Rev. Doctor Patrick Malloy, Interim Dean, Saint John in the Wilderness Cathedral

Yesterday, I attended the installation of the Rev. Doctor Patrick Malloy as Interim Dean of Saint John in the Wilderness Episcopal Cathedral in Denver. Pat and I were in the liturgy program at Notre Dame. We met in 1983 and have remained friends all these years. I am so grateful that he will be in Colorado during this year.

“In the name of Son”
Painting: Ronald Raab, CSC May 2015

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:

God, comfort us in our restlessness.

God, sustain us in our search for meaning.

God, treasure our lives in baptism.

God, sustain our efforts to become your presence on earth.

God, build our lives into a loving and peace filled Church.

God, open us to your wisdom when we rely only on ourselves.

God, provide your tender love when we feel abandoned.

God, encourage the lost and lonely.

God, heal the people who carry heavy burdens of abuse.

God, give us peace when violence overwhelms our lives.

God, bring us in communion with your love.

God, help us become a community of hope.

God, chase after the depression and those who despair.

God, send us on a mission of hope for all people.

God, remain with us in moments of loss and ill health.

God, shepherd us into your Kingdom.

Jean Vanier

Krista Tippett interviews Jean Vanier. This is a re-broadcast but it is one of the best interviews with the founder of L’Arche. He is now 86, receiving the Templeton Prize. He lives in France and has nearly 150 communities worldwide. He is a holy and wise man and a profound influence in our world today. He is truly a model and hero for me. He speaks boldly of the weakness and suffering of others as we enter into the mystery of our own pain. We are all worthy, all glorious, all loving and all children of God. “We are fragile in front of the future.”

This is an hour-long interview that will change your life. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN. 

“I want to see”
Drawing: Raab

(Mark 10: 46-52)

Jesus, Master, open my eyes and give me the vision of the Father. Set me on a path where I can see for myself how to follow you.

I am blind to the works of your mercy and to the needs of people around me. I am tormented by my shortsighted vision of cynicism, despair and discouragement. Set my eyes, my heart and my life into the direction of your love for me, your kindness toward my past and your hope for people who most need help.

I want to see as you see.

I want to see the morning light crack through the window of my life.

I want to see the miracle of the new robins who broke through their shells on the front porch.

I want to see the quest for life in the people whose homes and lives were flooded in the next state.

I want to see the loving touch of a wife reaching out to her dying husband in the nursing home.

I want to see the value of life in the man who holds a sign asking for help on the corner.

I want to see the real needs of those around me.

I want to act upon the love that shows me a new direction of life.

Amen

Click here to read this week’s bulletin

May 24, 2015 Pentecost

Dear Believers in Christ,

Come, Holy Spirit! This is Pentecost, the birthday of the Church. We celebrate our reliance on God through the generous awakening of our lives in faith in the Holy Spirit.

The presence of the Holy Spirit may seem illusive, abstract or otherworldly. We cannot hug, touch or see the third person of the Trinity. It is difficult to be in relationship with the Holy Spirit whom we cannot see, or encounter in real life. Yet, when we sit with our lives in prayer and silence, when we examine our journey more closely, we see how God guides us, how we are loved even when times are tough.

There are many arguments about how the Church should serve, act and celebrate in the world today. Theology waves to the right and to the left, from one polar opposite to the other. Politics and religion are especially combined in our country. Yet, today we release our notions and our control over how we are to be in the world to God’s guidance and providence. We entrust our Church, our worship, our service, our lives and even the lives of the vulnerable into the hands of the Holy Spirit.

I want our parish to mean something in the world. I want us to make a difference in people’s lives. I want the Sacred Heart of Jesus to be a tender hope for the souls of every person in the Tri-Community. I desire consolation for so many people who fear the future, who want to end their lives, who live on pennies, who feel their lives and voices do not matter, who struggle to raise their children, who are never satisfied with their employment, who live only in fear in their old age and who remain restless in their relationships. Today is the day I entrust to the Holy Spirit every member of our community. I invite you to reflect on our community today, the ways in which we rely again on God:

Holy Spirit, guide us into a new awareness of our reliance on you.

Holy Spirit, come and make a home in our disappointments and resentments.

Holy Spirit, console those lost in drugs, alcohol, overeating and self-loathing.

