June 27, 2021

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear Believers,

In Mark 5: 21-43, I can feel the press of the crowd longing for Jesus under the hot sun. Everyone seems to have caught a glimpse of what Jesus could offer. I so wonder how they knew. How did they get the word of his identity?  His healing touch seemed so different. His very presence seemed otherworldly, yet the earthiness of presence brought hope to everyone there.

I imagine the woman with the hemorrhage struggling to be well. Her body must have been exhausted, her search seemed meaningless after seeking so many doctors. I see her eyes cast down to the sand, her body and spirit rather lethargic.  Imagine the spark of faith inside her, the moment in her heart where she knew she needed to turn to Jesus. She was worn down, stripped of energy and options. Also, as a woman, she was culturally powerless, not having anyone else to help her.

Her faith sparked an inkling of Jesus’ care for her. She shyly approached him. I can feel her sincerity, her trust, her patience. “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.”  I can feel her longing, for all she desired was a moment of his presence. I can see her hand reaching out to his cloak along the roadside. I feel her genuine desire to be well. She believed that Jesus would set her free. Hope made a home within her. In Jesus, healing could be her friend.  

In these summer days, we may experience such a longing for healing. If only during this pandemic, we could touch the mystery of Jesus. If but only a morsal of love from him, we could find our way through the tragedies and uncertainties of our human life and the exhaustion of our souls.

We can touch him. We can reach out to him with simplicity, and he will be with us. The Eucharist reveals to us that not only can we reach out to touch him, but we can receive his Real Presence, his loving care and his hope for all of us. We have more than his cloak. At the Eucharist, we also become what we eat, that is as we share in his divine meal, we are given the courage to reach out to others who need help and healing. Jesus invites us then to become instruments of love, healing and hope in our world.

Faith is not a spectator’s sport. This gospel opens us up to healing and also invites us into our world to become agents for Christ’s love. We may first be shy and unwilling to live our vocation of hope in our world, but if we can begin with the inkling of faith to reach out to him, that is all we need to change our lives forever.

I wonder how the woman spent the rest of her day. She must have spun with enthusiasm and her family must have shared her healing joy. I am sure she slept well that night and woke up to an entirely new life. She must have spent days telling everyone. She certainly models for us that all we need is a small moment of faith and our lives can be different.

We are not alone in our desire for healing. It is the world at large that really desires to touch the cloak of Jesus where we are assured of love and his ability to heal our ills.

“If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” Immediately her flow of blood dried up.

God give you peace,

Fr. Ron

Learn more

Liturgical Press has received Honorable Mention recognition for Paul Turner’s book, The Station of the Cross in Atonement for Abuse and the Healing of All. Details

To learn more about the book, click here.

I remain so grateful to be part of this important work in the church. The issues of abuse are not subsiding anytime soon. We must be willing to pray through the pain. This book is the only resource I am aware of that helps congregations face the severity of abuse and to place our common pain in the dying and rising of Jesus Christ. My illustrations speak boldly of our longing to touch such mystery. With appreciation to Paul Turner and John Kyler, editor, and everyone at Liturgical Press.

Dear Followers of Jesus,

In Mark 4: 35-41, we have the privilege of entering a scene with Jesus in a boat loaded with fearful disciples. In the center of a storm, they fear for their lives and are frustrated with Jesus who is asleep. In the center of the chaos, the presence of Jesus is calm and trusting. 

I remember some years ago I had lunch with Fr. Clem (Fr. Leroy Clementich, CSC) when I served in Portland, Oregon. We had served together here at Sacred Heart. I remember talking on and on about some crazy thing I was disturbed about. He listened patiently. Then he turned to me at the lunch counter and said, “Oh, Ron, be at peace. Ron, Ron, just be at peace.”

His kindness runs through my veins all these years later. If my faith was true and lasting, peace would flow. Within this gospel text, I find the tale of Fr. Clem and I sitting close together on stools in a diner in downtown Portland. My fret could not shake his faith; my worry could not disturb his peace. I realized how often I am tied to such fear outside of my own life rather than gazing upon the face of Jesus curled up in the corner of my heart. 

