During my lifetime I have met many nice people. I am sure you have done so too. However, it is not often you or I meet an extraordinarily remarkable person. Today, I recall one woman who definitely can be considered extraordinarily remarkable. She was a woman who taught me a few lessons about life.
Maria was her name. She was a single mother of three children. Maria was an immigrant from Italy. Her husband had passed away unexpectedly, before he reached age 50. Maria was a very good mother and a hard working woman. However, in my estimation, besides the said personal qualities, she is extraordinarily remarkable because of the following reason.
While I was a teenager growing up in Paterson, I was good friends with two of Maria’s children. It was at their home very often all my friends and I would gather to “hang out.” We could be found on the front porch, in the backyard, or in the above ground pool. Sometimes late into the evening, many of us would be at Maria’s house. Each of us knew, if you wanted to be with friends, that was the place you would find plenty of them.
Here is the reason Maria was so special. Even though she was a single parent of three, a woman who worked hard each day to achieve success in a country that was not the first she ever lived, and as a widow surely experiencing the painful void of a beloved husband who passed away too young, Maria never chased us away from her house. As loud as it had gotten on some evenings, she let us stay. Even when the neighbors complained, Maria allowed us to remain on her property. She forgave us when we did something wrong. She spoke to us, trying to provide advice about life. Maria provided a maternal care for those who were not even her own children. Extraordinarily remarkable was the woman!
The lessons I learned from Maria, I hope will also be edifying for you. First, the virtue of patience exercised for the benefit of someone will never be forgotten by the recipient of it. Each of us ought to do the same. Second, nothing helps heal the void of losing a loved one like reaching out to those who seemingly are in need. Each of us ought to do the same. Finally, occasionally parenting sometimes means giving your time to young people other than your own children. Each of us ought to do the same.
Thank you, Maria. God bless you for your goodness. I pray I may be as good as you.
Peace Fr. Marc
March 5, 2021
“Shush…No Make Any Noise Now!”
Yup, that is precisely what my grandmother would tell us with firm vigor.
Every Good Friday, exactly at noon until three o’clock, no noise was permitted in our house. None whatsoever. No TV. No music. No laughter. No talking. Only silence. Grandma wanted all of us to never forget what Jesus did for all of us, on the first Good Friday.
I wish my grandmother’s voice would be heeded on Good Fridays in American society today! Unlike in the past, sadly, there isn’t the respect for that very sacred and solemn day, especially the aforementioned hours of 12 noon through 3:00pm. The three hours do not seem to be special for some Christians anymore. How sad.
Maybe this year you and I can make a difference in our small corner of American society. Why not turn off the noise? Possibly, we should not be anywhere else, but in a church for some, if not all the three hours? Conceivably, if we either hear about or notice ordinary activity occurring, we can share that the three hours of Good Friday should take priority. On the afternoon, when Jesus hung between life and death, it was an action beyond extraordinary, Indeed, we should not be doing anything ordinary, except focusing on Him!
Read again and again the Opening Prayer for the Good Friday Prayer Service. How beautiful it is.
“Almighty and Everlasting God, You willed that Your Son should bear for us the pains of the cross that you might remove from us the power of the adversary. Help us to remember and give thanks for our Lord’s Passion and that we may obtain remission of sins and redemption from everlasting death through the same, our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Peace Fr. Marc
march 4, 2021
“In God We Can Trust”
So, it was my first job after graduation from high school. I was employed for a company that serviced central air conditioning units (hereinafter a/c) located on roofs of stores.
On a late summer morning, my boss and I arrived at a store to service the a/c unit. I grabbed a ladder from atop his van, and then I leaned it against the building. He climbed up to the roof, and I followed. During our evaluation of the a/c unit, we learned a replacement part was needed. So, he said, “Marc, I’ll be right back…I’ll go and purchase the part we need to get the a/c to run again.” “Okay, I said.
On the roof I was alone. Thirty-minutes passed. Then, I decided to get off the roof, until he returned. I looked, but the ladder was gone! No ladder for me to get off the roof!
Back then, I had no cell phone. Very few people did. It became one hour, still no boss in sight. I am looking at my watch. One hour and half hours…Where is he? Two hours, and he had not returned! It was at that point I said to myself, “I will not trust him again if I am on the roof with him servicing an a/c unit…It’s only God I will trust up here!
