Parade of Magi

The Nativity Scene at Old St. Mary in Milwaukee

It felt like a long time since I'd had some quiet, alone time with the Lord, so I eagerly agreed to stay after Mass and wait for my daughter while she attended her Sunday school class as the rest of my family headed home.  I found a vacant back pew and waited for the last of the Sunday worshipers to make their way out of church.  A peaceful bliss ensued as I sat alone in the darkened church with Jesus for my only company.

But soon I noticed a young girl who quietly entered and sat in the back pew across the aisle from me. It wasn't long after that when the sacristan came in to prepare for the next Mass.  After he left, a young mother came in with her baby, softly cooing and they walked to the front of church to admire the Nativity scene.  Then three young men came in and walked around the perimeter of the church, quietly whispering and viewing the beauties of the church.  Next, a Sunday school teacher came in with her young students.  They sat in the front row of church in silent adoration.  Then the sounds of the choir beginning practice in the balcony above filled with space with joyful noise.  Before I  knew it my daughter was tapping my shoulder, telling me her class was over and we left church for the journey home.

I was struck by the steady number of visitors who came and went during the short space of time between Masses on the Feast of the Epiphany.  We were all Magi, looking for the Babe, hoping to give him the gift of our love, however briefly that might have proved to be.  The sight of so many people coming and going enhanced my own prayer and brought me to want to adore the Infant King ever more deeply.  I'm certain we were all made the better for drawing close to Him and are forever changed by His Love.

My favorite picture of a long-ago Ephiphany celebration in the Bender household.  The children are holding star-covered boxes filled with chocolate stars, starburst candies and starlight mints.  We had followed the star throughout our house looking for the Infant Jesus and when we found him we celebrated with King Cake.

St. Anne Street Shrine at Old St. Mary in Milwaukee

On a beautiful autumn Sunday afternoon, following the 11:30 am Mass, a group of about 150 people processed behind the Saint Anne Society of Old St. Mary Parish and Fr. Tim Kitzke for the unveiling and dedication of a new Saint Anne Street Shrine that looks out from the parish offices on Milwaukee Street upon all who pass by the downtown neighborhood.

Especially poignant is the fact that a "gentleman's" strip club had been trying to purchase a building across the street from the parish office but their license was denied by a 15-0 vote of the city's aldermen.  I'm sure that the prayerful efforts of Fr. Tim Kitzke and the parishioners of Old St. Mary, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary and St. Anne, had a lot to do with that decision.

Regarding the shrine, Fr. Tim pointed out that the Virgin Mary in St. Anne's arms is looking back toward the parish and St. Anne is looking out to the city, modeling her strength and dignity as a woman for all of Milwaukee.  The Shrine will sanctify the city and be a blessing to all those who walk past the parish.

What follows below is the wonderful and moving introduction and blessing given by Fr. Tim during the dedication of the shrine:

Introduction:

Today is a momentous occasion in the history of our parish as we celebrate this dedication of this street shrine to St. Anne, the mother of Mary our Blessed Mother.

St. Anne was a faithful servant of God in whose womb was conceived the Immaculate Virgin Mary.  Through her example Mary grew in fidelity to the Lord as servant most pure.  When the archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary she was filled with grace to become the Mother of Jesus, and St. Anne his maternal grandmother.

Today we stand in the shadows of our church to dedicate this image of St. Anne for public veneration.  We bless our city with this shrine so that all who pass here may know of our commitment to the mission of Jesus that the doors of our church are always open and welcoming. This public expression of faith is built upon the traditions of our immigrant ancestors who came here from Bavaria, Puerto Rico and Africa.

This shrine celebrates the dedication and the generosity of the St. Anne society in our parish who for over 170 years have been committed to the mission of Old St. Mary.  The initial bricks of our church structure were hand made by the first members of the society in 1844.  They have worked selflessly since to ensure that all who seek the Lord Jesus can do so in our church.

May this image remind us that the saints are ever near and intercede for us ceaselessly and we join them in the marvelous Communion of Saints and sing the praises of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Fr. Tim offered a prayer of blessing for the shrine.

Following the sprinkling rites with holy water, Fr. Tim incensed the shrine.

Blessing:

Lord, we bless you for you alone are holy, and because in your compassion for sinners you sent into the world your Son, Jesus Christ, the author of all holiness.

