Upcoming Events

When I originally planned the parish pilgrimage to the Holy Land well-over a year ago, I held out hope that the chaos in the region would have long subsided by now. Alas, with the constant “on again, off again” status of the conflict, we found ourselves at a crossroads needing to make a decision. So, we have decided to delay the Holy Land trip and, when a more opportune time arises, attempt it again. While the cancellation of the Holy Land pilgrimage is disappointing (because it is truly an amazing experience), we decided to pilgrimage to the Holy Shrines of Italy instead. Although I have had the privilege of being in Italy before, I never tire of experiencing the beauty, culture, and history of such a marvelous place. More than that, however, it is incredible to pray in some of the most beautiful, holy, and venerable sites of our Catholic faith. I remember the first time I walked around Assisi, it felt as though I might run into Francis himself! I think one of the most beautiful parts of going to Italy for me is that every time I have been there, something unexpectedly beautiful happens. It is an ancient place, but there is always something new about it. In any event, I hope that some of you might consider joining us. April is a beautiful time of year in Italy. These kinds of trips not only afford us the opportunity to deepen our friendship with the Lord, but also the opportunity to deepen our friendship with the saints and with one another. A pilgrimage is a bit of a microcosm of our life. We are reminded that we are ultimately on pilgrimage to Heaven and we are travelers on that road together. Speaking of being on the road together, this past week marked my third year here at St. Patrick Parish. I always tell people that when you arrive at a new parish, it takes a few years just to figure out what key opens what door, why the filing cabinet is over there instead of over here, and who is related to whom. It takes a while to get to know people. It also takes a while for people to get to know the priest. To be honest, I like (and prefer) that slow “getting to know you” kind of unfolding of life. For whatever reason, God, in His Providence, has chosen us to be together at this time and place on our pilgrimage route to Heaven. Little by little, day after day, we are walking on this path together. It is in and through our communion with one another that each of us is being drawn into deeper fidelity to the Lord. As I have gradually come to know you over these past three years, my heart grows in affection for you. It is a real grace each week to look out at Mass and to see the beautiful ways in which the Lord is at work in your lives. Getting to know one another slowly along the pilgrimage route is not merely for its own sake. Rather, it is how Christ chooses to enter into our lives and to make himself known. When I look upon you, I can say with the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus, “Were not our hearts burning within us … ?” Your Brother in Christ, Fr. David Barnes

A few years ago I read a small opinion piece that spoke about the disappearance of beauty in everyday life and how that affects us. As examples, the author included photos of public trash receptacle bins, lampposts, the mailboxes of homes, and switch plates on light switches over the past hundred years or so. It was fascinating to see the shift from beauty to, what I might call, efficiency. The trash bins, for example, that you would see along the sidewalks of major cities looked like works of art compared to the bland box-like things that we now see. The author’s point was that there was a time when even trash receptacles were made to be aesthetically beautiful. I think too of how when we see a building with intricate stonework it does something to us. It can sometimes be imperceptible, but it is nonetheless real. In a world where we are surrounded by buildings that maybe are efficient but certainly not beautiful, it also has an effect upon us. There is always a perpetual temptation to judge everything by its efficiency. (I’m sure there must be a better term for what I’m trying to get at, but “efficiency” is the word that always pops into my mind). For example, I’m sure call centers are more efficient when you have to “Dial One, Dial Three, Dial Seven, Stay on the line and someone will assist you . . . ,” but with each press of the button, it feels like our humanity is being sucked out of us. The floodlight offers greater visibility, but its harsh efficiency robs us of the warmth and subtlety of a less severe illumination. On the front page of our parish bulletin is repeated each week, the words, “Beauty, Goodness, Truth, and Friendship in Christ.” These words express both an aspiration and a concrete fact. They are an aspiration insofar as they express a desire to make every aspect of our parish life an opportunity to experience profound encounters with Beauty, Goodness, Truth, and Friendship in Christ. I would like to see every aspect of our life together judged by those criteria. For even in parish life, we are always tempted to sacrifice beauty upon the altar of efficiency. To sometimes sacrifice efficiency for the sake of beauty, goodness, truth, and friendship in Christ brings with it an element of risk. It means relying less upon our own cautious calculations and relying more upon a grace that comes to us from Another. Besides being aspirational, those words, “Beauty, Goodness, Truth, and Friendship in Christ,” are a concrete fact that is experienced already. They appear to me in our life together, not with that sudden, harsh, and glaring floodlight, but rather in a manner sublime and warm. Allow me to share a few examples. Last Saturday evening, one of our ushers, Michael McLaughlin, died suddenly. The next morning, when I arrived early before the eight o’clock Mass, I found his father, Bill, already kneeling in the pew, praying his Rosary and preparing to serve as an usher for the Mass as he does every Sunday. I said to him, “It’s beautiful to see you here, praying.” He replied, “Where else would I go?” That kind of faith and example is what I need in my life. What a privilege that there is a place that exists where I can encounter such profound faith. Before that same Mass, I chatted with one of our parishioners who will soon be moving. Sr. Irma Meuse, a Sister of Divine Providence, will be moving to the Mother House of her community, located in Indiana. Sister Irma told me that she recently celebrated her 70th Anniversary as a Sister of Providence. Imagine that. She didn’t know it at the time we were speaking, but her beautiful witness of lifelong fidelity really struck me. The world needs witnesses. I need witnesses. Sister Irma’s life of poverty, chastity, and obedience has undoubtedly been like the warm, subtle, glow that brings light into the lives of others. In a world obsessed with fame, boisterousness, and the limelight, how grateful I am to encounter here in our midst that makes the world all the richer. My last example occurs in the dim light of the confessional. When I head over for our daily 11:20am confessions, I almost always bring a book with me in case there are gaps between penitents. I don’t know why I bother because I usually get zero pages read! Happily so! Besides our own parishioners, I get the sense that people from all over come because that time slot is convenient for them. In particular, I have been surprised by how many young people fill our confession lines. It’s really extraordinary. In the hearts of so many people, the sublime grace of Christ is glowing and moving them to profound and life-changing repentance. These humble, hidden, and constant confessions are the work of Christ. While what happens in that confessional will forever remain hidden, the transformed lives of those who leave the confessional undoubtedly carry with them a sublime light that transforms the world around them. Your Brother in Christ, Fr. David Barnes

