My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This Sunday, our Advent journey calls us to focus our attention on the coming feast of the birth of the Lord. On the first Sunday of Advent, we were reminded that the Lord would return at the end of time and that we are called to prepare each day for his coming in glory. The second and third Sundays of Advent called us to remember that his mission among his people as he walked the earth was heralded by John the Baptist. The Gospel tells us today that his birth was announced by the angel Gabriel who was sent to a young woman, Mary of Nazareth.

The message of the angel – that she would be the mother of the Lord - would cause her to ask how this was to take place and she would come to know that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, she would conceive and be the instrument through which God would give the world its savior. Her trust in God would allow her to proclaim that she was the handmaid of the Lord, that she would allow God to use her for the salvation of the world.

Although the angel does not tell her, but rather her fiancé Joseph, that the child would be named Jesus, she is told that the child would be the Son of the Most High. This child would fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah, namely, that a virgin would be with child and bear a son and they would call him Emanuel, a name that means God-with-us.

Names in Scripture usually say something about the person rather than the family into which they are born. That is certainly true with Jesus. His very name Jesus means God saves. His name tells us his mission, namely, that he came into the world to save the world. The prophecy of Isaiah, saying that the child to be born would be named Emanuel tells us that God is with us, is fulfilled in Jesus. We know that he is with us 1) in the word that we hear each Sunday, 2) in his Body and Blood that we share when we come together at Sunday Eucharist, and 3) in the presence of one another.

Jesus told us in the Gospel – Wherever two or three gather in my name, I am there in their midst. As we gather in Jesus’ name, wherever and whenever that may be, Jesus is there. When he was leaving the earth after the Resurrection, he told his disciples to remember that he was with them all days until the end of time. In these two passages taken from Scripture, we see that Jesus is the fulfillment of Emanuel.

For us, the Incarnation – the Word made flesh – may be commemorated at Christmas, but the reality of God being with us must be something that we recognize and celebrate every day. What a wonderful reality to ponder – God loves us so deeply that he wants to be with us each and every day.

In Love and Peace,
Fr. Bob

My brothers and sisters in Christ,

We are now exactly ½ of the way through Advent. This is one of the years when we have the fullest experience of Advent, namely, four full weeks. We have been hearing about Christ’s return at the end of time as well as his coming being announced by John the Baptist. Soon, we will be focusing on the remembrance of his first coming which we celebrate at Christmas.

John the Baptist, in heralding Christ’s coming to preach and to bring the Father’s message, often quoted the prophet Isaiah who himself was a herald, sometimes preaching about the comfort and compassion that the Lord wants to give his people, sometimes about the Lord’s call to repentance on the part of the people and their leaders.

It is good that we hear both of these messages. There are times in our lives when we need to know that our God is a God who offers compassion and comfort when we are afraid or distressed. There are other times when we need a wake-up call, one that reminds us that we need to take stock of our lives and to change some areas that we are courageous enough to admit need changing.

To hear the message is absolutely necessary for, without hearing it, we will not know that there is a need to change and we may continue to live in a way contrary to the message of the Gospel. Although hearing is vital, it is only half of the picture. As human beings, we may hear the message of the need to prepare our hearts for the coming of the Lord and the first thing that we do is to think of someone else whom we know needs to change their lives, their actions, their words, their attitudes. Why does it never seem to be us who need to change? It is always someone else!

To know that we need to change takes a great deal of insight. It also takes a lot of courage. How many of us are strong enough to look within our lives and see those areas that need to be changed? In saying this, I do not mean that we need to beat ourselves up nor am I suggesting that we somehow remind ourselves of how bad we are! There needs to be within each of us a healthy balance. To be fully human, we have to recognize that we need healing and forgiveness for sins that we have committed and, at the same time, not become obsessed only with seeing our faults. We also cannot be blind to our own failures and our need to make significant changes in their lives.

One of the greatest assets of Catholicism, in my opinion, is our view of the human person. As a religion, we look at the inherent goodness of the human person. We recognize that we are not perfect, but we do not narrow in on those failures. In one of the letters of St. Paul, he writes that…Where sin has abounded, grace has far surpassed it. We know that there is sin in the world and in our own lives, but we also know that the grace offered by the Lord is far more powerful.