He sent the Spirit to sustain his newborn Church, a voice that teaches us the secrets of holiness, a breeze that strengthens and refreshes, a fire that sears our hearts with love, the seed of God that yields the harvest of grace.

Today we praise you for the gifts of the Spirit bestowed upon St. Anne in whose honor we dedicate this street shrine.  May we follow in the footsteps of the Lord keeping before us the example of St. Anne, mother and grandmother, and grow to a maturity measured not by nature but by our faithfulness in Christ.

May we proclaim the Gospel daily in word and in deed, shouldering our crosses daily and extend our hand to others in your service.

St. Anne is for us a witness to the life of the Gospel and stands in your presence to intercede for us. Grant that we may benefit from her intercession.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Prayer to St. Anne

Good St. Anne
you were especially favored by God
to be the mother of
the most holy Virgin Mary,
the Mother of our Savior.
Through your intercession
with your most pure daughter
and with her divine Son,
kindly obtain for us the grace
and the favor we seek.
Please secure for us also
forgiveness for our past sins
the strength to perform faithfully
our daily duties
and the help we need
to persevere in the love
of Jesus and Mary.
Amen.

St. Anne's Women's Society
History:
Est. October 6th, 1844
Most Reverend John Martin Henni, D.D.
Bishop of Milwaukee

Instrumental in the construction
and decoration of the church.

Mission:
To support the parish Liturgical life
with items necessary for sacred worship.

To support their membership
through prayer, spiritual enrichment and study.

Dedicated:
To St. Anne
Mother of the Virgin Mary
2015

St. Anne and the Virgin Mary seem to be standing in the middle
of the downtown neighborhood in this reflection through the shrine's plexiglass.

Old St. Mary exterior

Old St. Mary Exterior

A Birthday Party for the Blessed Mother-UPDATED

Roses for Our Lady in Milwaukee has an annual tradition of celebrating the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a Mass or Holy Hour and an outdoor Eucharistic Rosary Procession each year. This year that celebration took place at Old St. Mary in downtown Milwaukee.

We are blessed to be joined by the Dominican Sisters, and this year they shared the facebook post with details of the event with the caption "Let's party!"  Doesn't that make you smile?  And it really is a party; a party that sends the devil running, as Fr. Tim Kitzke, Vicar General for the Urban Ministry in the City of Milwaukee and Spiritual Advisor for Roses for Our Lady, told us during his homily.

This year our procession walked right past a downtown location where a gentleman's strip club is being proposed.  Fr. Tim has been working hard to fight against that club being allowed a license, and has been asking for the help and prayers of everyone who attends Mass at Old St. Mary.  As our procession moved past the empty building of the proposed club we paused to pray a decade of the rosary there, and then Fr. Tim blessed the building with Our Lord in the monstrance.  At the very instant that he blessed the building, the church bells rung out.  It was a powerful moment of prayer! Fr. Tim said that he felt that the ringing of the bells was a sign from God.  Let's continue to keep the devil on the run as we invoke Our Lady's assistance in all that we do!

UPDATE:  The Milwaukee Common Council voted 3-2 against granting a license to the Gentleman's Club on September 17th.  Much thanks is due to Fr. Tim and all who worked and prayed to keep it away from our downtown neighborhood so close to Old St. Mary and St. John the Evangelist Cathedral, and most of all, thanks be to God for all of His blessings.  Story here and here.

(All photos courtesy of Jazmin Trujillo)

Dust

I had volunteered to lector for the Ash Wednesday Mass, and when I arrived in the sacristy before Mass, Dave, the sacristan, asked me if I would help distribute ashes.  With forty-eight years of experience as an ash-receiver to my credit, I had never once distributed ashes before, and I found the experience to be deeply moving.

Dave handed me a small card with the words "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel" written upon it.  I clutched the card tightly during the first half of Mass and glanced at it over and over again, afraid that I would forget the words.

When the time came to distribute the ashes, Fr. Joe invited those who were helping to come to the front of church to receive their ashes first.  When he firmly placed the cross of ashes upon my forehead, Fr. Joe said, "Remember, you are dust, and to dust you shall return."  Maybe he didn't get the cue card, I thought.  But I decided that it would be easier to remember to speak about dust as I was smearing it upon foreheads and so I followed Fr. Joe's example.  After the helpers received their ashes, Fr. Joe turned to me and asked me to place the ashes upon his forehead.

