Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, you stood near the cross of your Son, Jesus. You stood next to him in each moment of his suffering. Mary, you could not change his suffering. You could not fix him or control the outcome of his pain. Mary, your presence taught you how to be patient for healing and to wait for his promise of eternal life. Mary, your posture toward suffering ultimately brought joy to the world. In the Cross of Christ, we find our eternal home.

Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, stand among us, the suffering Body of Christ on earth. Hold the dying, the weary, the lost, the outcast, the prisoner, the bereft, the lovelorn, the mentally ill, the undiagnosed, and the immigrant. Stand among us who weep. Stand among us torn apart by dissension and rebellion. Stand among us to hold tight to control, pride, and ego-centric ways. Stand among us who circle the wagons of our institutions and claim only the past as our home. Stand among us when our voices grow scratchy from shouting outrage against injustice. Stand among us when wars rage and indifference is our food. Stand among us when our memories dim from the chaos we experience from natural disasters, unspeakable moments of abuse and the threats of global violence. Stand among us when addictions threaten our futures. Stand among us in our anguish. Stand among us when grief overwhelms us and we become weak with guilt and shame. Stand among us when we bury a loved one. Stand among us when we take our final breath.

Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us

Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, is the Patroness of the Congregation of Holy Cross. She speaks of our posture to stand among people who suffer.

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

September 14, 2022

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,

Because by your Cross you have redeemed the world.

Jesus surrendered his life to the Father’s will. His death gave way to new life. His suffering opened the way to salvation. Jesus surrendered for the good of all who follow him.

We surrender our lives to the Father’s will. We follow Jesus. Our suffering leads to salvation. We surrender for the good of others and for our communion with God’s love.

We carry our suffering in our hearts and in our bodies. We surrender our health, our sin, our past, our guilt, and our shame in the name of Jesus Christ. We learn to live in God so to help heal the world.

We carry the suffering of others to help the world know we are not alone. We touch the tears of those who weep, those exhausted by loss. We immerse our lives in the effects of storms, fires, natural disasters, wars, violence, pandemics and sudden death, so to help others live a new life in hope and healing.

The Cross of Christ gives way to union with God. Pain is eased in the Father’s grace. We surrender all ego, pride and certainty.  We carry our crosses today to live in peace and forgiveness here in this moment on earth. Life in union with Christ Jesus shows us the way home to the Father’s side in the Kingdom of Heaven.

September 10, 2022

On Friday, September 10, 1982, I professed final vows in the Congregation of Holy Cross along with three classmates. The late-afternoon celebration took place at Sacred Heart Church (now the Basilica of the Sacred Heart) at the University of Notre Dame, in South Bend, Indiana. The four of us were ordained deacons the following day, Saturday September 11, 1982 in the chapel at Moreau Seminary on the campus of Notre Dame. Bishop Richard Hanifen ordained us deacons. He served the Colorado Springs Region of the Archdiocese of Denver and later was the first bishop of the Diocese of Colorado Springs in 1984. We requested Bishop Hanifen to ordain us deacons because we were the first class in the novitiate in Cascade, Colorado in 1978-79. He is now 91 and retired in Colorado Springs, CO.

A few weeks before I professed my final vows, I was standing in a group of Sisters of the Holy Cross. I was conversing with Sister Katherine Reichert, CSC., who was very ill at the time with bone cancer. She was vibrant and influential in many lives. She stood on two crutches in the middle of those religious women. I could smell her approaching death. We chatted about my decision to make final vows.

She asked me with great intention, “Are you ready?” I said, “I am ready today. However, I worry about forty years from now. I do not want to be an old-fart priest. The last thing the church needs is another old-fart priest.” Sister Kathy laughed and then she became very centered and whispered,” Well, when the next forty years are not promised, it sure makes today seem all the brighter, doesn’t it?”