Recently I began a novel (let’s see if I finish it!) entitled, “ The Red Horse ,” by Eugenio Corti. Originally written in Italian, the story begins shortly before World War II and carries the reader through the war itself and then, its aftermath. In one scene, in the first fifty pages, a woman is home alone and the mailman arrives with a message informing her that her son must report for military service. Her mind begins to flitter from one place to another, upset that no one else in the family is there with her when she receives this awful news. Then, she recalls memories of her son from infancy until the present. Overcome with emotion and anguish, she feels as though she were suffocating. The author continues, “Her eyes sought the image of our Lady on the wall: a popular picture in which blue predominated, the color of a sky. The beloved face of the Mother of God, and even that color was powerful enough to calm her a bit. Lucia then began to move her lips, to pray, blaming herself for not having done it before. From whom would come comfort but from him who could ask us for anything and instead asks us above all for love, pity, and compassion for our fellow creatures? That he existed was shown no less by the Church than by her own experience. We are not alone: there really is someone who cares for us and our beloved, and at times, in the most decisive moments, we feel his intervention, a reality that comes to be perceived with great clarity, even if later it is difficult to explain it to others with words. But not always is there this intervention, only at times . . . She focused her attention on a postcard stuck into a corner of the picture. It showed our Lady with the dead Christ on her knees, a reproduction of a marble sculpture. The text said it was in St. Peter’s in Rome, and it was from Rome that Giusina had received the postcard, sent by her sister Candida during a memorable pilgrimage a few years before. The image reminded the mother with terror that when the supernatural mingles with human things the outcome may be painful all the same, since they killed the adored Son of our Lady herself.” In those few lines, the author doesn’t attempt to “do away” with the mystery of suffering by providing a fantastical assurance that, “Now everything will be fine.” He doesn’t provide an escape route for the reader. Instead, he describes the mystery and places us in the middle of it. In the midst of suffering, we can turn in prayer to the Mother of God. We can have confidence that the Lord is with us, that he cares for us, and loves us. We have all experienced, at one time or another, His intervention; an intervention that we have absolute certitude about, but for which we lack the capacity to adequately describe to others. And yet, there are times when we feel He did not intervene in the manner we would have wanted. This also is true. And, it is true that He Himself suffered and died in the most horrific manner. Sometimes, especially when confronted by tragedy, suffering, and evil, we desire exacting answers. What should I do now? Why me? Why them? Will this person be okay? Will I live? How will I get through this? What we want–what we often demand–is an unambiguous solution that resolves everything. The truest answer, however, is to live in the mystery itself. It is to meditate upon true things, even though no one of those things provides an immediate and definitive resolution to the questions of the heart. No logical syllogism or catchy phrase will suffice to quell the storm. Although there is always suffering present, these past days I have heard so many parishioners share with me various trials and tribulations that weigh heavily upon them. These are only the ones I am told about. There must be a great deal more. For those of you who are heavily burdened, I want to assure you that there is One who loves you, cares for you, and is close to you. You are not alone. You are at the foot of the Cross and it is precisely in this place that the Blessed Virgin and her Son embrace you. Your Brother in Christ, Fr. David Barnes