My hand trembled as I shoved my thumb into the dish of ashes, and faintly drew a cross upon Fr. Joe's forehead,  whispering the reminder to him that he was dust.  Something about this sinful woman reminding a holy priest of his littleness felt extremely humbling.  But maybe it wasn't because he was a priest.  Maybe, I was soon to discover with each forehead that was presented to me, distributing ashes was meant to humble the distributor as much as the receiver.  

The church was standing room only, and soon I was smearing crosses upon the elderly, children and babies.  It wasn't long before it felt like a physically taxing exercise as I bent down for the children and reached up for those who were tall.  When my two youngest children and my husband stood before me, all smiles, I recalled all of the moments when I had traced the cross upon their forehead in a blessing, with a clean and dry thumb, sans the ashes, and the words, "God bless you" instead of "You are dust."  

source

With each person who stood before me, waiting for the reminder of their sinful humanity as they embarked upon yet another Lenten season,  I thought of Christ, with his face down in the dirt of the Via Dolorosa during his three falls and I wished I were wiping the dirt off of their faces, like Veronica, instead of marking them with it.  And yet, when I washed the ashes off my own forehead before I went to bed that night, I prayed that a faint shadow of the cross would remain, reminding me of my need for Him and my gratitude for all that He suffered for the likes of me.

Marked

I receive the ashes that label me as His child, His own.

The dust flakes down into my eyes, flirting with my lashes and
blurring my vision of worldly things, reminding me that the
spiritual realm can often contain that which is dirty, dusty and dark.

The ash that marks me settles deep within my soul,
mingling with the sorrow and joy that God's love
has carefully placed within my life.

I am marked as His own and will carry that mark
from my forehead to my soul
beyond this season of Lent and into forever.

Kneeling Pilgrimage

Old St. Mary Church-photo credit:  panoramio

I'm fascinated by stories of pilgrims who visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe or the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, and, for various reasons, such as a greater sacrifice or in atonement for their sins, perhaps, walk to the Shrine on their knees, often while praying the rosary.  Even though many wear knee pads for this kneeling pilgrimage, the pain must still be quite difficult to endure.  Although I like the idea of such a drastic form of prayer, I'm not sure that I could muster up the resolve to make a pilgrimage of that nature.  But now, I've found my own little form of making a kneeling pilgrimage which is not too difficult too endure, and which brings immediate rewards of satisfaction, and hopefully, many spiritual rewards as well.

As I help to clean Old St. Mary Parish each week, one of the tasks I have taken on is polishing the name plates at the end of each pew.  Back in the 1980's, when the church was renovated, memorial donations were made, and to honor those people on whose behalf donations were made, brass name plates were made and attached to both sides of the pews in church.  Over time, the name plates become tarnished and the names are hard to read.  So, I get down on my knees, and walk from pew to pew with a bottle of brass polish and an old rag, to bring those brass plates back to the gleam and shine they once knew when they were first installed.

photo credit:  panoramio

My pilgrimage is hardly difficult as I kneel on soft carpeting, inside a warm and beautiful church, beneath the soft glow of the antique lights, always under the watchful and loving eyes of Jesus in the tabernacle.  As I make my way down the aisle, I offer a prayer for each of those parishioners who who have gone before me and who are forever memorialized in brass, as well as for their families.  It's both a prayer of gratitude for their example of faith, and of petition of trust for the needs of their soul.  I can't help but reflect deeply upon the fact that the very walls of the church are soaked with so many whispered prayers offered throughout the long history of the church until they are drenched with faith, hope and love.  It is an honor to make that walk of faith upon my knees, in prayer for so many holy people whose perseverance built the very church that I have come to love, and to join my own prayers to those that have gone before me.

photo credit:  panoramio

Polishing Prayer Covers

On Thursday mornings I have 45 minutes to spare between Mass and the beginning of my work day, so I volunteer to help clean the church and I have been greatly enjoying taking part in this small, hidden way to serve the Lord and my parish.  My chores have included cleaning the windows of the doors, polishing the holy water fonts, and dusting  the sacristy.  Recently, I've been asked to polish the brass candle covers that a parishioner had lovingly made for the large red votive candles some 30 years ago.

