Praised be Jesus Christ!
 
Finishing off our discussion on the capital vices and their corresponding virtues, today we will talk about gluttony and lust.  People usually assume gluttony is simply eating and/or drinking too much – gorging oneself or becoming drunk.  While gluttony is chiefly a disordered desire to consume food and drink, it can certainly extend into other areas of life as well.  I’d like to highlight a couple different forms of this vice.
 
One form of gluttony is when one desires more pleasure from something than it was made for.  Whether it is with food or fun, we find ourselves no longer able to enjoy other things.  Normally, we can only eat so much food, but some people in ancient Rome wanted more pleasure, so they made themselves vomit after a meal, thus enabling them to eat more.  This allowed them to enjoy eating more, but at the cost of their health and their dignity.
 
Another form of gluttony is the desire to have things exactly our way – such as food that is prepared just right, or in just the right amount – being exceedingly picky.  This is the person who is always finding something to complain about.  It is true that there is always a certain amount of discomfort to be expected in life.  But the glutton will have none of it.  They demand an excessive perfectionism.  Rather than become stronger by suffering the minor inconveniences of life, they just try to pamper themselves.
 
How do we work against the vice of gluttony?  We develop the virtue of temperance – i.e., a good order in desiring the pleasures of taste and touch.  This happens by mortifying ourselves – by reducing our use of pleasurable things (not eliminating them, but perhaps by trying to fast or abstain for certain periods of time from certain things).  If we are too picky, accept what is given to us as it is given to us, or just take things as they are.
 
Finally now, the vice of lust.  Lust is a disordered craving for sexual pleasure.  The good thing about lust is that it can’t persist into eternity.  These sins tend to burn themselves out over time.  After awhile, lust becomes a habit and what pleasure it once brought diminishes until we wonder what the attraction was.
 
First of all, it’s important to understand that our human sexuality is a good thing.  It’s a gift given by God.  But unless it is kept in check, it can easily get out of hand.  In a marriage, lust enters in when sexual intercourse is not a mutual expression of love, but rather the use of one person by the other – and this is the case even if the “use” is mutual.  This of course breeds resentment and eventual alienation, even if the couple does not separate.  In dating, lust can easily cause us to miss the warning signs in a relationship.  We can gloss over the major obstacles to a good marriage because our physical desires are driving us.  Therein lies the great danger when relationships become sexual before the marriage vows have been taken, and there is no public, promised commitment in place.  This is one reason why the Church sees cohabitation as such a harmful trend.

Whether a person is single and/or celibate, or married, lust may creep in, drawing us in on ourselves (often into an imaginary world) where it becomes harder to truly love.  One of the great temptations of our day with regard to lust is the prevalence and addictiveness of pornography.  This is something that needs to be confronted and dealt with in confession, for not only does it greatly disrespect human persons, but it also makes it hard for us to love by taking us out of reality.
 
The virtue to develop that works against lust is chastity – the proper use of our sexuality that gives us freedom and allows us to love God and others purely.  Much like gluttony, some type of mortification or abstinence is helpful with this, especially with the help of regular prayer and the sacraments (Confession and Eucharist).                  

 

​Praised be Jesus Christ!
 
Update on Parish Merging
 
In the coming days, all parishioners will be receiving a survey in the mail from the Parish Merging Leadership Committees.  This survey will be to help the committee members get a better “sense of the people” – your thoughts and feelings about the proposed parish merger based on the information that has been communicated so far.  The survey will also help the committee members better determine what information to present and emphasize at the Town Hall meetings in the Fall. 
 
Regardless of how you feel about the merger (positive, negative, or indifferent), I ask you to please take a few moments to complete the brief survey and return it promptly – no later than May 14th (Mother’s Day).  Along with the survey, many St. Mary’s parishioners will also be receiving a parish registration form.  Don’t worry!  We know you’re already a parishioner.  We are asking many members to complete the registration form so we can improve and update our database in areas where information is lacking.
 
