The Bible on Beads

Dear Parishioners,

In one of my previous parishes, my predecessor as pastor put out a challenge to the parishioners to read the Bible each day.  He even distributed bibles to anyone who asked for one.  Being a priest who majored in Sacred Scripture in the seminary, how could I not be an advocate of such an initiative?

While I still believe in the importance of reading and reflecting on Sacred Scripture, I also think that our turbulent times necessitate a revival/renewal of an ancient, time-tested practice--praying the daily rosary.  After all, these are days of intense spiritual warfare and in such circumstances we need spiritual weapons to do battle.

The history of the holy rosary reveals its power combating heresy (against the Albigensians) and providing victory in battle (the battle of Lepanto).  It was requested by our Lady herself during various Church approved Marian apparitions (Fatima).  It has tremendous spiritual benefits for those who faithfully pray it.

Simply stated, the rosary traces the highlights of the life, death, and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ and the life of his Mother Mary as found in Sacred Scripture and Church Tradition.  It is, in a sense, the bible on beads.  We can use the rosary to help us spiritually each day as we recall  and reflect on various mysteries of our faith and our salvation.

The repetition of the prayers is meant to help us get into a spiritual rhythm and a reflective mindset.  The meditation on the mysteries helps us to recall and reinforce essential truths of our faith.  The rosary also seeks the intercession of Our Lady who is essential to the plan for our salvation.  She is our spiritual mother guiding us and accompanying us on our journey of life.

If you are unfamiliar with the mechanics of praying the rosary or do not know the various mysteries given for meditation, these can be found very easily online and then printed out for reference.  The rosary has evolved with time even adding elements such as the Fatima prayer and the Luminous Mysteries.

The challenge that I put out to all of you who will read this is to pray the holy rosary daily.  Maybe it has to start with simply praying a decade each day (before going to bed?), but I hope that it will grow into a devotion that will bring much peace and consolation to your soul.  May I suggest that you pray it with the intention of bringing back to the faith someone in your family or among your friends who has left the Catholic faith or no longer practices it?  That intention should keep us all busy for quite some  time.

October is the month traditionally dedicated to the holy rosary.  Please take the time to strengthen, renew or begin this devotion in your personal spiritual life and in the life of your family.     

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Our Lady of Fatima and the 3 Visionaries

Homily for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

Why the "Life" Issue is the Essential Issue

Dear Parishioners,

Since 1973 when Roe v. Wade originally opened the door to legal abortion in our country, America has been on a continual downward spiral. What started as a 7-2 decision by US Supreme Court Justices who legislated rather than interpreted the law, over 60 million innocent children have been surgically or chemically killed.  The dissenting opinion of Justice Byron White (with Chief Justice William Rehnquist concurring) stated the following:

I find nothing in the language or history of the Constitution to support the Court's judgment. The Court simply fashions and announces a new constitutional right for pregnant women and, with scarcely any reason or authority for its action, invests that right with sufficient substance to override most existing state abortion statutes.

A member of the Pro-Life movement since 1995, Norma McCorvey, who was the Jane Roe in the 1973 Supreme Court decision, had the following to say years later:

It was my pseudonym, Jane Roe, which had been used to create the "right" to abortion out of legal thin air.  But Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee [her lawyers] never told me that what I was signing would allow women to come up to me 15, 20 years later and say, "Thank you for allowing me to have my five or six abortions.  Without you, it wouldn't have been possible."  Sarah never mentioned women using abortions as a form of birth control.  We talked about truly desperate and needy women, not women already wearing maternity clothes.

The simple reality is that unless human life matters, nothing else matters.  This world and all that is in it are important because all human beings are important.  Pope St. John Paul II's words at the Denver airport (August 12, 1993) remind us of this:

America has a strong tradition of respect for the individual, for human dignity and human rights. I gladly acknowledged this during my previous visit to the United States in 1987, and I would like to repeat today the hope I expressed on that occasion: "America, you are beautiful and blessed in so many ways . . . But your best beauty and your richest blessing is found in the human person: in each man, woman and child, in every immigrant, in every native born son and daughter . . . The ultimate test of your greatness is the way you treat every human being, but especially the weakest and most defenseless ones.  The best traditions of your land presume respect for those who cannot defend themselves. It you want equal justice for all, and true freedom and lasting peace, then, America, defend life!  All the great causes that are yours today will have meaning only to the extent that you guarantee the right to life and protect the human person".

When people argue that abortion is only one issue in this or any presidential election, the response of Priests for Life is worth noting:

The foundation of a house is only one of many parts of the house, but it is essential in order to build the other parts.  That is why the Catholic bishops have repeatedly asserted that among the many interrelated issues within a consistent ethic, abortion deserves "urgent attention and priority."