When Mass is over, a few people remain on their knees, silently praying in the darkened church.  I allow myself a few minutes on my knees to offer my own prayer of thanksgiving before I enter the sacristy and find the rags and polish in the cupboard.  I remove several candle covers from the large votives and take a seat at the long sacristy table in view of the crucifix and the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  As I work the polish into the metal, removing the soot and restoring the brass to a high sheen, I think of all of the prayers that the soot represents.  The black grime that I wipe away came from wisps of smoke rising to the Lord and the belief that He will hold on to those prayers, warm them with His love and kindly answer them in the most favorable of ways.  I consider my work to be a prayer united with the prayers of the many people who have deposited their donation into the tin box, removed the bamboo stick from the sand, gently igniting it with the flame of an already-lit candle, and then placing the flame intentionally upon an unlit wick, whispering a word or two of prayer for a loved one, trusting that the flame will carry their prayer to heaven and the Heart of God.

With ten minutes of polishing, the gritty reminders of the old prayers are wiped away, and I return the now-shiny cover to the candle where it awaits the soot from future prayers of flame.  Then, I light my own prayer candle of intentions, a nosegay of prayer filled with words of love and gratitude, to my crucified Lord and the Sacred Heart of Jesus on behalf of the people I hold closest to my heart, before departing for work.

Prayer to Say When Lighting a Candle

Accept, dear Lord, this votive vigil light, to burn before Thy shrine,
it's gentle rays to offer Thee, this lowly heart of mine.
While my poor soul, weighed down with care, will often fondly turn,
to Thy dear shrine, where through the hours, this vigil light shall burn.
This light my prayer shall keep alive, though I am far away,
amid the world's distracting scenes, my place it takes to pray.
Thus through the toilsome day of life, this silent sentinel,
it's vigil long and loving keeps, my love for Thee to tell.  Amen.

Bay Beach Amusement Park

It's been a long summer for my youngest teens.  With both parents and the older teens working, the summer days grew long and dull for them.  They were forced to entertain themselves with creative (and dangerous) little activities such as mattress surfing down the stairs, practicing cartwheels and handstands in the living room, and taking selfies while hanging upside down on the furniture.

Their mother, too, was showing signs of becoming summer stir-crazed as well, spending her spare time cutting out paper doll sisters just for the fun of it as if she had nothing better to do with her time.  But they are terribly sweet, aren't they?

It seems it was time for a badly needed vacation.  So I took a few days off work at the end of summer for some family fun including a day of delight at  Bay Beach Amusement Park  in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  Bay Beach has been in continuous operation since 1892 and is the 9th oldest amusement park in the United States.

A summer day at Bay Beach is a family tradition going back to my own childhood.  My parents would take my eight siblings and I there every summer to enjoy the ten cent rides. And today Bay Beach remains an extremely reasonable family destination.  There is no admission fee, the parking is free, they boast fabulous picnic grounds with lots of playground equipment, and the price for rides is a very low twenty-five to fifty cents each! My family of seven can play all day for under $40!

My original intention for our end of the summer trip to Green Bay was to stop at Our Lady of Good Help Shrine in Champion, for Mass, but the first Mass of the day wasn't until 11:30 AM, so we chose to attend the 7 am Mass at our parish, Old St. Mary in Milwaukee, and then we made the two hour drive and arrived at the park just before it opened for the day.  All of the lines for the rides were short allowing us plenty of time to ride our favorites, like the bumper cars and the scrambler, again and again.  As we watched all of the many people at the park with near-constant smiles on their faces, my daughter remarked, "This is THE place for fun!"

In the last few years, the park has added the Zippin Pippin Roller Coaster for the low price of one dollar per ride.  It looked pretty tame as far as roller coasters go, so I was eager to give it a try.  I don't know what I was thinking.  It was horribly scary!  Whenever I'm afraid, I turn to my Mother for support.  As I took my seat and pulled the safety bar down, I began to pray the Hail Mary silently.  As the roller coaster took the first plunge down, my silent prayer became a scream.  I was praying, "Haaaaaillll Mary, FULL OF GRACE, the Lord is WITH THEE!!!!"  throughout the entire duration of the ride.  I'm sure that the Blessed Mother heard that prayer all the way at her Shrine in Champion even though we didn't actually go there!

We finished off our end of summer day of delight with a stop in my hometown, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, for a visit to the world's best and most charming candy store and ice cream shop, Beerntsen's Confectionery.  The long days of summer may be drawing to an end, but our memories of family fun  at Bay Beach will remain with us for the rest of our lives.

For your own virtual taste of the Zippin Pippin, visit this link or watch the video at the end of this post. 

Jack and Mary by the Bay

Never too old for the classic helicopter!