My boss returned nearly three hours after he left me on the roof. “Sorry, Marc, I forgot you were here,” was his statement. My reply, “Did you need a ladder to get into the van?” He laughed; I didn’t.
God is the only One that always, everywhere and in everyconceivable manner throughout our lives will never “let us down!” (Excuse the pun).
Peace Fr. Marc
March 3, 2021
March 3rd – St. Katharine Drexel
“Katharine Drexel is the second American-born saint to be canonized by the Catholic Church. She was born in Philadelphia on November 26, 1858, the second child of a prominent and wealthy banker, Francis Anthony Drexel and his wife, Hannah Langstroth. Her mother passed away just five weeks after Katharine was born.
The Drexels were financially and spiritually well endowed. They were devout in the practice of their faith, setting an excellent example of true Christian living for their three daughters. They not only prayed, but practiced what the Church calls the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.
Katharine grew up seeing her father pray for 30 minutes each evening. And every week, her stepmother opened their doors to house and care for the poor. The couple distributed food, clothing and provided rent assistance to those in need. The Drexels would seek out and visit women who were too afraid or too proud to approach the home in order to care for their needs in Christian charity.
After watching her stepmother suffer with terminal cancer for three straight years, Katharine also learned that no amount of money could shelter them from pain or suffering. From this moment, Katharine's life took a turn. She became imbued with a passionate love for God and neighbor, and she took an avid interest in the material and spiritual well-being of African and Native Americans.
In 1884, while her family was visiting the Western states, Katharine saw first-hand the troubling and poor situation of the Native Americans. She desperately wanted to help them. When her father passed away a year later, he donated part of his $15.5 million estate to a few charities and then left the remainder to be equally split amongst his three daughters.
He set up his will in a way to protect his daughters from men who were only seeking their money. If his daughters should die, the money was then to go on to his would-be grandchildren. If there were no grandchildren, the Drexel estate would be distributed to several different religious orders and charities, including the Society of Jesus, the Religious of the Sacred Heart, a Lutheran hospital and the Christian Brothers.
In 1887, while touring Europe, the Drexel sisters were given a private audience with Pope Leo XIII. They were seeking missionaries to help with the Native American missions they were financing. The Pope looked to Katharine and suggested she, herself, become a missionary. Not long thereafter, Katharine decided she would give herself and her inheritance to God through service to both Native Americans and African Americans. Katharine began her six-month postulancy at the Sisters of Mercy Convent in Pittsburgh in 1889.
On February 12, 1891, Katharine made her first vows as a religious and dedicated herself to working for the African and Native Americans in the Western United States. Taking the name Mother Katharine, she established a religious congregation called the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored, whose members would work for the betterment of those they were called to serve.
From the age of 33 until her death in 1955, she dedicated her life and her fortune to this work. Also, in 1915, Katherine founded Xavier University in New Orleans, the first Catholic University in the United States for African-Americans. By the time of her death, she had more than 500 Sisters teaching in 63 schools throughout the country and she established 50 missions for Native Americans in 16 different states.
Mother Katharine died on March 3, 1955 at the age of 96. The order continues to pursue Katharine's mission with the African-Americans and Native Americans in 21 states and in Haiti. St. Katharine was beatified on November 20, 1988 and canonized on October 1, 2000 by Pope John Paul II.
Peace Fr. Marc
March 2, 2021
Sacraments: Anointing of the Sick
Just a few reminders about the healing sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.
It is our bishop who ordinarily blesses the oil for the administration of the sacrament.
The common manner to receive the sacrament is the priest administers the blessed oil on the forehead, then on the palms of the recipient’s hands.
Any baptized Roman Catholic, if he/she has reached the age of reason, may receive the sacrament whenever there is a serious illness, not just if he/she is danger of death
A baptized non-Catholic may also receive the sacrament under the same circumstances, if the following is true:
He/she requests it.
He/she cannot approach a minister from his/her Christian church.
Demonstrates a Catholic faith in regard to the reception of the sacrament.
Is properly disposed to receive it in spirit.
An unbaptized person may not receive the sacrament.
If a person received the sacrament, he/she may receive it again, if the illness increases in severity or if another serious illness occurs after the first.
The sacrament can be administered anywhere and at any time.
Only an ordained presbyter (priest or bishop) may administer the sacrament.
The blessed oil utilized in the administration of the sacrament is kept in the parish church, stored in an ambry..
