Rite of Election

I suppose that I have always liked processions. I remember attending an ordination when I was in middle school and being astounded to see every priest in the diocese process into the sanctuary of the Cathedral. Even now, when I attend a Mass with more that one priest present, I try to sit near the aisle so that I get a good view of the procession. My efforts to that effect were richly rewarded on Sunday, when I attended the Rite of Election at the Cathedral.

I don't know how many catechumens and candidates were present, but they filled almost one half of the pews in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Bishop Blase Cupich preached eloquently, reminding all present of the need to hear and hear again the story of our salvation.

I was most moved, however, to see so many people present who desired full initiation into the Church, and the equally impressive number of those there to support them in that decision. It is not often that one sees the Cathedral full. It was for this Mass. There is much to be grateful for this Lent.

SPS Closed for Prayer

In a bold move, the Saint Paul Seminary will be "Closed for Prayer" on Saturday, March 10th @ 7pm. Msgr. Callaghan, Rector of the Saint Paul Seminary, is inviting all the faithful to 'join us at our place' for an evening of Lenten Scripture readings, prayer, and music as we continue our preparations for Easter.

Music will be provided by SONAR, a contemporary Catholic group. A reception will follow.

St. Mary's Chapel

2260 Summit Ave

Free. no charge.

7:00 pm to 8:45 pm, doors open at 6:15 pm. Light refreshments to follow ......

Please spread the word! We'd love to see everyone at the seminary!

A Busy Morning

We have a permanent deacon in the parish whom several of our parishioners jokingly call "Deacon Lazarus." Apparently a little over a year ago he was preaching at a penance service, and in the middle of his homily, he had a heart attack. He collapsed, he was taken by airplane to a distant hospital, and eventually recovered. After the initial shock and terror wore off, people got quite a kick out of the fact that the deacon had died (his heart stopped after all ) right in the middle of a ceremony.

Well, he did it again. It wasn't his heart this time. He is diabetic, and when he took his medication before the 7 am Mass, he failed to eat anything. His blood sugar began to drop, and just as he was finishing distributing the Eucharist, he collapsed. He couldn't have done it in a better place - there were two cardiologists and a handful of nurses present. They were feeding him sugar him while the pastor, the servers, and I processed out of the Church.

The ambulance came, tested his heart rate and those things that they do, and then sent him home to rest. I did his visits to the nursing homes for the day.

I suppose there is some deep lesson about the ephemeral nature of life, or the value of contemplating our own deaths to be found in this episode. However, when the deacon came to the sacristy before going home the only thing I could think to say was, "You've got to quit trying to die in the middle of communal celebrations."