Let's fly away!

the swings

a selfie on the train

love the carousel

Zippin Pippin Rollercoaster

outside the arcade

Beernsten's Confectionery

the inside of sweetness

yum!

3 Reasons I Love Catholicism Vol. 5

Here I am at this wickedly late hour,  joining Micaela at California to Korea and sharing three of my favorite things about my beloved Catholic faith that are resonating within my soul this month...

1.  Confession and Forgiveness:  They go together, don't they?  That day when my daughter and I did battle over teenage fashion like mothers and daughters sometimes do, we were both left feeling emotionally raw from anger and sorrow and poor judgment.  Twelve-year-olds aren't the only ones who suffer from growing pains and the struggle to mature.

So the next night when Dad took the boys to the baseball game, mother and daughter headed downtown to Gesu's dark basement church for confession, and we stood in line, waiting to beg forgiveness from our Lord.  Ancient Fr. Herian came creaking around the corner in his cassock that hung limply from his bony frame and we each took our turn in the box.  I love that Fr. Herian.  He spoke of how confession is for encouragement and told me to spend the month of August praying for courage.  Then he pointed out the crucifix hanging on the wall above my head.  He asked me to look long and hard at Jesus suffering and dying there and to repeat after him three times, and together we prayed, "Jesus, crucified for me, have mercy on me, a sinner.  Jesus, crucified for me, have mercy on me, a sinner.  Jesus, crucified for me, have mercy on me, a sinner."  I left the confessional with a smile on my face to find my daughter who was silently kneeling as she offered her penance.  We embraced and sighed with contentment and peace.

Then we headed over to Cempazuchi, my favorite Mexican restaurant on Brady Street, part of "The Fashionable East Side", and we sat outside and ate and talked and laughed and prayed with the Angelus Bells ringing at St. Hedwig's across the street and watched the people walk past and we had a lovely time. The best mother/daughter time ever.  And all is forgiven.  And the mercy of our loving God warmed our souls and we relaxed in His love which embraces us both.

 2.  Processions:  There are times when this is not exactly on my favorites list.  There are times when processions cause me too much stress and worry and I fail to trust in the Lord thinking that I have to control everything.  That's because I'm the procession planner for Roses for Our Lady and the devil hates it when Catholics gather by the hundreds and bring the Eucharist out into the street and pray the rosary on a loudspeaker to draw attention to our beautiful faith.  So that evil one makes sure he gives me all he's got to try to keep me from getting my job done.  But he always fails because Our Lady's love is so much stronger than his ugly hatred.  She crushes his head every time.  So there are always difficulties and challenges when planning our Eucharistic Rosary Processions, but when the pieces finally fall together, it is a beautiful sight to behold, and I will do it again and again for the joy that it brings to my Mother who continually suffers from the sins of this world.

Roses for Our Lady's May Crowning Eucharistic Rosary Procession

Bishop Hying, Fr. Tim Kitzke, Fr. Enrique Hernandez, Fr. Paul Schneider, OFM Conv. (just before his ordination)

Fr. Matthew Widder with Our Lord

If you are in the Milwaukee area, you will want to join Roses for Our Lady and Bishop Donald Hying at our September 8th procession in honor of the Blessed Mother's Birthday and on October 6th in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary.   They will both be equally beautiful celebrations!  Details can be found here.

3.  Homilies:  A good homily is food for the soul. It has the power to nurture and inspire me to joyfully live my faith and will often remain in my thoughts throughout the upcoming week.  Of course, I've never heard anyone say that they love a dull, uninspiring homily, so I know I'm not alone in my love for a good homily.

The thing about a homily that makes it so special is that it's the breaking open of the Gospel reading, not simply a sermon about any topic that happens to be on the pastor's heart at the present moment.  Through the homily, we learn and understand a bit more about the Gospel and how we are called to live it in our daily lives. We are given a glimpse into the very heart of Jesus through the words of the priest.

What are three of your reasons for loving Catholicism?  List them in the comments or join Micaela and write your own blog post about them!

Old St. Mary

My family and I recently left the large suburban parish where we had been members for 21 years.  It wasn't an easy decision to make; it took us ten years (seriously) and it involved much prayer and discussion.  But over the course of the last few years, worship there felt more distracted than prayerful.  It was time to find a new church to call home.