That is the message of the readings today and we rejoice to hear these words of comfort and peace.

In Love and Peace,
Fr. Bob

My brothers and sisters in Christ,

Today, we finish one time of preparation and we begin another.

For the past months, actually since before the summer, we have been preparing for the new translation of the Roman Missal, the book that contains the prayers that we use at Mass. Now, the day has arrived and we have begun using this new missal and hearing new wordings in the prayers and saying new responses. It is certainly a strange experience since we have, for the past several decades, used a particular wording in what we say at Mass. Now it is different and may even seem somewhat awkward. However, as with all change, these new words will eventually become very comfortable.

As was said in the past several weeks in the homilies that you have heard, this may be a good opportunity to recommit ourselves to a more active level of participation in the liturgy. Since we have to be more attentive to what we are saying, we can use this as a good time to rethink what we say and to make the words we utter a stronger expression of what we believe.

Don’t forget – the words are only as powerful as the faith they express. An atheist can come to Mass and say every word we say and his/her words would fall flat since they would not be rooted in faith. While the words we say have power, they must be a compelling expression of the faith they proclaim.

Even as we finish the time of preparation that led to our use of the new translation of the Roman Missal, we enter a period of preparation that returns every year at this time. That season which we are now beginning is the season of Advent. The word itself means coming and that truly is what Advent is all about. But we must always remember that what Advent celebrates is two-fold: 1) the return of Christ as the end of time, and 2) a remembrance of Christ’s first coming.

One has only to go into any department store and know that Christmas is around the corner. More and more stores are opening earlier and earlier on the evening of Thanksgiving or very early on the day after. We become so focused on the coming of Christmas that we fail to realize that we, as a community of faith, are not only remembering a past event, but we are looking to one in the future as well. Advent actually brings all time together: we look to the future coming of the Lord, we remember his past coming in the city of Bethlehem, and we do all that in the present.

Certainly, the feast of Christmas is one of the most joyful times of the year. And yet, we must never forget that the Incarnation, which we celebrate at Christmas, was and never will be a one time event. In the Incarnation, the Son of God, the Word made flesh, took on our human nature and gave it a greater dignity than it ever had before. Yet, the Incarnation is not a one-day event; Christ is present in our midst each and every day. Before leaving the earth, Christ would tell his disciples – Remember: I am with you all days until the end of time.

May this time of Advent be a real period of preparation so that our hearts will be ready to welcome the Lord when he comes at the end of time and may we prepare our hearts as well to remember his birth with joy.

In Love and Peace,
Fr. Bob

My brothers and sisters in Christ,

In an attempt to make it easier to contact parish staff members as well as our support staff in our parish offices, we have initiated an e-mail address system that will now be used to contact our staff members and support staff. These addresses will soon be listed in the bulletin on a permanent basis, but I wanted you to know them ahead of time. Please feel free to write them down so that they will be readily at hand when you need them. You will notice that, with the exception of the particular person’s name, the e-mail addresses are all the same.

STAFF MEMBERS

Fr. Bob Laferrera – frbob@olbs.org
Fr. Chris Isinta – fr.chris@olbs.org
Deacon Pat Quagliana – deaconpat@olbs.org
Sister Rie Crowley – sr.rie@olbs.org
Cathy Gibbons – cathy@olbs.org
Patty Braga – patty@olbs.org
Donald Pennell – don@olbs.org

SUPPORT STAFF

Regina (Parish Secretary) – regina@olbs.org
Diana (Parish Bookkeeper) – diana@olbs.org
Elaine (Religious Education Secretary) – elaine@olbs.org

In addition to the new e-mail addresses, we are also going to be putting the yearly parish calendar on our website. This will occur in all likelihood by February 1, 2012. This means that every parish family with a computer will have access to the parish calendar for the entire year simply by going to our website. This will allow families to check the calendar if they are, for example, unsure of the day or time of a particular meeting that they want to attend or need to attend.

We fully realize that not every family in our parish owns a computer. For these families, as well as any family in the parish, copies of the monthly calendar will be available in the vestibule at the beginning of each month. Beginning that same time, the bulletin will contain the weekly calendar so that parishioners can see what particular events are happening the coming week.