Holy Spirit, retrieve our runaway children, those who cut themselves, those who are lost.

Holy Spirit, mend the lives of couples lost in infidelity and growing resentment.

Holy Spirit, heal the adult children of alcoholics, those confined to rage and restlessness.

Holy Spirit, run after our foster children, our orphans, our next generation without hope.

Holy Spirit, mend the hurts from our parents’ death, our family squabbles.

Holy Spirit, help us let go of our static faith, wanting nothing to ever change.

Holy Spirit, search out those who are drowning in cynicism and self-hatred.

Holy Spirit, break through hopelessness, comfort the weary, retrieve the lost.

Holy Spirit, reassure parents who fret about their children not being part of the Church.

Holy Spirit, welcome the searching, those with an inkling that life could be different.

Holy Spirit, build a church on our conviction that life has meaning and that we belong.

Holy Spirit, accept those who search for a home in the world.

Holy Spirit, create a worshipping community here from our hesitant voices of prayer.

Holy Spirit, comfort our family members in prison, those who long for freedom.

Holy Spirit, sustain the Church to serve those on the margins of society.

Holy Spirit, teach our theologians, our wisdom people, our next generation of leadership.

Holy Spirit, give hope for those who live in quiet desperation.

Holy Spirit, console our children who do not feel loved.

Holy Spirit, give hope to our veterans who worry about the future.

Holy Spirit, welcome those who fret about being accepted in our pews.

Holy Spirit, give us courage not to turn away from the problems people face today.

Holy Spirit, guide artists, musicians and poets to help proclaim your gospel of peace.

Holy Spirit, welcome our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters waiting for acceptance.

Holy Spirit, give courage for those with mental and physical disabilities in our parish.

Holy Spirit, give peace to those who long for justice, those who long to sing of love.

Holy Spirit, comfort the dying in our nursing homes and those who are homebound.

Holy Spirit, welcome all visitors, all sojourners, all who seek Jesus.

Holy Spirit, come and break through the walls of fear, loneliness and hatred.

Holy Spirit, Come!

Blessings on this Pentecost,

Fr. Ron

The Ascension of the Lord

Dear Believers,

We celebrate The Ascension of the Lord this weekend, a feast that prepares us from the gift of Pentecost next weekend. We read the challenging gospel from Mark that calls us into the mission of Christ in his physical absence. However, we are not alone in living the healing, love and purpose of Christ on the earth.

We all know and understand what it means to say “goodbye”. These moments of transition are never easy for anyone. This time of year, students say farewell to classmates and teachers for the summer or in the final goodbye of graduation. This is the time for transitions in employment and summer placements for students, interns, seminarians and so many people on the move. We say goodbye to the depths of winter and look forward with hope to longing days and warmer temperatures. Saying “goodbye” is never easy. I remember the last time I said goodbye to my mother in a nursing home before she died. Some of our goodbyes remain in our hearts our entire lives.

For some people transitions are feared. People who have lost homes in a flood or who live outside or who are on the run from families or the authorities have a fear of loss. The constant internal stripping of transition seems to always be present in life for people who have lost so much. These experiences invite us into the gospel today on this feast. The disciples were very perplexed at Jesus’ death. They could not understand why their friend had to die. Then the transition into the resurrection of Jesus took them awhile to understand that his peace and presence where really real. It seems that Jesus invited his followers into a constant state of transition and change. Life and faith are all about change.

Jesus departs from the disciples into heaven. Imagine how difficult this moment was for the disciples. Before he left, he told them that they would continue to do amazing things for people. They would drive out demons, speak new languages and pick up serpents and drink deadly poison without being harmed. This is an amazing list of achievements. I am not sure that I have done any of those things, but I know that I am still commanded by Jesus to continue his work on earth. The real message here is that there is more to the story. Jesus had to leave so that we would be able to see him everywhere in the gift of the Holy Spirit. The coming of the Holy Spirit will be celebrated next weekend on Pentecost.

Here are some questions to consider as we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord:

Sometimes I fear transitions in my life because I _______________

Often I fear letting go of_______________

One of my most difficult “goodbyes” has been_____________

I can understand the disciples’ fear of letting go of Jesus because____

I can image the disciple’s anxiety of going into the whole world to proclaim his message because ________________

The one thing I would have said to Jesus before he departed is__________