After a year of church shopping, we finally found our new home downtown at Old St. Mary, the oldest church in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.  The church is so beautiful that it's impossible for me to become distracted for long; there's always a statue, painting or stained glass window to draw my attention back to the Lord.  The rich history of prayer and beauty within the walls of the church help me to deeply know the Lord's presence and peace whenever I spend time in prayer at Old St. Mary. I've been attending the daily 7 AM Mass there for the past six months and that experience has been so spiritually uplifting for me that I easily get out of bed early in the morning eager for worship.  It's the highlight of my day!

Photo credit:  The Badger Catholic

The rat race on the freeway is just kicking into gear as Milwaukeean's begin their daily commute.  I leave the frantic pace of the road and enter into the reverent hushed silence of the intimate church where 30-40 early morning worshipers are gathered.  The priest and lector/acolyte enter from the sacristy with a ring of the sacristy chimes.  The Mass is quick, lasting only 20 minutes without a homily, allowing those who work downtown to make it to work on time.  The sweet sound of the sacristy chimes and the church bells, named Mary, Mary Anna and Mary Magdalen, mark the early morning hours as they ring out, calling all to worship. The acolyte also rings the sanctus bells at consecration reminding all of those present about the importance of reverencing Christ on the altar and adding a little bit of joyful noise to this holy moment.

Following Mass, it is not unusual for many of those gathered at Old St. Mary to remain on their knees in silent prayer for 15-30 minutes.  Sometimes by the time I leave for work I find that the others have all gone with the exception of Willy, the sweet, old man who sits in the back row, day after day, frequently sleeping. Willy always seems to be there silently keeping the Lord company every day, and whenever I stop to say hello he reminds me that he prays for me.  I think of him as my guardian angel watching over me while I pray each day.

Photo Credit:  Cream City Catholic

Now that my family has formally joined the parish, we were quick to volunteer.  We spent an enjoyable Saturday morning helping at the Riverwest Food Pantry.  Lisa, who heads up the food pantry, joyfully showed us the ropes and we even had time to take a long look around St. Casimir Church where the food pantry is located.  St. Casimir is equally as gorgeous as Old St. Mary.  There are so many hidden treasures in this city!  At the food pantry we met many wonderful and interesting people, and enjoyed long conversations with some of them as we walked them home helping to carry their groceries.  We are all looking forward to taking many more turns giving of our time in this way.

In my dull little life, it doesn't take much to give me a thrill.  When I offered to help clean the church on Thursday mornings before work, I was introduced to Christina, a wonderful woman who heads up this job and who is as kind and friendly as can be.  She quickly set me to work cleaning windows, holy water fonts, and the candle lighters/snuffers.  It's a little thing, but I loved it!  After all, it's those little details that often mean the most in life.  It's a great honor for me to help in some small way to keep this magnificent church clean.

Photo Credit:  Arise Milwaukee

It's always a bit nerve-wracking when you do something for the first time, isn't it?  Although I'd been a lector at my former parish for the past five years, I was nervous on the day when I was to read for the first time at Old St. Mary.  When I stepped into the sacristy, I saw a statue of St. Anne and my nerves were immediately reduced having that physical reminder that my patron saint was nearby keeping an eye on things.  I was more than pleased when Fr. Tim Kitzke, the pastor, joined the lectors and servers in the sacristy and led us in a pre-Mass prayer.  I had never experienced anything like that before, but it makes sense, doesn't it, to pray before you lead others in prayer?  Fr. Tim's jovial and energetic style includes homilies so memorable that my family and I discuss them days after we hear them.  His most recent homily about the Good Samaritan focused on how to get out of the pits of life, and help others out of the pits as well, by focusing on the three "E's":  Empathy, Empowerment and the Eucharist.  I always love a homily that includes our Eucharistic Lord!

Although it took my family years of discussion and debate before leaving our old parish and joining a new one, I am as happy as can be to have finally made the switch.  Everyone at Old St. Mary is so very friendly, welcoming and warm, from Daisy, the darling parish secretary, to Ken, the Director of Religious Education and David, the Director of Liturgy, to Nick, who keeps the physical buildings in tip-top shape, to the priests, volunteers, fellow parishioners and the old man in the back row. I've found nothing but joy and warmth throughout the parish.  And when it's time for worship, they are deeply faithful and serious about giving glory to God with love and respect and reverence.  My faith feels refreshed and alive.  I wish every Catholic could feel this joy about belonging to a parish and attending Mass.  Our parishes would be full and our Lord would be pleased, of that I'm certain!