Whether on our website or in the bulletin or on a copy of the monthly calendar, we want our parishioners to know what is happening in the parish, whether that’s on a weekly basis, a monthly basis or a yearly basis. We can ask our parish families to participate more fully in the life of the parish only when we provide as many ways as possible for parishioners to know what is happening. We hope that this information will encourage our parishioners to become more fully involved in the life of Blessed Sacrament.

Thanks for your goodness – The bags of food that were given for those in need were nothing short of overwhelming. Anyone who came to Mass last weekend could not help but see the generosity shown by so many to enable others to enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. To all those who brought in a bag of food, may the Lord bless you for the great goodness that you have shown.

In Love and Peace,
Father Bob

My brothers and sisters in Christ,

Last weekend and again this weekend at all of our Sunday celebrations of the Eucharist, something unusual happened and with continue to happen for the next two weekends. You may not have noticed it because each of you attends only one Mass each weekend. To what am I referring? All of the priests are essentially preaching the same homily. Why are we doing what is different from what we usually do?

Basically, it is one of the ways in which we are seeking to prepare the parish for the new translation of the Roman
Missal which we will begin to use at the weekend liturgies of Nov. 26-27. We hope that, even though they are pre-scripted homilies, they will help with the transition to the new translation.

Next weekend, Nov. 19-20, we will be placing laminated cards in the pews which those attending Mass will be able to use for the new responses, beginning Nov. 26-27. These cards will contain all of the changes found in the new translation for those attending Mass. Please – do not take these cards home. We need to keep the laminated cards in the pews for use during Mass. In next weekend’s bulletin, there will be flyer that you will be able to take home with you so that you can read over and become familiar with the responses which are part of the new translation for those at Mass.

We believe that we have done and are doing what will help to make this transition easier and more prayerful for those attending Mass. Beginning Nov. 26-27, and for several weeks thereafter, we may have our faces “glued” to these cards; however, once we become familiar with the new responses, they will become second nature and will be an instrument for fuller and more conscious participation in the celebration of the Eucharist.

The time following the freak snow storm on Oct. 29 has been more than a little anxiety-producing for many of our parishioners. While many of us had to wait 3-4 days for electricity to be restored, there are still some who are waiting in darkness and cold for the power to be turned on once again in their homes. It has been and may continue to be a harrowing time for many. It certainly has been for our parish.

Not only did we have to cancel some Masses due to darkness and no heat, we also suffered the loss of some tree branches on the property. We are grateful that no serious damage was done to any of the buildings that are part of our physical plant. There is, however, a serious problem that I have to address. That is the loss of parish income as the result of a seriously decreased number of parishioners attending Mass the weekend of Oct. 29-30 as well as for the feast of All Saints.

For the weekend of Oct. 29-30, our collection was only about 1/3 of what we would normally receive. Just for that weekend, our collection was down close to, if not over, $7,000. Coupled with that significant decrease is the fact that we have to pay a company to have tree branches on our property cut down. We do have insurance, but it is only for damage done to buildings by falling branches. It does not cover the work that needs to be done to remove tree branches.

I know that many of our parishioners did place their Oct. 30 envelopes in last weekend’s collection. That has helped tremendously and, for that, I am sincerely grateful. We do need all of our parishioners to consider “making up” what they may not have been able to put into the collection that weekend or the holyday.

As you come to know me, you will find that talking about money and parish finances is not high on the list of things which I enjoy doing. However, as the pastor, it is my responsibility to do whatever I can to ensure that we have the ability to address the expenses of the parish. Your understanding is sincerely appreciated and please know that your support of the parish, financially and simply by your presence, allows us to fulfill our primary mission – the proclamation of the Gospel.

In Love and Peace,
Fr. Bob

My brothers and sisters in Christ,

This week, the Church and society participate in the celebration of two days that are historically connected to one another. On Oct. 31, our children (and some courageous adults) will dress in costumes and celebrate Halloween and, on Nov. 1, the Church calls us to celebrate the solemnity of All Saints. Let’s take a moment and talk about each of these days separately and also how they are bound together.