If needed, it also may be kept in the possession of the priest. Stored with reverence in a convenient location.
Peace Fr. Marc
March 1, 2021
Neither Will I forget, Nor Regret
It was my first day as a student of high school. Finally, after nine years of attending Public School #7, (Kindergarten through eighth grade), I was a freshman of Passaic County Tech!!!
However, the evening prior to the big day, my mother insisted I had to wear proper and professional clothes! She insisted I wear a white dress shirt, blue polyester pants, blue dress socks and black shoes.
That morning, I did as she insisted. I felt like a weirdo once I left my house. And at the bus stop, I was looked at by other students as if I was “one sandwich short of a picnic”
Throughout the day I was quite conscious of what I was wearing. Well, to me, it just did not seem the correct wardrobe for my first class in Automotive Shop. And, since it was a hot September day, I learned polyester was not the material most welcoming to stay cool. Plus, a white shirt tends to stain if you splash some of your lunch of sloppy joe on a soft roll.
Deliverance came for my simple mind when I got on the bus to go home from Tech. I sat quietly on the bus, and just before it reached the stop from which I would get off, I loosened the laces of my shoes. I stepped off the bus, then, as my feet landed on Preakness Avenue, I kicked off both of my shoes! Salvation! Finally, I could relax. The first day of high school was over, dressed as if I was a gentleman going for a job interview at the local funeral home. I could not wait to inform my mother of her mistake about the clothes she insisted I wear.
But, when I got home my mother said she was proud of me. Mom said, “As you walked home with the others, you were the only one dressed as you should for school.”
Lesson: Sometimes we ought to do what we can to make our mother and father happy, even it is a sacrifice. Each of us has one mother and one father who are responsible for our existence in life. To do what we can to make them happy, is all worth it. Although it was not easy, today, I am glad I dressed as I did for the first day of high school- strange as it was!
Peace Fr. Marc
February 28, 2021
Does This Sound Familiar?
Mandy: Hey Jude, I called this afternoon, but you never answered! I needed to talk to you. Judy: Sorry, Mandy. What time did you call me? Mandy: It was about 4:00pm. Judy: Oh, at that time I was going to confession at the church. Confessions are from 4-5pm. Mandy: Confession! What for? Did you kill somebody or something? Judy: I wanted to get some things off my mind which I felt guilty about doing recently. Mandy: You go to church every Sunday and you pray at night. Aren’t that enough times to tell God you are sorry about the things you felt guilty about doing recently? Judy: Yes, and no. Yes, I do tell God about those things and it makes feel a little better. But, it is only in confession, as you know; we are forgiven in a very special way. Then, God gives us a lot of grace not to do it again. It’s one of the seven sacraments. Now, I can start to make it better. Judy: Hey, why did you need to talk to me earlier today? Mandy: Well, umm, funny you should ask. It is a long story, but to make it simple, I know I should not have done it, but I did. Last night I stole $20 from my brother’s wallet. And, I felt really, really bad about it. Judy: 4-5 next week. Go to confession. I’m telling you it really helped me a lot today. I will even drive you there if you don’t want to go alone. Let me bring you. Don’t carry the world on your shoulders like you are right now. Mandy: Well. I don’t know. I don’t like that priest. His sermons are long and boring. I don’t know. Judy:Mandy, you can do this! Forget about that priest’s sermons. Confession is about Jesus really forgiving you! Mandy: Maybe. If it helped you, probably I will go. Just, as long as you come with me to the church. Hey, Jude, don’t let me down, you better come with me. Judy: Alright. I got it. I will be there. I will pick you up at 4. Sometimes we all need a little help from our friends.
Peace Fr. Marc
February 27, 2021
Happy, Happier, Happiest!
As the famous American author H. Jackson Brown, Jr. wrote, “Remember that the happiest people are not getting more, but those giving more.”
There is nothing wrong for a person to try his/her best to attain what has value in this world to experience happiness. But, in his/her efforts to do so, it should be remembered all that is attained will not provide the ultimate happiness. Whatever one has, no matter the value, it provides happiness that is only transitory.
Enduring happiness for which we search during our lifetime does not have a value that can effectively be measured as less or more in this world. The said happiness is experienced when we unite ourselves with our Lord God which gives each day lovingly to each of us. When we do so, giving more, trying to have a pattern of the same intention as our Lord God, then each of us will be truly happy. Actually, we will be happiest, and not anything less.