This gospel is remedy for the fear that rocks all of our boats. The disciples were beside themselves with anxiety. They could do nothing about the storm but ride the waves. The chaos did not even awaken Jesus. We all face much fear in our daily lives. However, I wonder if we ever gaze underneath our fear and find the person of Jesus who has been guiding us all along. 

Sometimes faith is seen as adhering to a set of guidelines that make us prideful and sets us apart. Faith is not something we memorize, or think is written in stone. Faith is utter trust in God. Faith is absolute belief that all will be well by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This trust is not blind, but deeply rooted in our lives of intelligence and reality. The disciples learned in this situation that they could do little but ride the waves of the storm. They had to work the best they could to be safe, and in the end, they realized Jesus does not keep them from the storm, but is in the center of the storm all along. This is crucial to our lives of faith. 

The disciples deepened their wisdom in the boat in this scene of the gospel. We also must learn what to fight for, what to worry about and how to serve in the various storms that rock us on a daily basis. In the end, we have very little control over many of the storms that shake us up. Faith is not about relying on Jesus to keep the storms of doubt, grief, and hopelessness away, but to trust that he is within our hearts in every moment of life. 

Let us cast our worries on the Savior. Let us take our place among those who have believed before us, and even among the great mystics, that all will be well. The divine question that floats to the top of this gospel is so important in how we live and how we believe, “Why are you terrified?” This challenging question remains a lifeline in the chaos that gets us down on a daily basis. 

I pray we may listen to Jesus and to Fr. Clem. “Ron, Ron, just be at peace.”

God give you peace,

Fr. Ron Raab, CSC, Pastor

Sacred Heart of Jesus,

In your heart, we find ours.

In your heart, we know love.

In your heart, we sing of your miracles.

In your heart, we experience healing and home.

In your heart, steady mine.

In your heart, wash away fear.

In your heart, caress my loss.

In your heart, speak to me.

In your heart, suffering is named.

In your heart, justice is known.

In your heart, freedom is lived.

In your heart, you are found.

Dear Followers of Jesus,

Today’s gospel, Mark 4:26-34, invites us deeper into an image of the Kingdom of God. A small seed becomes a place of shelter, protection and new life for others. If we examine this image of seed as our hearts and lives, we shall awaken to new growth and perspective and even imagination about our lives of faith. 

I often hear parents tell me that the summer growth spurts of their children are such a wonderous gift of life to them. They say, “our children are growing like weeds.” Our children take on a life of their own, their own identity, their own talents and gifts, and it all happens very quickly, as if during the night such growth happens. Parents seem so delighted that their children become what God is inviting them to be. For some parents, of course, this is a real time of adjustment to let them flourish and to not smother such gifts. 

I admit that I also love to see young people with a beginner’s mind and a kernel of faith. In the riches of their own hearts, added with naivete, and much grace, young people begin to form a trust that the seed of hope given to them by God will flourish in the world. I adore watching the seed of faith grow and blossom into a life steady on the earth in trust and love. 

The seed of faith given to our young needs help to flourish. We all have to trust that the Kingdom of God is at hand in ways we can’t even imagine. We cannot grow bitter or angry as elders when we see the gifts of our young people change the world. Allowing a tree to grow takes patience, tenderness and good will. This also takes on our part, the ability to trust God and the next generation. Learning to trust our children is never easy, at least that is what parents tell me since they always want to be the parent of a child whom they have raised and loved. 

This image of the Kingdom of God is beautiful and offers us a garden of hope if we can learn to trust in life itself. The Kingdom can sprout up in the most unexpected places. The Kingdom is here even when we are so often blind to the process of life. The Kingdom changes us and what it offers us is a new way of seeing ourselves and the world. This gospel today invites us also into a new way of being in the world. The Kingdom reveals everything, even the smallest seed can grow and influence the world in so many ways. The Kingdom leads to truth, to fidelity, to solid hope, to a life of gratitude. All we have to do is stand back and watch it happen and trust in God who is always restoring life and hope in our world. 

