter Carolyn to be active part of the organization as well. She loved serving the poor especially serving meals at Bishop Ott's Shelter and helping St. Vincent de Paul. When I was a seminarian, she had the Catholic Daughters prepared a marvelous care packages for each of us. She has befriended many priests over the years, helping them with fund raising and inviting them over to their house for dinner. She was a great friend to St. Joseph Sisters as well. For the past few years, she has chaired along with Carolyn the Sister's Jubilee event.

On Wednesday afternoon I received a call from her grand daughter Amy that Jeanette has passed. Before I began the prayers with the family, I reminded them that our faith assures us that Jeanette is more present with us than ever. So knowing that she is right here with us, I asked the family to tell Jeanette out loud what they wanted to say. "Mama I love you. Thank you for making me what I am now." "Maw-maw, I love you. I'll miss you." And Morgan her grand daughter said, "Maw-maw thank you for giving my dad." What Morgan said touched me. It spoke of how Jeanette raised her son Carlin so that Carlin could give what he has received from his mom to his daughter Morgan. It spoke of how Jeanette was faithful to what she promised to God 60 years ago at the wedding day, to be open to God's gift of children and to raise them to know and love God.

And so for all these reasons, Jeanette is the woman spoken by the book of Proverbs.

"Many are the women of proven worth, but you, Jeanette, have excelled them all." Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

So Heavenly Father, give Jeanette "a reward for her labors, and let her works praise her at the city gates."

Oct. 10, 2009: Thursday of 27th Week (B) Loss of Fear of God

One of the American priest who was on the retreat with me in Ars, France told me an interesting story. Both of us, before arriving in Ars, toured Paris and other places first. He and I were discussing about what reaction we had from folks in the streets of Paris as we walked around in our priest collar. He told me a rather dramatic reaction he received when he was riding a Paris subway. He was riding next to the automatic door, and as a Frenchman walked out that door, he spoke in clear English to the priest the following. "You @#$%@#$ priest!" Needless to say, the priest was shocked.

When Cardinal Schonborn of Vienna, Austria gave us a talk, he remarked how Catholic churches throughout the Western Europe, including France are empty on Sundays. The sense of God and the Christian identity are on decline. In our First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Malachi, the voice of those who have lost the sense of God speaks. He says, “It is vain to serve God, and what do we profit by keeping his command, and going about in penitential dress in awe of the LORD of hosts? Rather must we call the proud blessed; for indeed evildoers prosper, and even tempt God with impunity.” Those walking on the streets of Paris echoed these words. How about those of us who do have sense of awe and fear of God? God says in our First Reading, "And I will have compassion on them, as a man has compassion on his son who serves him."

What is God trying to tell us today? Knowing my own past relationship with God, I know I had both moments of pride when I didn't have any sense or fear God and moments of humility when I was in awe of His majesty and mercy. We must acknowledge daily that our pride can eat our lunch. And pride is the foot-in-the-door for the spirits other than the Holy Spirit to tempt us to stop serving God; serve yourselves, these spirits say. And I'm not talking about Kasper the Friendly Ghost. Let's continue with the rest of the passage from our First Reading. God says,

Then you will again see the distinction

between the just and the wicked;

Between the one who serves God,

and the one who does not serve him.

For lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven,

when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble,

And the day that is coming will set them on fire,

leaving them neither root nor branch,

says the LORD of hosts.

But for you who fear my name, there will arise

the sun of justice with its healing rays.

We pray for those who have not experienced the healing rays of God's mercy and love to stop being stubborn and prideful, and to crack open their hearts to God. Yesterday, a beautiful soul passed from this world around 2 in the afternoon. I had given her last rites a couple of days ago, and when I arrived I saw her lying on her bed with a smile and peace on her face. She was a humble soul who served her Lord all her life. When I was giving her last rites, I asked her to help this poor priest when she goes to Jesus. She said, "I certainly will."

Oh by the way, I forgot to mention a minor detail about that incident with the Frenchman who cursed that American priest. The priest was wearing plain clothes; he had a polo shirt and jeans and did not have any religious medals or crosses. So how did that Frenchman know that he was a priest--unless he was under the influence of spirits other than the Holy Spirit; and I'm not talking about Kasper the Friendly Ghost. Pride can eat our lunch.

