Dear Friends,

When the MLK Holiday comes around I always like to read Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. It always blows me away. It is one of the greatest speeches in American history, right up there with Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. The part of the speech that struck me this year was this:

Dear Friends,

Some years ago, on a trip to Asia, I visited the beautiful country of Cambodia. One of the things you see is that the population is very young and one of the things you don't see are lots of elderly people. And there is a reason for that: the Khmer Rouge killed off millions of fellow Cambodians, most of them adults and the elderly. And one of the things you are bound to see in Cambodia are the Killing Fields.

Dear Friends,

On January 20, our Bishop turns 75. As required by Canon Law, bishops and pastors are required to submit their resignations upon reaching their 75th birthday. So, Bishop Olmsted will submit his letter to Pope Francis. Now the Holy Father can accept the letter, wait awhile or ask him to stay on for a bit longer. Though it seems to be the practice of Pope Francis to accept episcopal resignations within a month or so of their submittal. Which means, at least when I look into my crystal ball, we will probably have a new Bishop sometime around Easter.

Dear Friends,

This year another March for Life will take place in Washington, DC and many more around the country. The annual March takes place on Jan. 21, the anniversary of the US Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, legalizing abortion in all 50 states. But this may be the last March for Life protesting Roe depending on how the Court rules on a case it heard in December regarding abortion and the right of the states to regulate it. If the Court overrules Roe, it would not outlaw abortion but restore the status quo pre-Roe, which allows the states to legalize or not and put restrictions on abortion.

Dear Friends,

Soon it will be the year that was. But was it a year to remember, or your favorite year? Was it the Best Year Ever, maybe a Year in the Life of a Fool? Or was it more the Days of Wine and Roses or a time we'd rather forget? However, those 525,600 minutes of those 365 days or those 31,536,000 seconds of the 52 weeks of 2021 passed by I hope you can find many reasons for gratitude and thankfulness.

Dear Friends,

One of the less sentimental Christmas songs is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”. The song is based on a poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on Christmas Day in 1863. His wife had died in a fire two years earlier and his son was a young Lieutenant serving in the Union Army and was badly injured in a battle. Added to this the nation was being torn asunder by civil war so you can understand the pensive and heavy feeling that this song brings with it:

Dear Friends,

A while back I went with the Preschoolers on a field trip to a farm. We went into the barn where Betsy the cow stared at us and we at her. Then she decided it was time to take her morning constitutional. Out it came like an open fire hydrant. As we all got sprayed with what remained of Betsy’s breakfast, the girls screamed, “eeeeeewe” and the boys all smiled and said, “cooooool”. At that moment, I was more in agreement with the girls. So, when you think of the stable in Bethlehem where Jesus was birthed, remember it was, well a barn for animals.

Dear Friends,

The joy of giving comes into focus this time of year. We all get to be Santa if we want. We do that because we have been blessed and in turn seek to bless others. The essence of our Stewardship is to “return to the Lord with increase”. So, here are some ways this Christmas you can leverage your resources for the sake of the Kingdom.

Dear Friends,

It’s been ten years since we have been using the 3rd edition of the Roman Missal for the celebration of Mass. It was the first Sunday of Advent 2011 that we were introduced to “consubstantial”, “And with Your Spirit” and lots of other linguistic changes. Most of us have probably forgotten the discomfort of adapting to changes in the Liturgy but every now and then, I admit I unconsciously revert back to a phrase here or there.

Dear Friends,

Pope Paul III, not Paul VI of Humanae Vitae fame, now St. Pope Paul VI, but Pope Paul III of Sublimus Deus fame, is who we should thank on this Thanksgiving Day holiday. Sublimus Deus (The Sublime God), an encyclical letter issued in 1537, some 45 years after Columbus came to America, stated that, “Indians and all other people who may later be discovered by Christians, are by no means to be deprived of their liberty or the possession of their property, even though they be outside the faith of Jesus Christ; and that they may and should, freely and legitimately, enjoy their liberty and the possession of their property; nor should they be in any way enslaved… It also called for the evangelization of the native Americans who wished to receive the Christian faith.

Dear Friends,

I’ve spent more than a few frustrating hours at Public School Board Meetings. The issue at hand was usually Sex Ed inserted into the curriculum. And almost always it had been inserted by the strong advocacy of Planned Parenthood. One thing PP does well, other than abortions, is to support campaigns for local School Board positions. Their success has been pretty fantastic. Once of course they fund a campaign and get their candidate elected then they pressure them to use the PP Sex Ed materials in our Public Schools.

Dear Friends,

During November we call to mind both the Saints and the holy Souls. It is also a time to focus ourselves on how well we are prepared for our own deaths. And while end of life issues and health care decisions need to be carefully considered before our demise, I want to focus on what happens after death, in other words the funeral and burial practices that are appropriate for Christians.

Dear Friends,

Since I moved into this zip code, I noticed the amount of spam calls I receive has increased exponentially. I wonder why? Could be because those 65yrs old and older are targeted by scammers 90% of the time. And our zip code has lots of those! But why would they target that demographic? It seems that those who are 65 and older are more trusting and honest. It makes sense, you don't want to owe anyone anything, you spent your life paying your bills and not cheating anyone. So, when someone calls and tells you that you owe $5000 it tends to get your attention.