Please take some time this week to pray for our children and our children’s children. In doing so, we may even see hope spring up in our lives fashioning within us a place where the Kingdom of God will surprise us. 

“To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants…”

God give you peace,

Fr. Ron Raab, CSC, Pastor

We announce the beginning of our capital campaign for the restoration of our former rectory at Sacred Heart Church. The renovated building will provide restrooms accessible for all people, a reception area for parish gatherings after Mass, and two classrooms.

We hope to begin construction in late summer and to be completed early next year. This is Phase 2 of Restore Our Heart Campaign for the celebration of our 100th anniversary on July 16, 2022.

For more information, go to our parish website: CLICK HERE.

Dear Followers of the Christ,

During this year of pandemic, we have all learned a great deal about food. At times, we have not been able to share a meal indoors with family and loved ones at a restaurant. We have been alone for many holidays that normally are brimming with food, drink and conversation. We have all watched on television or on the internet the long lines of people waiting for food distribution in various parts of the country. Many people who have never asked for food before, have been in those meandering lines because they lost jobs during this past year. We have also witnessed on various social media platforms many people who have served food to others, especially celebrity chefs who have given away their own money in order to feed people. We have learned much about food insecurity and hunger across the globe during our shut-in months from our global pandemic. Issues of food are still everywhere. 

We have also been distant from the Eucharist. Many people have not received communion in over a year. Many folks miss the Real Presence, and many have given up on returning. The Eucharist that we celebrate today is food for today, for tomorrow, and for all eternity. We celebrate today, the Body and Blood of Christ, commonly referred to as Corpus Christi. This is our real food. 

Today’s gospel, Mark 14: 12-16, 22-36, brings us into the tight quarters of the Upper Room. On the night before Jesus died, Jesus gathered those he had chosen to share a meal. In this intimate setting, Jesus shared his desire to be with his disciples forever. It was a meal unlike anything the disciples had shared before. In the midst of sharing a meal, he broke bread with them and told them he would be in the world forever. He held a cup of wine and repeated such empowering words. Through his suffering, his death and resurrection, he would remain always as food for people in despair, in loss and in the joy of life here on earth.  

In the context of the meal in the Upper Room, something else happened. He also took a basin and washed the feet of those who were with him. This act of generativity, of service, of extending the meal to help people is the beginning of sharing the actions of prayer and service. This action is key in the mission of the Church. The Eucharist is not just a meal or offering in the church sanctuary, but the Mass becomes a way of life for every Christian. 

We have celebrated forms of this mystery throughout the world ever since the Upper Room. As we lift up the Body of Christ at the altar, we also lift up those who are hungry for God, the sick, the lonely, and the tormented. As we lift up the Blood of Christ, we lift up those who sip the Cup of Salvation who are longing for sobriety, for release of doubt and sin and for a new sense of belonging. The Eucharist is action among us, transforming our hearts into the message of love that is the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom is right now, here before us on earth. 

The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ is not a personal piety alone. This feast celebrates us on earth since we are also named the Body of Christ through our baptism. We, as Church, are witness to what we celebrate at Mass. We also become what we celebrate. The Church challenges us to live this mystery as a people redeemed in love. We are the Body of Christ and we break open our lives in service and in integrity for other people, just as the host is broken to be shared among us. The Eucharist makes sense when the poor are fed, when the sinner is forgiven and when the oppressed find justice. The Eucharist makes sense when we are all brought into communion, into unity with God and one another. 

While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

God give you peace,

Fr. Ron Raab, CSC, Pastor

On Sunday May 23, 2021, John Kyler and I spoke at Cottonwood Center for the Arts about my art exhibit. John is the editor of the book, The Stations of the Cross in Atonement for Abuse and the Healing of All. This video is the unedited presentation and discussion. I appreciate John traveling from MN for this important conversation. About 130 people attended the two hour presentation. I am grateful for Sandy and John Goddard for their support in making this exhibit possible. The art exhibit ends tomorrow at Cottonwood.