Oct. 6, 2009: Funeral of "Chester" Thinh Hoang

How do you measure success of a man's life? It depends on how you measure your success. Sometimes we measure success by what kind of car he drives. But if you were to see an elderly man walking with a limp on the Government Street right in front of this church going somewhere, you wouldn't think that man accomplished much financially. Here in America, we drive a car even when we’re going down the street. So to see someone walking we surmise they really don’t have any money.

Sometimes we measure man’s success by what he carries in his pockets. When someone takes out a wallet filled with many credit cards and bank cards, we guess that person can afford many things. But if you were to find not a fat wallet but a half-eaten donut from a Sunday mass, we would think that person didn’t have money.

Many of us believe that the goal of our life is to build a kingdom for ourselves on this earth, and so we measure our success by visible things, where we live, what we drive, and what we carry in our pockets or purses. When we lie down in a casket, even when we have a car key in our pocket, we no longer can drive that nice car in our garage. When we lie down in a casket, even when we have a fat wallet filled with credit cards and cash, we can’t use it to pay for the ticket to the next world, for where we are going, they don’t accept Visa, Master Card, American Express, or cash. We’ll tell the gate agent, “Don’t you recognize this Visa Card? I have a credit line up to $25,000?” And the gate agent will say, “Your money is no good here.”

The irony is that when Chester arrives at the gate and the gate agent will say, “So what are you going to pay to get in?” Chester will say, “Well, I don’t have a car, but I walked with a limp to and from Our Lady of Mercy to attend daily mass. I suffered from lots of pain from my diabetes and congestive heart and kidney troubles, but I often stayed there 2 to 3 hours praying for my four sons and two daughters, praying that my grand children will be healthy.” Chester will also say, “Well, I don’t have a fat wallet or cash to show you that I was successful in the world. But I do have in my pocket a half-eaten donut that I got after Sunday mass which I was going to eat on my walk back home.” And the gate agent will hold up that half-eaten donut and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!”

Oct. 6, 2009: Pro-Life Mass at St. Joseph Academy

This past week, I was in retreat with 1,200 priests from all over the world in Ars, France. Ars is where St. Jean Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests died. And among the talks, one speaker really touched me. Ladies have any of you heard of a man named, Jean Vanier? He was the founder of a community called l'Arche or Noah's Ark. Ladies, do you know of anyone who has a family member with Down syndrome or developmental disability? Back in 1964, Jean Vanier saw the plight of those who have developmental disabilities in institutions and psychiatric hospitals. He was inspired to invite two men with disabilities to live with him in a real home. What began as one home experiment has now blossomed into 135 communities all over the world where 5,000 persons with disabilities live in a loving, home environment. What Jean Vanier did was to provide a community for those with developmental disabilities. In this community, a person with disability is paired with a person who is without. And so on our priest retreat, Jean Vanier told us about Eric whom he was paired with.

Imagine a child with a Down syndrome who is blind, deaf, and cannot walk. How would you feel as a mother or a father to have a child like that? Eric was that child. After few years, his parents could not care for him, so he lived in an institution until he was an adult. For most of his life, Eric felt rejected and felt worthless. Smile was lost from Eric, many years ago. Then he was invited by Jean Vanier to live with him in a l'Arche Community. Jean Vanier said that Eric had deep wounds from many years of rejection and worthlessness. Yet, Eric began to heal. Jean Vanier would bathe him, clothe him, feed him, but most of all treated him as a beautiful person made in the image and likeness of God. Jean Vanier said, here as he bathed Eric, he realized that he was washing a temple of the Holy Spirit, truly Christ disguised in the distress of the poor. And smile began to appear on Eric's face again.

Jean Vanier told us priests, "Everyone is a unique and sacred value with a right to friendship, to communion, and to a spiritual life." He said, "We find gifts where others see tragedy. Those living in our l'Arche Communities do not understand much, but they understand whether we touch with love." How do we measure worth of a life? Do we measure by what intellectual capabilities a child might have, what kind of an economic contribution a child will make in the future, whether a child will be a burden or a benefit? This question is a great temptation for mothers and fathers of our generation face today. Five years ago, my sister called me up worried and said, a doctor is telling me that my child in the womb may have Down syndrome. And the doctor was actually hinting that she should consider aborting the child; the doctor was hinting that why suffer the consequences of having a Down syndrome child when you can erase that future suffering with abortion. This is the great temptation that men and women face today. We say to God, "I want a perfect child." And when He gives us a perfect child we say to Him, "That's no perfect child. I don't want that child." It's an incredible temptation for us to say to 'no' to God with abortion; we no longer value a child as a gift, but a burden or an accident.

Instead of listening to her doctor's advice, she grabbed her rosary and started praying to the Saints in heaven. She asked the Blessed Mother and St. Gerald Magella for her child in the womb to be born healthy, yet she said to them she'll accept whatever child God gives her. When God gives us a gift, we accept with trust that the gift is meant immense value to us. So my sister and my brother-in-law trusted. Now my niece, Therese is almost 5 years old, healthy and without Down syndrome, but they would have welcomed her even if she had Down syndrome.

Dear ladies, pray that you and your future husbands will have that same trust when you have your own children. A child arrives in this world perfect in the eyes of God, regardless of the circumstances of how that child arrived here. We are to see the temple of Holy Spirit, the face of Jesus in the child whether the child is blind, deaf, crippled, or disabled; for every child is the living echo of "I love you," from God.

Oct. 4, 2009: 27th Sunday Ordinary (B)

This Saturday morning I flew from Lyon, France to the London Heathrow Airport after spending a week in retreat with 1,200 priests from all over the world in the parish where St. Jean Vianney was the pastor. I was to catch a flight to Houston from London. I had a couple of hours of layover, so I walked around and stopped by Dutyfree Shops to browse. Many ladies here will know what will first hit you when you walk into a dutyfree shop. Perfume! All sorts of fragrance from fancy brands waft into your nose. And you look around there are lighted displays of photos of young and elegant women looking straight as you as if to tell you that you'll be this elegant and attractive if you wear this perfume on yourself. After spending a week in a small village where there were only one small cafe and one small restaurant without TV, it was quite a sensory overload to be in a bright lights, overpowering fragrances, and all the signs that said, 'buy me, you know you need me.'

The village that we had our retreat was called Ars. In 1818 only 3 years later after his ordination at the age of 32, St. Jean Vianney was assigned there as the pastor. His flock was only 230 people. His bishop warned him that faith has died in that parish and it was his job now to put faith back into that parish. First few months, Jean Vianney found very few people coming to Sunday mass. It turns out most village folks were at taverns on Sunday to dance. On his 40th year as the pastor there, however, he attracted 100,000 pilgrims annually to his small village. Most who came were wives and husbands. Why? What was there in an unknown, sleepy village of Ars to see for the married couples? And why did 1,200 priests from all over the world come to that village 150 years after the death of Jean Vianney?

All of us, sought this humble parish priest for confession. St. Jean Vianney was known to spend regularly 12 hours or more in hearing confession. In his last years when more than 100,000 flocked to him, spent 17 hours in confession. What was so special about his confession? When you went to confession to him he could read your heart. When you neglect to repent a serious sin, he would let you know. It's not just his ability to read heart that was significant; he helped you to turn your life around. A wife visiting him renewed her commitment to her vocation while a husband repented of his lack of love and fidelity to his wife. And a priest recommited himself to love Christ and His Bride, the Church, with more fervent love, which I experienced this past week.

In both our First Reading and in the Gospel, we deal with the mystery of spousal love--marriage. This mystery applies also to those of us single and celibate. Adam says, "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh." He has found a spouse at last to whom he will give himself totally, without conditions, and exclusively for the rest of his life. He will love many others, as a friend, as a brother, as a father, but to only one woman out of the whole world will he love like no one else. What about us singles and celibates? Who is the one person to whom our total and exclusive affection belong to? All the baptized persons are the Bride of Christ, hence our affections both body and soul belong to Him. What is asked of us is holiness--to be a pure and undefiled Bride of Christ. But there are plenty of challenges aren't there to be holy and chaste?

Some married spouses go through mid-life crisis where they forget the promises they made to their spouse and announce one day out of the blue that the feelings of love left them. There are single and married persons who struggle with impurity on Internet. There are priests who have given up prayer and have sought worldly things. All are symptoms that something other than our true spouse has won our affection.

So what do you do when the overpowering perfume of temptations like that of a dutyfree shop waft into your nose and lure you into thinking, 'I need that instead of my true spouse'? We need to do what the hero of the Greek myth, Ulysses did when on the way back to his wife he was about to sail into where the Sirens were. The Sirens were the strange mermaids who lured sailors to drown by their enchanting songs. Ulysses told his shipmates to tie him down tightly to the mast of the ship so that he will not plunge into the waters when hearing their songs. Ulysses knew that his love for his wife was not superficial and required self-denial and self-sacrifice. If we are willing to say 'yes' to God and to our true spouse, we should be willing to say 'no' to ourselves. That is why more than 100,000 people and priests visited St. Jean Vianney in his confession, to deny themselves and to turn from their ways back to their true spouse.