Sister Kathy died shortly after I professed vows. I remember this conversation as if it were yesterday. I just can’t believe it is now forty years later. I still feel like a spiritual beginner. Recalling this conversation still challenges me to live in the moment, to celebrate what is and not what I hope will be or what I shall become. A lesson for all the ages, from a holy woman to a young man. I am grateful for the days and now the years as I begin the next forty…

Click here for obituary for John Charles Raab

Prayers of the Faithful

Funeral for John Charles Raab in Edwardsburg, Michigan

Friday September 9, 2022

Priest: Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and sits at the right hand of the Father, where he intercedes for his Church. Confident that God hears the voices of those who trust in the Lord Jesus, we join our payers to his.

For John, who in baptism was given the pledge of eternal life. May he now be admitted to the company of the saints in heaven and may he find his true peace.

We pray to the Lord.

For John, who shared the miracle of the Eucharist on earth, may he now be nourished at the Table of Lord in God’s eternal kingdom. May John know the bounty of God’s mercy and forgiveness.

We pray to the Lord.

For all who suffer on earth, for people without hope, for friends who are ill, for people who live with depression and anxiety, and for people who cannot make ends meet. May we all find a home in the beauty of God’s companionship and in our service to others.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who help create a home for others on earth, for problem solvers, woodworkers, electricians and plumbers, for people who create and invent with hammers and nails, with saws and drills, all to bring contentment and peace in our daily lives.

We pray to the Lord.

For all who hunger for food and love, for all who prepare nourishment for others, for farmers, butchers, cooks, and for those who wear aprons of service to provide food for family tables.

We pray to the Lord.

For the end of violence, wars, conflict, and hatred on earth. May God’s mercy and forgiveness find a home in every human heart under heaven.

We pray to the Lord.

For those who grieve, especially for John’s wife, Darlene, his children and grandchildren, and for all his friends and relatives. May we seek God in our anguish and weep upon the shoulders of those we love.

We pray to the Lord.

For our deceased relatives and friends who have shown us how to love and how to serve, especially for members of the Raab, Kirkpatrick, and Muldoon families.

We pray to the Lord.

Priest: Ever gracious and merciful God, receive our grieving hearts for our brother, John, and our entire lives in the abundant promise of Jesus Christ who is Lord forever and ever. Amen

Funeral arrangements for my brother, John Charles Raab:

Thursday September 8, 2022

Visitation: 5:00pm-7:30pm

                Our Lady of Lake Catholic Church

                24832 US-12

                Edwardsburg, Michigan 49112

                Phone: 269-699-5870

Friday September 9, 2022

Mass of Christian Burial: 11:00am (visitation 10:00)

                                          Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church

                                          Edwardsburg, Michigan

My latest article published in Give Us This Day, by Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN.

Stretch Out Your Hand

One of my first funerals as a priest was for an elderly woman who from birth had lived with a clenched fist. Her family told me that at her death, the muscles in her hand completely relaxed. They wept when they realized their mother was open and at ease when Jesus welcomed her home. They told me they believed her heart had done the same. I remember glancing in the casket at the wake to see her open hand.

As believers in Christ Jesus, we may be restored in many ways. Much like when Jesus healed people on the sabbath, faith opens our hearts even beyond the restrictions of tradition. In Jesus, new life abounds after our hearts wither from divorce or alcoholism. Only with faith can we open selfishly clenched fists. Only with faith can we open our hands after finger pointing and blaming a stranger on the street for not having a job. Open hands receive and offer love.  

In Luke’s Gospel especially, Jesus lifts up those who are bowed down by poverty and loss. He stretches his love beyond the law. The Gospel is living and active, opening our hearts to Jesus’ redemption in our own lives. Our hands and hearts open wide to hold the mystery of love, no matter the weight of law.

Openness comes only after an encounter with divine forgiveness and acceptance. Openness comes from the generosity of redemption.

With open hands, I pray for all who ache to hold such a mystery.

            Fr. Ronald Raab, CSC

John Charles Raab, my only brother, died unexpectedly this evening at his home in Edwardsburg, Michigan. He was 74. God give him peace.

Sunday September 4, 2022

Creating a scaffolding around the human heart in order to follow Jesus Christ takes a lifetime. For the structures created in grace are not of human making. The structures consist of becoming human, of knowing who we are in God and cooperating with God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness.

The scaffolding that surrounds our life plan must consist of deep faith in Jesus Christ. We are not just ragtag followers of a do-gooder. We become a reflection of his passion, death, and resurrection. The gift that holds our hearts in place no matter our fear, our panic or our loss, is becoming one with him in his loss and in his new life. If we take our faith seriously, then we will be able to reject what is not good for us and live in the freedom of God’s incredible love. This love may even take us beyond relationships with brother or sister.

The structures that hold our hearts in place consist of profound prayer, loving service to others, and a deep longing for our own lives to know who we are and whose we are. Many human events and circumstances get in our way. They tear down the hope that secures us. These patterns of addiction, false searching, people pleasing, and depression because of fear, shred the structures of love that hold us together.

In Luke 14:25-33, we come to understand that God’s love creates our lives from the beginning. The structure of God’s plan is ever before us. We live not in creating our own journey, but finally becoming the people we are meant to become in his name. Jesus Christ creates a scaffolding of love within us, the basic structure that constantly is at work in us to bring about the kingdom on earth. With God’s support and love in place, we will never be lost, we will never build a false hope within, and we will maintain the love that will finally bring us home.

God give you peace.

Ron

August 28, 2022

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ronald Raab, CSC

Prayers of the Faithful/Reflection

O God, offer us, your followers, food that will last. Do not delay to feed us with courage as we witness in our day the many changes within the church. Feed us as we face derision. Feed us as we ache to satisfy the many factions in our pews. Feed us as we wait for unity. Feed us because we cannot feed ourselves. Help us to know the food of heaven is here on earth. Help us to taste such a mystery this day.

O God, you invite us to your banquet. You invite us as we are, lonely, emotionally crippled, and sometimes spiritually asleep. You invite us when we resist, you encourage us when we are lost. You offer us love when we feel so very alone. We know your banquet is the place of nourishment, yet so often we want to turn away or go back to bed. Restore your vision of community within us in this time on earth when individuality is our only food. Help us envision the day when your food becomes a reality on earth when we finally become your people, broken open in love, unified with love, and given to others to serve the least among us.  

O God, instill within us a new humility. True humbleness is lost on us these days when our sense of entitlement is our motivation. Push aside our pride, tidy up our conscience, sturdy our self-esteem, but most of all, allow us to come before you knowing you are the source of life. We can do nothing without you. Restore humility within us, not the fake sense of humility that we think shrinks us, but the true and beautiful reality that guides us to you. Help our children come to you when their lives don’t turn out as they plan. Help our elderly find you when ill- health and discouragement settles into their bones. Humility does not dirty our gifts. The holy humility in you changes us when we finally know we can’t live this life on our own. Humility is finally that grace when we fully realize we live only in you.

O God, come to us and welcome us to your table. Your food is not just to satisfy our souls. Your food challenges us. Your food gives us purpose on earth and heals the darkest places of our lives. Your food is nourishment we cannot discover in a counselor’s office or in a self-help book. Your food has power beyond our imagining to heal the most self-sufficient and the addicted. Your food is sheer mystery. Your food invites us to view our lives differently. Your food connects us to our deepest selves so we can serve you unreservedly. Your food does not end but is constantly broken for the life of all believers. Your food is not stingy. Your food spreads hope when we finally understand that we are hungrier than we first imagined. Your food is sacred Word. Your food is living Sacrament. Around your table we find not just our friends but the diversity of humanity singing one song, a hymn of eternal love.

O God, invite us to be seated among those who challenge us. We accept your invitation to enjoy the banquet. When we feed on self-pride, invite us to sit next to those who struggle with mental anguish and the effects of being sexually abused as children. We shall find life among those who have searched for deep meaning and purpose. When we find pride in our accomplishments, seat us among people who rely on you for their creativity and daily work. Then we will know we can do nothing without you when we hear people with genuine faith. When we live in pretense and false-power, seat us next the truly wise and most humble. It is at your banquet where you teach us the meaning of real nourishment. It is feeding among the humble where we can finally be hungry for the things that matter.

O God, give us you alone in our hunger. Feed us in your kindness. Offer us the food of your presence and the hope of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection. Your banquet is bounty. Your banquet is our constant home. Your banquet leads us home to you. It is our honor to dine with you.