Last Sunday before watching the World Cup Final, I was in my office working on the schedules for September. Both events reminded me that summer is quickly … nah, I don’t even want to say it! But, it is. I read an essay the other day in which the author spoke of our tendency to think of the Church only in terms of our present moment. She then used this turn of phrase that really struck me: “We are not the tree; we are only the foliage of a single summer.” The phrase itself is a bit of a two-edged sword. On the one hand, it reminds us of the brevity of our own life and time. In this way, it contains a bit of a provocation to take our life with seriousness of purpose, to not waste our time, to seize the day, and to respond to the call of Christ with an immediate fervor. Summer is short, so we should thrive while we are able. On the other hand, the phrase places before us a reminder that we ought not be continuously tossed about by the vicissitudes of life. The words of that author provide to us a way of living that possesses an assuring confidence and serenity. We recall that we are but one foliage in the long history of the Church. Sometimes as I walk around our church and property, I try to pray for the various names that are engraved upon statues, windows, and other places. Many of these names are from the foliages of long ago summers. Each of those summers undoubtedly had days of dazzling sunlight, but they also had their share of rain. It was in this commixture that growth occurred. These inscribed names serve as signs to us to live life with a certain sobriety and serenity. We should all do our part in the time that we are given and take our life seriously. We must put all of our energy into seeking out holiness. At the same time, we should not be unduly panicked or unduly distressed by the passing afflictions of this life. Each of us should strive, while we are still in summer, by the grace of Christ, to be a foliage that renders glory to God. At the same time, when we are tempted to become discouraged because this particular place and moment in time does not conform to my vision of “the ways things should be,” we can find serenity in the knowledge that Christ and His Church are the Tree, and we are but one foliage of a single summer. Your Brother in Christ, Fr. David Barnes

Last week after one of the Masses, a parishioner of ours was speaking to me about her husband who, because of health issues, is no longer able to live at home. In the course of our conversation, she grabbed my hand and said, “Father, please pray for his roommate. We really don’t know him, but he has a lot of medical issues and really needs prayers.” The words rolled off her tongue with such naturality and ease, as if they were the most normal thing in the world to say. I was deeply moved. Here, while she and her own family were undergoing their own suffering, there was room in her heart for the suffering of another. She didn’t ask for prayers for anything specific for the roommate. She simply asked me to pray for him. She trusts that prayer will—somehow in the Mysterious Providence of God—help him. From where does such serene confidence arise? It arises from a long life of Faith which is firstly a gift bestowed by God Himself. Nurtured by her parents, nourished by a Sacramental life, and exercised through prayer and a life of charity, the Faith is not something layered upon top of her regular life. For her, Faith has infused every aspect of her life so that nothing is left untouched by it. It was evident in that encounter that I was witnessing a Faith that is simple. By “simple,” I mean, “pure,” like the way a father or mother looks upon their infant with a love that is simple, without condition, without caveats. I mean that at the very core of the heart is a simple, unshakable confidence in God. The mustard seed has almost contradictory qualities. It is prolific and bursting with newness. At the same time, planted in the solitude of the earth, it is hidden, quiet, and unnoticed. Its humble size indicates a certain fragility, and yet it is resilient, potent, and unyielding. Sometimes in the life of the Church (and in our own spiritual lives), I think, we are overly concerned about what is above the ground—what is visible, verifiable, and capable of calculation at this very second. We want to produce a mustard tree, but without reference to the mustard seed. We want quick solutions to our temporary problems, but not something that is long-lasting, durable, and which provides a stable and enduring shelter. The Kingdom of Heaven, however, is not a quick-fix solution to our problems. It is not something meant simply to make us feel better. It is something so much more than that. It is something sublime and humble, something pure and hardy. It is something trustworthy that grows steadily and relentlessly. It becomes a place where others can come to dwell and find safety and refuge. Last week while I spoke to that woman, I knew I was standing before a mustard tree, someone who brings into the world something beautiful, true, and good. But none of us can make ourselves into that tree. It is a fool’s errand to try. It all begins and is sustained by what was planted by Another. Christ is the seed that was planted into the ground and who—by His Resurrection—has burst forth a new life into the world. The Church and each of its members is invited to exercise a serene confidence in Christ. In doing so, we become—like the woman I mentioned above—a place for others to find shelter and their own serene confidence in Christ. Your Brother in Christ, Fr. David Barnes