Some historians trace the origin of Halloween back centuries ago to the Celtic people of Ireland, Britain and France. These people divided the year into what they called the light half – the spring and summer months – and the dark half – the autumn and winter months. This designation of light and dark had to do with the amount of sunlight each day that they experienced throughout the year. The Celts celebrated the end of the light half of the year with a festival called Samhein, observed during October/November. Eventually, this festival was fixed on November 1, following the Roman calendar.

Costumes and treats were part of the Celtic celebration. It is probable that aspects of Roman religion were eventually incorporated into this celebration when the Celts were conquered by the Romans. For example, the Roman goddess of fruit trees and gardens was Pomona. Her symbol was an apple. Some historians believe that candied apples and bobbing for apples became associated with Halloween because of Pomona and her symbol, the apple.

Some historians trace the history of Halloween to the ancient Christian tradition of celebrating the lives of Christian martyrs on the anniversaries of their death. In 609 AM, Pope Boniface IV named May 13 as the name to remember all Christian martyrs collectively. That was the day he consecrated as a Christian church what had been the Pantheon, a Roman temple. Later, another pope, Gregory III, changed the date of the remembrance of the martyrs to November 1, the day he dedicated a chapel in St. Peter’s Basilica to all the saints. All Saints’ Day also became known as All Hallow’s Day. The night before became All Hallow’s Eve or Halloween. These two days are historically connected to one another and are celebrated by children and adults as well.

As Halloween is celebrated this week, we hope that the children of our parish will be able to do so safely and happily.  They have the chance to dress in the costumes of their favorite characters. It truly can be a time of real joy for them. We hope that the frightening elements of Halloween which some people emphasize will be eliminated and will never overshadow the fun that the children can have on Halloween night.

When we come together this Tuesday for the feast of All Saints, we have a chance to remember, not only martyrs, but all of the men and women who have allowed the grace of the Lord to touch their lives. This grace enabled them to truly live the Christian life, leading them to the kingdom of heaven . Many of them we know since they have been named as saints by the Church. They stand for us as, not only examples of holiness, but also as examples of hope. Where they have gone, we hope to follow. They say to each of us that it is possible to live the Christian life, despite our faults and failings, and ultimately experience the peace and the joy of the Kingdom of Heaven.

We look to these men and women – our brothers and sisters in faith – and ask their prayers for us. They now enjoy the peace of God’s kingdom because they allowed the grace of the Lord to impact and animate their lives. May we join them one day and experience with them the peace of the kingdom and the joy of being in God’s presence.

In Love and Peace,
Fr. Bob

My brothers and sisters in Christ,

One of the earliest, and certainly a significant, theologian in the Church was St. Augustine of Hippo in northern Africa. Well-known for what we call his metanoia – his change of heart and the consequent change in his life – Augustine was a prolific writer. Recently, a section of a letter that he wrote to a person named Proba was quoted in one of the hours of the Liturgy of the Hours, the prayer that is part of the spirituality of priests. One part of that letter touched me and I would like to share it with you.

In writing to this individual, Augustine said: “…he who is true life itself taught us to pray, not in many words as though speaking longer could gain us a hearing. After all, we pray to one who knows, as the Lord himself tells us, what we need before we ask for it. Why he should ask us to pray, when he knows what we need before we ask him, may perplex us…(he) wants us to rather exercise our desire through our prayers, so that we may be able to receive what he is preparing to give us.”

So often in my own life, I reflect on my need to pray, to spend that quiet time with the Lord. I think what attracted me to what St. Augustine was saying in this letter has to do with a question that I have asked myself over the years and, interestingly enough, a question that I have been asked by parishioners in parishes where I have ministered. That question is this – If God knows what we need, why we do pray?

I have to admit that I have thought about this very idea for a long time. I have been asked that question many times as well and I think that my own reflection on that question has allowed me to offer what I hope is a helpful answer. It is comforting to know that St. Augustine, one of the Church’s greatest thinkers, also pondered this question himself and sought to answer it as well.