While a decision for merging into one parish has not yet been reached, we have developed a tentative timeline to guide the discernment process.  Between now and the end of the summer, members of the Leadership Committees will be working to develop a budget proposal for the merger.  On September 7, 12, and 14, 2017, we would like to hold Parish Finance Town Hall Meetings at each of the parishes to present on where financially each of our parishes are, and what the financial structure and budget of a merged parish would look like. 
 
Then, on November 9, 14, and 16, 2017, we would like to hold final Town Hall Meetings at each of the parishes in which the proposed merger plan would be presented in general.  At those final meetings, those parishioners present would have the opportunity to participate in a final survey or “consultative vote” to give guidance to the Leadership Committee Members as to whether or not they will make a recommendation to me, the Pastor to petition the Bishop for a merger.  If a decision is made to petition the Bishop, we would anticipate the merger to occur at the beginning of the following fiscal year, July 1, 2018.
 
While I anticipate the Leadership Committees developing much more specific information to present to you in the Town Hall meetings in the Fall, I see the merger as a possible great benefit to all three of our original parish communities.  Not only would our smaller parishes (St. Kilian’s and St. Michael’s) benefit from being part of a larger community that is able to do more, but our larger parish (St. Mary’s) would also benefit by having its community and resources expand as well.  There is strength in numbers, and as a larger parish, we would have greater stability working together for the future.
 

Praised be Jesus Christ!  Happy Easter!
 
Big changes in life are often hard.  Changes are especially hard when they might involve our family.  It’s hard when we’re confronted with some great sadness or tragedy.  It’s especially hard when it concerns the death of a loved one, such as a spouse, or parent, or even a child.  Perhaps these changes (or forced new life situations) are some of the hardest to deal with.  When these kinds of changes occur we can find ourselves overcome by a sense of loss, or sadness, or despair.
 
The disciples of Jesus had been confronted with very hard and jarring changes as well.  Most of them never really understood what Jesus was talking about when he spoke of the Messiah being put to death and rising again.  So when Jesus was arrested, crucified and killed, they were lost and disillusioned, despairing.  They had such high hopes for what Jesus would do for them and for all of Israel, and then to see him humiliated and killed was just too much for them to handle.  And then the women, particularly Mary Magdalene, who go to the tomb of Jesus early Sunday morning after the Sabbath to anoint the body of Jesus – their way of showing him one last act of love and respect for all he had done for them.  Once again, they become distressed at meeting with change and the unexpected.  Even though Jesus had spoken of his resurrection, they never fully understood, so they were not expecting it.  They immediately thought someone had taken the body.  How could this situation get any worse?
 
But when the women and the other disciples encountered the Risen Jesus, they were overjoyed.  They realized that in all these jarring, and at times painful/unexpected changes, God was at work bringing about his plans for greater good.  The resurrection of Jesus shows us that in the providential designs of God, there are no hopeless situations that should leave us despairing about our future.  The resurrection of Jesus is to be our assurance of hope that God is faithful, especially with regard to eternity.  Is our faith a resurrection faith?  Is our faith rooted in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead?  We live our lives in sadness or despair, in fear or anxiety, in anger or resentment, usually because we are not really open to the possibilities of God.  We are not really open to the change that he wants to bring about within us and in the world around us – even if that might occur through the unexpected or a perceived sadness.  When change happens to us in our life – good or bad – our faith in God and our relationship with him must also change and grow.
 
The disciples of Jesus weren’t really expecting change.  They weren’t expecting Jesus to be killed.  Nor were they expecting the resurrection.  But throughout the changes they faced, their faith was tried, and following the resurrection, they did things that history cannot reasonably explain without admitting God at work.  We tend to be afraid of the unexpected and God’s surprises.  But the resurrection shows us that that is how God works with us.  He always surprises us!  In the words of Pope Francis: “… let us not be closed to the newness that God wants to bring into our lives!  Do we think that we won’t be able to cope?  Let us not close our hearts, let us not lose confidence, let us never give up: there are no situations which God cannot change, there is no sin he cannot forgive if only we open ourselves to him…  Our daily problems and worries can wrap us up in ourselves, in sadness and bitterness… and that is where death is…  Let the risen Jesus enter your life, welcome him as a friend, with trust: he is life!  If up till now you have kept him at a distance, step forward.  He will receive you with open arms.  If you have been indifferent, take a risk: you won’t be disappointed.  If following him seems difficult, don’t be afraid, trust him, be confident that he is close to you, he is with you and he will give you the peace you are looking for and the strength to live as he would have you do.”
 
May the resurrection of Jesus give us the sure and certain hope of God working amidst the changes and unexpected events of our life, and that he will use them to our spiritual benefit (as long as we are open) so that we may share eternal resurrection with him.  May God bless you, and happy Easter!

 

Praised be Jesus Christ!
 
Today we will talk about the capital vices of anger (or wrath) and sloth, and their corresponding virtues.  First of all, it is important to understand that anger in and of itself is a natural passion that we all have.  It’s not inherently a bad thing – at least initially.  Anger should be what drives us to act when there is an injustice or wrong-doing that has occurred.  The emotion is not necessarily a bad thing.  The vice or sin of anger, on the other hand, is when one harbors anger or resentment, allowing it to fester – and when anger gets to this point, then it can even lead one to harmful actions.  Dealing with anger to the point where it festers and becomes sinful is something with which a lot of us struggle.  First of all, when we feel anger or resentment toward another person, if it is at all possible (and sometimes it is not), we must confront the person, motivated by charity (desiring what is ultimately good for them and that there is justice done) and give them the chance to explain or defend themselves, or to even apologize if there has been a misunderstanding.  Many of us harbor anger or resentment toward another person for a long time without even doing this first and most important step.
 
The other thing to keep in mind when dealing with anger is that secretly, deep down inside, we like holding onto it.  That is because it feeds into our pride.  We may think to ourselves, “How dare this person do this to me!” – as if we were the only person to experience some injustice or offense.  Finally, we should also try in some way to identify with the person who has hurt us.  Put yourself into their shoes.  Imagine the challenges that they have experienced in their life that may have led to their sin, and recall the fact that they, just like us, desire what is good and to be happy, but for whatever reason, just like us at times, they choose poorly.
 
How do we work against the vice of anger?  We try to develop the virtue of meekness.  It’s important to understand that meekness is not the same as weakness, or being soft and letting people walk all over you.  Meekness is having self-control that is inspired by God’s mercy, which allows us to master our emotions when we are attacked or wronged.  So, motivated by God’s mercy and patience with ourselves, we are able to control our tendency to harbor resentment or to fly off the handle.
 
Now for something on sloth, or spiritual laziness.  With this vice, many people think of one just sitting around doing nothing or being unproductive, but it’s a bit more complex than that.  Often, we can stay busy most of the time, but we don’t always do the things that we should do.  Instead, we put the things we should do off for later.  We might be staying busy so that we have an excuse – and we can even deceive ourselves with this!  Sloth is not making it a priority to do what we should do, or change what we should change in ourselves.  This might also be called apathy, which means a lacking of feeling.  First and foremost, this vice concerns our spiritual life.  On the one hand, it might concern the person who tends to neglect their Sunday Mass obligation – either sleeping in, or being on vacation, or just being “busy” with other things.  On the other hand, it concerns our other spiritual duties: not taking time to pray, or to read the Scriptures, or to do some other spiritual reading, or to continue to educate ourselves in our Faith.  Sloth can also manifest itself in other parts of our life.  It could be keeping ourselves so busy with work or other activities that we neglect to spend time with our spouse or our children.
 
 
​How do we work against the vice of sloth?  By exercising the virtue of diligence.  Diligence is an eagerness to do what is needed, inspired by the zeal of God’s love, which makes even a difficult task achievable.  If we pray and take part in the sacraments, we are availing ourselves to knowing and experiencing God’s love and mercy.  Those things should motivate and drive us on to live out our Christian vocation faithfully.