I’ll admit it. There are a lot of times when I ask you to do something. There are a number of times when I tell you to do something. I tell you when there’s a holy day of obligation. I tell you you’re supposed to come to Mass on those days— and all the Sundays of the year. Sometimes I ask you to avoid a very crowded Mass (e.g., 4 pm Christmas Eve) or to attend a very important Mass (e.g., the Easter Vigil). I encourage you to make a confession on a regular basis. I’ll always tell you to pray. I’ll invite you to educational and spiritua...

Read More

Maybe (or maybe not) you’ve wondered about the paschal candle. We see it in the sanctuary every Easter. It seems to be a different candle – sometimes highly decorated. It’s really tall and hard to light. And, if you were at our Easter Vigil (or check out the photos on social media), you know that we had three paschal candles by the end of the evening. The paschal candle has a long, long history in worship. Easter begins when it’s lit and carried into the church. It’s a new candle, lit from a fresh fire. It keeps a prominent place near the pu...

Read More

Remember the mini-series Jesus of Nazareth, from back in the ‘70s? Remember the final line of that production? Both the friends and foes of Jesus think his story is over. But one of the characters looks into the empty tomb and says, “Now it begins. It all begins.” So, too, with our Lent and our Easter. We might have done pretty well during those 40 days of Lent. We didn’t even look at a piece of chocolate or a beer. We remembered to drop something into the Rice Bowl or to give to Rectory, Set  Cook. We made it to Stations or to a daily Mas...

Read More

One of my favorite parts of Holy Week comes on Holy Thursday: the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament after Mass. I love the quiet of that time. I love the way it keeps us in a spirit of prayer, that spirit of prayer that began with the Eucharist. But I also love that it invites us to move. To go from church to church, visiting the Sacrament in each of those sacred spaces. I’ve appreciated the drive that night from parish to parish. I’ve enjoyed the way each parish sets up its shrine for the Eucharist. I’ve appreciated the people I meet on the way—...

Read More

Like many people, my life often seems to run on deadlines. When will the paper be due? …How late can I send in that RSVP? …Exactly what kind of time do I need to allot to drive from here to there? At this point in Lent, we’re called to meet some deadlines. (Of course, since Lent really points to Easter and since our God is a God of mercy, we can expect a bit of shifting in the deadlines.) Rectory, Set, Cook: The absolute deadline for giving is this Friday, March 27, at 5 pm. After that, no donation, no vote for Team St. Ann & St. Bonif...

Read More

I’ll admit it. It took me 50 years to get the point. I’d passed by the poor boxes in St. Boniface Church off and on for 50 years. Sometimes I’d fish around in my pocket for loose change (that was in the days when we had loose change in our pockets) and drop a few coins in the slot. I’d notice the words of Jesus carved into the boxes: I was hungry, I was thirsty…you fed me, you gave me to drink. But only recently did I get the point. Those boxes aren’t objects nailed to the wall—something added long after the building was buil...

Read More

Fast. Pray. Give alms. Last week I talked a little about fasting. Inspired by Pope Leo’s Lenten words, I urged us to fast from angry words and harsh judgments. Next week, I hope to say a few things about almsgiving (AKA works of charity). But, for now, let’s look at prayer. Especially during Lent, we might have a pretty good idea about how to pray. We try to get to Mass more often… We stop by a church to pray before the Blessed Sacrament... We say our rosary… We make the Stations of the Cross… All good! Don’t stop doing these thi...

Read More

So, Lent’s begun again. Once more, we turn to the old challenges: to fast, to pray, to practice works of charity. Sometimes the list looks pretty familiar: We’ll give up this dessert, this drink… We’ll say our rosary, do the Way of the Cross... We’ll throw that loose change in the Rice Bowl... All good stuff, mind you! But this year, Pope Leo suggests another form of fasting. Listen to his words: I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt...

Read More

Lent’s finally at hand. Ash Wednesday comes this week (hopefully after some festive Mardi Gras celebrations on Tuesday!). Time to start the old routine—What do I give up? Where can I find fish on Fridays? What can I add to my prayer schedule—a weekday Mass, some visits to the Blessed Sacrament, Friday Stations? This year, we’re adding something that’s not part of our usual routine. We’re going to start using (or re-using, depending on your own experience) some old music. Some Gregorian chant. It’s quiet and reflective. Often e...

Read More

I know we’ve had a number of changes in our parishes’ lives these past few months. I know I’d like to settle down and just do the “normal” (whatever that might be!) for a while. But, as Lent, Holy Week, and the Sacred Triduum approach, we’ll face some changes. Some of those are internal to us, as the linked parishes of St Ann and St Boniface. We’ll try to avoid overlapping or duplication as much as possible. (How many meatless meals do we all need to share together? How many adult formation events do we need to schedule in how ma...

Read More