Prayer is very similar to the conversations that we have in our daily lives. It is about speaking and about listening. In my own life, I believe that I am a pretty good talker when it comes to prayer, but I have to admit that I am not as good a listener as I need to be. Like so many of my brothers and sisters in faith, I want God to hear me, but I am not sure that I give myself a chance to hear God. And that is what I find so challenging in what St. Augustine says.

In addition to giving us the opportunity to express what we need, prayer also gives us the time to be receptive to what God wants to give us. It challenges us to fine tune our listening skills so that we can hear how God is answering our prayers, how God is caring for our needs. In order to do that, however, we must be willing to stop and to listen. And, in the midst of all that happens in the course of our days, that is often difficult to do. We need to find that quiet time which allows us to listen to God’s voice, speaking to our hearts. I know what people are going to say – how can I find the time to be quiet in God’s presence with everything else I have to do? That is a fair question and one that needs to be addressed. I don’t know how that will happen in any individual’s life, but I do know that, if we do not do it, if we do not find that quiet time, we will have a much more difficult time hearing what God is saying to us.

St. Augustine wrote centuries ago, yet what he said then still has relevance for us today. As in any conversation, we must be great listeners as well as great speakers. As Augustine tells us, only when we listen will we “…be able to receive what God is preparing to give us.”

In Love and Peace,
Fr. Bob

My brothers and sisters in Christ,

As is very common among those involved in parish ministry, I subscribe to a variety of religious periodicals. These magazines help me to remain current in matters that are being discussed in the Church today and the issues that are considered significant by many contemporary religious authors. One of those periodicals to which I subscribe is a Jesuit publication entitled America.

As the title implies, this particular periodical’s primary focus is on matters of significance to the Catholic Church in the United States. It is one of those issues that was recently discussed in an article in America, an issue which caused me a great deal of concern as a Catholic, as a priest and as a citizen of the United States.

In speaking of the issue of poverty within the United States, the article stated: The United States Census Bureau reported on Sept. 13 the highest number of Americans living in poverty in the 52 years it has collected such estimates. More than 2.6 million additional Americans dropped below the poverty line in 2010. Children were particularly hard hit.” The poverty line for a family of four was $22,113.00 in 2010. How can four people live on that amount? One person would be hard pressed to do so.

I have to say that I was incredibly shocked and tremendously dismayed to read these statistics. The fact that 2.6 ADDITIONAL Americans fell below that level just within the twelve months of 2010 is unbelievable. That statistic is almost beyond my ability to comprehend.

I am truly proud to be an American and I cherish the freedoms that are mine as a citizen of the United States. It does bother me, however, that we hear so often that we are the most powerful nation on the face of the earth. Is that a fact in which we can take pride when more than 2,000,000 of the citizens of this nation fell below the poverty threshold in just one year – in twelve short months? Perhaps because I am proud to be an American and because I cherish the freedoms that are mine that causes me to be more dismayed?

I know that individuals can and will make this a political issue and not a moral one. If they are Christian, they very well may have forgotten that Jesus said, When I was hungry, you gave me to eat; when I was thirsty, you gave me to drink. They may argue and discuss this issue to the extent that their conversations lead nowhere and people still will be hungry in our nation. I have heard that sometimes in our own country farmers are paid not to grow certain crops in order to keep the price of foods competitive. I realize that farmers also need to make a living wage and, for many, that is difficult, but would it not be better to pay them to grow food that could then be distributed to the hungry and the poor?

I am not so naïve as to think that this issue is a simple one to address and I certainly do not have easy answers that will readily solve this issue. My greatest fear is that the issue of poverty and the hunger that accompanies it has become so commonplace in our society and in our conversations that we will simply not be touched by it anymore, that it will not bother us. There always seems to be something that is more pressing, more urgent in our society.

It is hard to prioritize the serious issues that touch our society. However, I sincerely hope that, when we hear that we have the highest level of Americans living in poverty in 52 years, we will pause and consider how we can personally,communally and nationally begin to deal with such an alarming statistic and do what we can locally to address such a crucial issue. The organization Bread for the World used to have a motto. I believe it was -Think globally; Act locally. Let’s hope that we can all begin to do exactly that in the best ways we know how.

In Love and Peace,
Fr. Bob