France Ars Retreat Update 10/2/09 The Last Day

This is the last day of my retreat here at Ars. Tomorrow early in the morning I will be flying back to the States. This morning Cardinal Schonborn spoke first about all the priests who were taking photos during the foot washing; it was suppose to be a very prayerful moment to be enjoyed. He didn't personally mind it' but it saddens him that many of us priests like the rest of the people live in the virtual world--Facebook, MySpace, Internet, and TV where we don't focus on here and now but rather on the virtual reality. Well, the cardinal was really speaking to me.

But that wasn't the main topic. The topic was 'Sent out to Proclaim the Gospel.' It was timely to speak about the missionary spirit with the relic of St. Therese present with us. Although she was a cloistered nun whose world was limited to the convent in Lisieux, she predicted while she was alive that after she dies she'll be a great missionary. She has certainly achieved that by being named a Doctor of the Church and for being spiritual companions to the religious and lay to help proclaim the Gospel.

He recounted one of his own experience where he was riding a train from Innsbruck to Vienna. He was praying his breviary when at one of the train stops around 20 high school students who just graduated filed into the train. He tried to focus on his prayers, but the students, after recognizing him, tried to get his attention. He ignored them at first, but went as far as throwing them a smile. All the students got off at a station which connected them to Turkey. There these young people can enjoy drinking, partying, and sex without worry about their parents or the law. After they left, he was convicted. 'What if I spent just 20 minutes with them, to listen to them, to be a positive influence on them. And they would have said, 'Here is our Cardinal who cares about teenagers like us.' He was convicted that he did not proclaim the Gospel. God asks of us, 'Whom shall I send?' It's often us whom God sends to proclaim the Good News. Do we say to God, 'Here send me!'

One of the sisters belonging to the Coomunity of Beatitude then gave us a presentation about what they do for the youth in France. During summer they go out to the French beach near dance clubs and to reach out to the youth. It can be daunting at first, but the youth are more curious about the religious sisters wearing habit. They have lots of questions for them. The sisters learn that these youth want to be heard, and they want to know about the hunger that was burning within them but no amount of alcohol, drugs, or dance parties satisfy. Her story convicted me as well as many priests who were present. We could much more for our youth...

What am I taking away from this retreat? A desire to have a heart of a shepherd, specifically a heart of Jesus as lived out by examples such as St. Jean Vianney and St. Therese of Lisieux. I hope all of us 1200 priests can take that heart back home.

Fr Paul

France Ars Retreat Update Oct. 1st, 2009

The day began with a procession of St. Therese's relic by several priests into the basilica. I saw this relic in the sacristy of the Basilica of St. Therese last Thursday while I was visiting Lisieux. Immediately after Cardinal Schonborn's talk priests flocked to the relic to pray. The rector of St. Jean Vianney's basilica pointed out that we had in our presence both the incorrupt heart of St. Jean Vianney and a backbone of St. Therese. He prayed that may we priests receive the heart of Jean Vianney and the backbone of Therese.

Cardinal Schonborn began his talk with a story of an elderly priest in Normandy. The cardinal's sister lives in Normandy, and he stayed with her few days and visited her local parish and spoke to that elderly priest there. It turns out this elderly priest(75 yrs old) is pastor for 27 parishes! The elderly priest said he would be lucky to have 230 people at mass at any given church. This evening I was having dinner at our meal tent, and a French seminarian/ deacon across from me was telling me that his seminary in Normandy has only 20 seminarians among 3 dioceses. Cardinal Schonborn pointed out that crisis of vocation in Europe is starving the people of Eucharist. He then gave a reflection on the Last Supper, especially on the washing of the feet.

Later in the afternoon, Jean Vanier, the founder of the L'Arche community for the mentally handicapped led us in the foot washing outside by the grass. Each of us (in a group of 9) washed the feet of one next to us, and the one whose feet were washed laid their hands on the person washing and prayed for them. It was a very touching experience.

The dinner in the evening was a special one. They had bottle of wwine on each of our table and music was sung by the Community of Beatitudes. We were handed each a stem of rose in honor of the feast day of St. Therese. We ended up using it to wave it in the air when the African priests formed a line dancing across the tent. We cheered them on with our roses.

Fr Paul