St. Teresa of Calcutta's words at the National Prayer Breakfast, (Washington, DC on February 3, 1994)—given in front of then President Bill and Hillary Clinton—included the following:

But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself.  And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?  How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion?  As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts.  Jesus gave even His life to love us.  So, the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love, that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child.  The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts.  By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems.  And, by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world.  That father is likely to put other women into the same trouble.  So abortion just leads to more abortion.  Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want.  This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.

I hope that you take the time to reflect on all of the above.  

Do not be deceived by arguments that omit or minimize the vital importance of voting Pro-Life!

                                                                                                                

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Homily for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

Homily for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

Religious Education of Our Youth

Dear Parishioners,

The religious education of our children is a very important concern of mine.  With Catechetical Sunday upon us (September 20, 2020), I think it is good to reflect on the faith of our children and young adults.

What is frustrating to religious education teachers, to priests and to others involved with the religious education of youth is the “disconnect” often present when it comes to formal religious instruction and to living out the faith on a daily basis.  Too often, in so many of my former parishes, students were dropped off for class but were not present in church for Mass on a regular weekly basis.  Let’s face facts.  We inevitably do not see anywhere near the same number of children at Mass as we may see registered for and coming to religious education classes.  Their absence is even more apparent during times like summer vacation and especially now during this unprecedented coronavirus pandemic.

What do we do?  An hour or two of religious education each week for several months each year is not and has never been an adequate solution.  The Church has said continually that parents are the first educators of their children when it comes to religious faith and practice.  When we bring a new life into the world we realize that we have to feed, clothe, and educate our children.  We want the best for them if we love them.  Hopefully we realize that we are also responsible for an immortal soul and the eternal salvation of a person as well.  We cannot leave this responsibility to chance in an often amoral--if not immoral--world.

Do I teach my children to pray and pray with them at various times daily?  Do I read Bible stories to them or teach them what Jesus said and did?  Do I take them to confession and show them (by my own example) that the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is important?  Outside of these extenuating circumstances, do I normally take them to Mass weekly?  Do my children understand that Jesus is truly present in the Most Holy Eucharist?      

What has been said for students in religious education programs is also true for our students who attend a Catholic school.  There must be a connection with the local parish, with weekly Mass attendance and with the everyday living out of the Catholic faith.

I have been a priest long enough (over three decades) to see the rapid decline of those who actively participate in the faith life of their parish.  (I also understand there may be multiple reasons for this.)  Unfortunately, however, each subsequent generation seems to know less and less about even some of the essential teachings of the Catholic faith.  This should be troubling for all believers. 

I always welcome your ideas and suggestions concerning how we can continue to close this gap and have our young people more active and involved in the life of the Church.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Homily for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Fr. Edward Namiotka

 

“God Will Still Be God Tomorrow”

Dear Parishioners,

The ancient Hebrews often saw God as the stable force in their lives.  They referred to Him as my rock, my fortress, my deliverer (Psalm 18:2) and my rock of refuge, my shield, my saving horn, my stronghold (Psalm 18:3).

I wonder how much we realize our true dependence on God for everything?

In our American society we might think of ourselves as rugged individuals.  We speak of the self-made man or woman.  We might save and plan financially for retirement so that we can be comfortable later in life, free of all worries.  With this mindset, perhaps there is an affinity to songs like My Way (Paul Anka or Frank Sinatra) or My Life (Billy Joel) because they speak of our independence and freedom to do what we want, when we want to do it. 

If it were not for God willing it, however, we would not be in existence at all.  Every breath we take, every thought we think, every action we attempt are all within God’s permissive will.  He allows them to happen.  All good things that we have, things that we might often take for granted, are pure gift from God—His Grace.

Yes, it is also true that God has given us intelligence and free-will.  We are made in His image and likeness and He gives us tools that we are expected to use responsibly.  We might sometimes think that we act independent of Him, especially when we choose to do something on our own, even against His will.  However, it is because He has given us free-will in the first place that we are capable of various diverse acts such as loving, forgiving, hating, or sinning at all.

Jesus reminds us not to worry about material things.  He speaks of the importance of relying on God for everything, and not on ourselves:

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. (Mt. 6: 25-29)

Jesus continues:

But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil. (Mt. 6: 33-34)

Personally, I use an expression with those I know, reminding them in the midst of worry, or during some trial and tribulation that “God will still be God tomorrow.”  God is always here—with us—in some mysterious, unseen way.  He remains constant, a rock, a source of refuge for us.  He is here now and will continue to be here for us tomorrow and beyond.

We should reflect often on God’s ever-abiding Divine Providence.  Once we realize that He is with us always, even the greatest of obstacles no longer seems so insurmountable.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor