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From the Pastor: Happy Easter especially to those who have fallen away!
Easter Sunday is one of the biggest days of the Church year in more ways than one. First of all, it is the day proof positive that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the One who fulfills all of the prophecies of the Old Testament, the Savior of the world. He was not simply resuscitated, coming back to the same life as He had before, but rather Resurrected, coming back, in His humanity, to a whole new manner of life. This new life is one that we all plan on participating in, one with a completely glorified human body and a perfect human soul, sharing in His divinity for all eternity in the splendor of Heaven. But Easter is also one of the biggest days of the Church year as far as bringing back fallen away Catholics. This column is specifically aimed at you if you fall into that category. Perhaps you don’t consider yourself a fallen away Catholic, though, unless you have been away from the Church and Her sacraments for a period of years or even decades. I, however, am including you in this category if you have been away from the Church and Her sacraments for “only” a few weeks! You see, it is only by remaining in direct contact with God in this life that we can possibly hope to be in direct contact with Him in the next. He unites Himself with us totally in the seven Sacraments. These channels of grace are the primary paths of supernatural love, mercy, and strength that He has given us. Rejecting them by, say, purposefully missing Mass for even one Sunday or Holy Day of Obligation, not to mention years at a time, says without words, “God, I do not want Your grace; I reject Your supernatural love; I choose my will over Yours, even if it costs me my soul.” Faking a sacrament says the same thing. Instances of this would include faking the sacrament of Holy Matrimony through sex outside of marriage (with others or self) or faking the sacrament of Confession by pretending to “go directly to God” while rejecting the absolution He offers through His priests. Many more instances of rejecting or faking sacraments could be pointed out (failing to Baptize your children or receive Confirmation yourself, receiving Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin, rejecting God’s call to Holy Orders or the religious life, or delaying the Sacrament of the Sick to avoid scaring the dying loved one). But why point out these dangers to the soul on such a holy day? Because there is an incredible means of repairing any damage to your relationship with God coming up next week. I want to reach the “fallen aways” present today and invite all of you to next week’s Divine Mercy celebration. Next Sunday, Low Sunday, is also called Divine Mercy Sunday. Last century our Lord Jesus appeared to Sister (now Saint) Faustina and told her of an incredible outpouring of His Mercy that He would make available to anyone, even the most hardened of sinners or the most naively innocent “fallen away” Catholic, on the Sunday after Easter. He will offer complete remission of sin (and even its due punishment!) to all who will spend just a little bit of time meditating on—and praying for—His Mercy. He has made it so easy to get back into His grace (and thereby headed for Heaven once again) that it would seem too ridiculously easy to be true if it weren’t Jesus who made the promise, and His Church now offering a plenary indulgence. Hardened sinners, those who have knowingly committed grave sins for long periods of time, may have despaired of ever being able to become a Saint. Divine Mercy Sunday is God’s gift to them so that they can be forgiven, healed, and made holy. Other fallen away Catholics, those who don’t see much wrong with their immoral actions, even those the Church calls mortal sins, can also find the supernatural graces that they have been unwittingly missing out on. Come back to Mass next Sunday and stay for the afternoon prayers. Confess your sins. Pray for Divine Mercy. Then the next time you attend Mass (assuming that you don’t fall back into mortal sin before then!) you will be able to receive Holy Communion—that is, Jesus Christ Himself—in a State of Grace. Jesus promises, through His Church, that your soul will be pure once again. He loves you that much. Before ending, I want to make one very important item clear. Some people don’t believe that Saint Faustina’s Diary, regardless of what was proclaimed by the now-Sainted John Paull II, is a trustworthy source of Jesus’ Divine Mercy message and they not only avoid participating in Divine Mercy devotions but also do a good job convincing others to refrain from participating as well. The clarification that I wish to impress upon you is that the plenary indulgence attached to participating in Divine Mercy Sunday prayer services and confession is specifically promulgated by the Church, note this well, without any demand that you do anything more than accept that the Church can make such a proclamation! Just as you can receive a plenary indulgence by praying a family rosary (along with the other usual conditions) even if you don’t believe that St. Dominic received the rosary from the Blessed Mother, so, too, with the Divine Mercy indulgence and St. Faustina. Yes, Holy Mother Church has said so and that should be enough for any Catholic to accept it as true. With prayers for your holiness, Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Holy Week!
I hope you realize that this weekend, when we celebrate Palm Sunday, begins what we call Holy Week. The Mass readings are long since we focus on the Passion of Our Lord, and Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday either have a changed Mass schedule or no Masses at all (this is real Catholic liturgical stuff, not the pastor’s whim!). Tenebrae prayer services happen three times, extra confessions are scheduled, the Masses and services are complicated and the priests and staff are busy, busy, busy, trying to make sure they know what they are doing for these important once-a-year celebrations. On Tuesday there is a special 11:00 am Mass, the Chrism Mass, held at the Cathedral of St. Jude, to which all of you are invited, during which the Bishop blesses the three different oils that will be used for several sacraments during the rest of the year, the priests renew their promises, and our beloved Fr. Pierre Dorvil will be recognized for celebrating his 40th anniversary to the priesthood. Please find elsewhere in the bulletin the schedule for the week. Hopefully, we will have all of the times printed correctly. If you don’t pay attention to changes, you, along with a couple of other unfortunate people, will show up on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday morning expecting Mass when there isn’t one. Should you dare to ring the doorbell at the rectory or call/text a priest asking, “Where is everybody?” one or more of those mornings, you will not get a very nice reception! In past years I have put the schedule in this space along with my explanations of the meaning of—and reason for—each extra service; we have put the schedule on the front of the bulletin; we have put the schedule inside the bulletin; we have put the schedule on three pages of our website; and we have put the schedule out via farcebook and email, yet we always have dozens or more people calling the office or our cell phones asking for the schedule, complaining that they drove all the way in only to miss something, or worse, while holding in their hands the parish bulletin in which they found the office phone number and in which the times are clearly printed in several places, they ask what time something will be. Just to drive this point home, here are some of the highlights of the week: We have three Tenebrae prayer services, the first on Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm, the second on Good Friday at 6:30 am, and the third on Holy Saturday, also at 6:30 am. The only Mass on Holy Thursday is the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7:00 pm, followed by Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament until midnight. There is no Mass on Good Friday, but Adoration of the Cross and a Communion Service will begin at 3:00 pm. The traditional Blessing of the Easter Baskets will take place in the church at 10:30 am sharp on Holy Saturday. We have several people coming into the Church at the Easter Vigil and Mass, which begins at 8:00 pm that evening, and they will be receiving the Sacraments of Initiation, namely, Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Communion. That Mass is the first Mass of Easter, and, yes, you do fulfill your Easter Sunday obligation if you attend it, although you are more than welcome to come back again the next morning when the normal Sunday Mass schedule will be in effect. 7:30 am low Mass and 10:30 am High Mass, in case you forgot! And now, looking back a week, I want to thank all of the many, many, people who did so much to make Archbishop Cordileone’s visit and Mass work so smoothly. We had a lighter crowd than on normal Sundays, similar to the last two Pontifical Solemn High Masses we held here, for many people decided once again to skip the crowds and attend Mass elsewhere. They don’t know what they missed! Of course, most of you don’t know all of what you missed, either, even if you were here, for much more happens than most people realize. Some of it is practice for the priests and altar boys, some of it is all the behind-the-scenes work making all of the arrangements for transportation, rooms, decorations, vestments, food, etc., and some of it is probably minor demonic activity. Let me give you two examples of that last type. During the time after the Mass when everyone was waiting to greet the Archbishop, one young boy, in the ladies' room with his mother, dutifully washing his hands after using the facilities, was suddenly doused with water as a pipe burst through the wall under the sink. When I was told of it, my first question/statement was, “Please, tell me that it was a water pipe and not a sewage pipe!” Fortunately for all involved, it was clean water. But it meant that we had to turn off all of the water to the school (where everyone was, of course) until we could get it fixed the next day. A couple of hours later, after all of the photographs were taken and everyone was clearing out, the priests finally got a chance to head back to the rectory for a quick sit-down before having to head out for the Archbishop’s next talk. The upstairs air conditioner was on the fritz and it was already 86 degrees in the bedrooms. The demons just can’t stand the extra holiness this special visit brought to us so they have to do something—anything—to try to mess things up! With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore J. Cordileone
The following information about our esteemed visitor follows, having been shamelessly lifted directly from his own archdiocesan website, paragraphication edited only to make it fit here. Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore J. Cordileone Salvatore J. Cordileone was born in San Diego on June 5, 1956 to Leon and Mary Cordileone, who raised their family in Blessed Sacrament Parish. Salvatore was the second son and the third of their four children. Family history and youth Archbishop Cordileone’s grandparents were from Sicily; his paternal grandfather was a fisherman and his maternal grandfather, Salvatore, a farmer. His paternal uncle, Joe, died in World War II. The Archbishop’s father, Leon Cordileone, was born in San Francisco. He moved with his family to San Diego when he was four. Later, he worked with his three brothers in the family commercial fishing business and later bought his own albacore fishing boat. Mary, the Archbishop’s mother, was born and raised in Buffalo, New York, the oldest of four sisters. In 1947 she and her family moved to San Diego where she met Leon. The two were married on November 13, 1949. Salvatore attended public grammar and high schools and was an active participant in after-school religion classes and high school music programs, including the concert band, marching band and stage band. He graduated from San Diego’s Crawford High School in June 1974. A call to priesthood The following December, during his first year of college at San Diego State University, he was encouraged by a young parish priest he respected to attend a seminary vocation retreat. It was during this first year that the Archbishop discerned his call to the priesthood, entering St. Francis Seminary and transferring as a sophomore to the University of San Diego. Salvatore Cordileone graduated in 1978 with a B.A. in Philosophy. He was accepted to study in Rome and continued in the seminary at the Pontifical North American College. He received an undergraduate degree in Sacred Theology in 1981 from the Pontifical Gregorian University and the following year returned to San Diego to be ordained and begin his first pastoral assignment. From pastor to monsignor to bishop On July 9, 1982, Bishop Leo T. Maher ordained the Reverend Salvatore J. Cordileone. Soon thereafter, he became associate pastor at St. Martin of Tours Parish in La Mesa, where he remained for three years. In 1985 he was again sent to Rome, this time to study the new Code of Canon Law. He spent the next four years again at the Gregorian University completing his doctoral degree. Upon Father Cordileone’s return to San Diego in 1989, he became secretary to Coadjutor Bishop Robert Brom, and a year later became adjunct judicial vicar. Pastoral work called to him again in 1991 and he became pastor of Calexico’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, four blocks from the Mexican border. In 1995 he was called to Rome and for the next seven years served as assistant at the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s highest canonical court. On July 5, 2002, Pope John Paul II appointed then-Monsignor Cordileone as Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of San Diego. He was ordained a bishop on August 21, 2002 by Bishop Brom. In addition to serving on the various consultative bodies of the diocese during his years as auxiliary of San Diego, Bishop Cordileone also chaired the Corporate Board of Catholic Charities and was a member of the University of San Diego Board of Trustees, serving on its Academic Affairs and Mission and Vision Committees. The Archbishop of San Francisco On March 23, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Cordileone as the fourth Bishop of Oakland. His Mass of Installation was celebrated on May 5, 2009 at the Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland. Three years later, on July 27, 2012, he was appointed the Archbishop of San Francisco and was installed on October 4, 2012, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. As the new Metropolitan Archbishop of the Province of San Francisco, Archbishop Cordileone received the pallium from Pope Francis in Rome on June 29, 2013. Archbishop Cordileone is a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth and also of its Committee for Canonical Affairs and Church Governance. He currently serves as well on the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, Subcommittee on the Catechism, and Eucharistic Revival Bishops’ Advisory Group. In addition, the Archbishop serves on a number of boards to support Church efforts beyond the USCCB, including the Catholic Benefits Association/Catholic Insurance Company, Cross Catholic Outreach Board of Directors, the Courage Apostolate Episcopal Board, the Governing Board of the International Theological Institute in Trumau, Austria, and is a founding member of the Episcopal Advisory Board of the Catholic Healthcare Leaders Association. The Archbishop also serves as the Prior of the American Delegation of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George. Archbishop Cordileone’s avocations include a life-long interest in jazz music. He also enjoys swimming, hiking and badminton, as well as spectator sports, especially professional baseball and football. From the Pastor: St. Patrick’s Day Approaches!
Next Sunday, March 17, although technically “Passion Sunday” this year, is sure to be overshadowed by that great “Irish” Saint, Patrick. And, because most of us are about as Irish as St. Patrick, we will celebrate it to the max here by having a special guest celebrant, one whose family has deep Irish roots, at the 10:30 am Mass. Yes, Archbishop Salvatore Joseph Cordileone, whose first, middle, and last names are all dead giveaways to his Celtic ancestry, is coming from that most Irish of all Archdioceses in the States, San Francisco, which everyone knows is Gaelic for “another once-holy city destroyed by leftists.” I have heard from respectable sources that he will be wearing his fancy green cassock, which color, believe it or not, was the proper color for all bishops until the 16th century, at which time the anti-Irish backlash from the neighboring country of Amaranthia, which abuts the western border of Ireland, forced the bishops to renounce their honorary, if not actual, Irish ancestry and change their garb from “Irish green” to “Amaranth red.” To not be accused of being “too traditional,” the good Archbishop’s green cassock will have amaranth red buttons and piping, which also serves to poke a good-natured finger in the eyes of all of the leftist Amaranthians, as it naturally brings to mind the colors of another holy day they truly despise, Christmas, which, if lest ye forget, is another very Irish liturgical holy day, for Saint Nicholas is as Irish as green beer. Unfortunately, since it is still Lent, the Archbishop insisted on leading Compline (Night Prayer) and giving a talk on Saturday evening rather than the big shamrock-themed bash I had been planning. I had to cancel the Irish dancers and send back (some of) the cases of Jameson I had ordered. I knew I should have checked the calendar ahead of time! Oh, well, I guess I can blame it on old age now. Before I forget even more things, I had better write that his prayer and talk will begin Saturday night, March 16, at 7:00 in the church. After that, there will be some light refreshments (kale chips, seaweed crackers, and “I can’t believe it’s not real meat-balls” are all probably on the Lenten snack menu) and a little time for informal chats with this holy man. As a reminder for those who have been here for the past couple of Pontifical Solemn High Masses and as new information for those who were not preset, there are a few “odd” things that must necessarily happen on that Sunday. First of all, remember that there will be no confessions that day. The priests will all be busy with getting ready for the Mass and the functions after the Mass. Secondly, after the 7:30 am Mass we will have to ask everyone to please leave the church after just the briefest of prayers of thanksgiving when Mass is concluded. We have to get everything set up for the Mass and we can’t have the people in our way while we work. It also keeps the first Mass from being packed with 800 people who have no intention of really praying that Mass but are simply camping out to get their choice seat at the next one. So bring an umbrella, for you may need one while standing outside whether you are protecting yourself from the driving rain or the beating sun. Third, the coffee and donuts will be served outside behind the church for all of you who didn’t give up either or both of those for Lent. Fifth, after the 10:30 Solemn Pontifical Mass is done, the Archbishop will have a most meager meal (he eats “vegan” for Lent, something you may wish to emulate next Lent, as that certainly is a penance! The hardest part of this type of fast, although I am assured that the Archbishop has managed, with many supernatural graces pouring forth from Heaven, to avoid such things, must certainly be finding yourself, much against your Catholic will, incessantly bragging about the benefits of the poor health and lack of friends that come as the result of the vegan lifestyle, and the inevitable disdain for all of those despicable people who eat “unnatural” things like steaks, that so smugly comes across what’s left of every vegan’s mind as he chows down on his made-in-the-test-tube “Implausible Burger.” But I digress...) After a quick bite of Lenten suffering, Archbishop Cordileone will move to the parish room where he will greet anyone who wishes to come and say a few words of welcome or get a photo with him. To close out this article, and not a bit too soon, I just want to point out to any gullible people reading this that, although the basic information, such as Archbishop Cordileone coming next weekend and the times he will be publicly praying, speaking, celebrating Mass, and greeting the people are correct in the above paragraphs, you had to wade through a whole lot of blarney to get to the essential truths contained therein. After all, this current Sunday is Laetare (Rejoice) Sunday, so don’t take it too seriously! One last thing I forgot to mention (did I tell you that I am old now?) is that we will be taking up a completely optional, or “free will” offering next week as a second collection in case anyone wishes to help defray some of the costs that the Fraternal Society of St. John the Apostle incurs in organizing such wonderfully holy Pontifical Masses. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Dom Guéranger on Lent
One of my most often used books, or, rather, series of books, is Dom Guéranger’s The Liturgical Year. He was the abbot of Solesmes from 1837-1875 and in 1841 he began to write what would become a 15-volume series about the treasures of the, needless to say, Church’s liturgical year. For the past few weeks, I have been fielding many questions about the changes to the Church’s discipline concerning fast and abstinence during Lent. Why did we use to abstain from meat throughout Lent? Were eggs and milk allowed? Why was the fast all day and the one meal only at night? Did we really fast every day except Sunday? Could we eat the “forbidden foods” on Sunday since it wasn’t a fast day? These and so many more are all great questions, and I myself never knew the answers to any of them until I started delving into the differences between current and traditional practices. I still don’t know all of the answers, and I certainly cannot tell you which rules were changed in which years, but Dom Guéranger certainly answers a whole lot of questions like this. I can’t print everything here, but here is a nice little part (he writes much, much more) of his explanation of the disciplines of Lent in his day and in ancient practice. The rest of this article is his. Enjoy! Lent, then, is a time consecrated, in an especial manner, to penance; and this penance is mainly practised by Fasting. Fasting is an abstinence, which man voluntarily imposes upon himself, as an expiation for sin, and which, during Lent, is practised in obedience to the general law of the Church. According to the actual discipline of the Western Church, the Fast of Lent is not more rigorous than that prescribed for the Vigils of certain Feasts, and for the Ember Days; but it is kept up for Forty successive Days, with the single interruption of the intervening Sundays. We deem it unnecessary to show the importance and advantages of Fasting. The Sacred Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testament, are filled with the praises of this holy practice. The traditions of every nation of the world testify the universal veneration, in which it has ever been held; for there is not a people, nor a religion, how much soever it may have lost the purity of primitive traditions, which is not impressed with this conviction, - that man may appease his God by subjecting his body to penance. St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, St. Jerome, and St. Gregory the Great, make the remark, that the commandment put upon our First Parents, in the earthly paradise, was one of Abstinence; and that it was by their not exercising this virtue, that they brought every kind of evil upon themselves and us their children. The life of privation, which the king of creation had thenceforward to lead on the earth, - (for the earth was to yield him nothing of its own natural growth, save thorns and thistles,) - was the clearest possible exemplification of the law of penance, imposed by the anger of God on rebellious man. During the two thousand and more years, which preceded the Deluge, men had no other food than the fruits of the earth, and these were only got by the toil of hard labour. But when God, as we have already observed, mercifully shortened man’s life, (that so he might have less time and power for sin), - he permitted him to eat the flesh of animals, as an additional nourishment in that state of deteriorated strength. It was then, also, that Noah, guided by a divine inspiration, extracted the juice of the grape, which thus formed a second stay for human debility. Fasting, then, is the abstaining from such nourishments as these, which were permitted for the support of bodily strength. And firstly, it consisted in abstinence from flesh-meat, because it is a food that was given to man by God, out of condescension to his weakness, and not as one absolutely essential for the maintenance of life. Its privation, greater or less according to the regulations of the Church, is essential to the very notion of Fasting. Thus, whilst in many countries, the use of eggs, milk-meats, and even dripping and lard, is tolerated, - the abstaining from flesh-meat is everywhere maintained, as being essential to Fasting. For many centuries, eggs and milk-meats were not allowed, because they come under the class of animal food: even to this day, they are forbidden in the Eastern Churches, and are only allowed in the Latin Church by virtue of an annual dispensation. The precept of abstaining from flesh-meat is so essential to Lent, that even on Sundays, when the Fasting is interrupted, Abstinence is an obligation, binding even on those who are dispensed from the fasts of the week, unless there be a special dispensation granted for eating meat on the Sundays. In the early ages of Christianity, Fasting included also the abstaining from Wine, as we learn from St. Cyril of Jerusalem [Catech. iv], St. Basil [Homil. i. De Jejunio], St. John Chrysostom [Homil. iv. Ad populum Antioch.], Theophilus of Alexandria [Litt. Pasch, iii], and others. In the West, this custom soon fell into disuse. The Eastern Christians kept it up much longer, but even with them it has ceased to be considered as obligatory. Lastly, Fasting includes the depriving ourselves of some portion of our ordinary food, inasmuch as it only allows the taking of one meal during the day. Though the modifications introduced from age to age in the discipline of Lent, are very numerous, yet the points we have here mentioned belong to the very essence of Fasting, as is evident from the universal practice of the Church. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka |
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