Assortment of Major Subjects

05-13-2018Weekly ReflectionFr. Brian Jazdzewski

May 13th is the annual feast of Our Lady of Fatima. You will recall that last year we joined Catholics around the globe in honoring Our Lady of Fatima. Despite the fact that universal attention on Our Lady of Fatima has diminished, we continue to recognize the value of our Blessed Mother's intercession and compassion for each one of us, her children. We also couple the Blessed Mother's care as we join in honoring Mother's Day 2018. So, reflecting upon mothers is a worthwhile exercise today.

Most of us have a really nice memory of our own mothers. As Catholics, we are often invited to transfer that experience to the reality we experience as members of the Church. We often refer to the Church as our Mother. We often refer to Our Lady as Our Mother, Jesus did, too. With that in mind, if our moms were kind, compassionate, supportive and the like, it's easy for us to have a similar experience with the Church. On the other hand, if our moms were burdened with their own humanity, shortcomings and imperfections, those matters might become a stumbling block to our relationship with Mary or the Church. The challenge here is to continue to live in charity. We are not supposed to be pointing fingers and calling out our mothers' weaknesses, we are sometimes just called to embrace reality. And, if that reality has some pain, we need to invite Jesus into that place of pain to receive His healing graces. We remember that, on the cross, Jesus left His mother to us and us to His mother. We have to believe His plan was divinely inspired. We have to continue to do our part to allow Jesus to conform our will to His so that we continue to grow closer to Him each day. Will you invite Him to help you deepen your relationship with Mary and the Church this Mother's Day?

There are countless devotional books about the Blessed Mother which are intended to deepen our faith. I've come across this book and invite you to prayerfully read, or re-read, this paragraph. Consider this reflection on Ascension from Novena of Our Lady's Rosary by Bernard A. McGaffrey and Dr. Kelly Bowring:

O' Mary, Queen of the Universe, the forty days after the Resurrection were glorious ones for the infant Church. Jesus in speaking to the Apostles on the shore of Lake Tiberias made Peter the head of the Church and His Vicar on earth. On the Mount in Galilee the Master invested the Apostles with His power, commanding them to "go into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he that does not believe shall be condemned." Previously they had received the power to forgive and retain sins in the Sacrament of Penance. With His Mission on earth complete the Savior led them to the top of Mount Olivet, raised His hands to heaven, blessed them and ascended to the Father. Our Lady of the Rosary, obtain for me from your Son the grace of detachment so that understanding the vanity of worldly things I may adhere to you and heavenly realities.

Assignment Changes: Your prayers are welcome, invited and encouraged for Catholics around the country and in our Diocese of La Crosse now and into upcoming months. The Catholics in this group include the Staff and clergy of all parishes involved. In our diocese there are over twenty pastoral assignments which will change this spring and summer. Most specifically, we offer prayers for Fr. Prince Amala Jesuraja, Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Elmwood and Sacred Heart Parish in Spring Valley who will become the Pastor in our cluster on 5 July 2018. We also pray for the people of the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus-Saint Patrick in Eau Claire where Fr. Brian Jazdzewski will become Pastor on the same day.

Pentecost: Are you in the midst of the Novena to the Holy Spirit which was part of the bulletin last weekend? Are you going to remember to wear fire colored clothes to Mass next weekend? You and our Church will benefit from your support!

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