Holy Week Celebrations at Holy Rosary in Dillingham:
Holy Thursday, 5:30 PM
Good Friday, 5:30 PM
Easter Sunday, 10:00 AM
Easter Egg Hunt to Follow the Easter Sunday Mass
Easter at Saint Theresa in King Salmon/Naknek will be celebrated at 4:00 PM Saturday, April 23rd.
Easter at Saint Peter the Fisherman will be celebrated on Good Friday at 11:30 AM.
Rectory Committee: I have selected a committee to decide what will happen to our rectory once I leave July 31, 2011. There will not be a priest living in the rectory. A priest or deacon will come out every other weekend and return the same week-end back to Anchorage. The members of the committee have until May 29, 2011, to make a decision. The committee members are: Aileen Walsh, Angie Venua, Angela Clark, Bernie Venua, Kyle Belleque, Pat Durbin, and Joanne Armstrong.
Potluck: The next potluck will be after Mass May 29th. The Archbishop will be here to celebrate confirmation and first communion. Please bring your favorite dish.
My Next Assignment: The Archbishop is sending me to Sacred Heart in Wasilla, Alaska. I start the first weekend in August.
Gospel: Homilies and Readings for the Holy Week are below.
Have a wonderful Holy Week. Fr. Scott
Holy Thursday Homily and Readings:
April 21, 2011 Ex 12: 1-8, 11-14; 1 Cor 11: 23-26; John 13: 1-15
Today is the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. We will formally receive the oils from the Chrism Mass, which was celebrated on Tuesday at the Cathedral. We will participate in a foot washing ceremony.
Getting our feet washed is about contact with Jesus. It is to remind us that Jesus is constantly making attempts to contact us.
Allowing Jesus to contact us means knowing we will never be abandoned.
Faith enables us to let Jesus contact us. We let Jesus contact us if we are open to the Holy Spirit.
We let Jesus contact us in Baptism, Marriage, Reconciliation, confirmation, anointing of the sick, Holy Orders, and at the Eucharist.
The woman at the well let Jesus contact her. That contact transformed her life.
Jesus contacted Peter. Peter became our first Pope.
Remember the story of the Man born blind. By letting Jesus contact him, he was both spiritually and physically cured. It can cure us too!
When we let Jesus contact us this is what happens:
We can pass from unrest to a profound feeling of peace. We can shift from despair to hope. We can pass from darkness into light. We can move from death to life.
This foot washing is about contact with Jesus…letting Jesus contact us. He is helping us to understand the Eucharist. He is saying this: We do not really understand what it means to celebrate the Eucharist unless we are prepared…unless we are prepared to perform the lowliest and least exciting of tasks for one another.
During the rest of Holy Week, I challenge all of you to be aware of contact with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus said in the Gospel, “Wash each other’s feet.” Not literally, but let Jesus love you and in turn, pass that love on to others.
When the prayer after communion is complete, I will process with the blessed sacrament around the congregation and then place it in the confessional. When this is complete, I will genuflect and all leave in silence. That blessed sacrament will be used tomorrow during the Good Friday celebration.
Now I need some volunteers for the foot washing (358 Words).
Holy Thursday: Reception of the Holy Oils:
Oils are brought up with the gifts. The presenter holds the oil and says, oil of the sick, and then brings it forward. The priest describes the oil.
Presenter 1: The Oil of the Sick.
Priest: May the sick who are anointed with this oil experience the compassion of Christ and his saving love, in body and soul.
R: Blessed be God forever.
Presenter 2: The Oil of Catechumens.
Priest: Through anointing with this oil may our catechumens who are preparing to receive the savings waters of baptism be strengthened by Christ to resist the power of Satan and reject evil in all its forms.
R: Blessed be God forever.
Presenter 3: The Holy Chrism.
Priest: Through anointing with this perfumed Chrism may children and adults, who are baptized and confirmed, and presbyters, who are ordained, experience the gracious gift of the Holy Spirit.
R: Blessed be God forever.
Exo 12:1] The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, [Exo 12:2] "This month shall stand at the head of your calendar; you shall reckon it the first month of the year. [Exo 12:3] Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this month every one of your families must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household.
[Exo 12:4] If a family is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join the nearest household in procuring one and shall share in the lamb in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it. [Exo 12:5] The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish. You may take it from either the sheep or the goats. [Exo 12:6] You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present, it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight. [Exo 12:7] They shall take some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel of every house in which they partake of the lamb. [Exo 12:8] That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. [Exo 12:11] "This is how you are to eat it: with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you shall eat like those who are in flight. It is the Passover of the LORD. [Exo 12:12] For on this same night I will go through Egypt, striking down every first--born of the land, both man and beast, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt-I, the LORD! [Exo 12:13] But the blood will mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; thus, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you. [Exo 12:14] "This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual institution.
[1 Cor 11:23] For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, [1 Cor 11:24] and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." [1 Cor 11:25] In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." [1 Cor 11:26] For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
[John 13:1] Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. [John 13:2] The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper, [John 13:3] fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, [John 13:4] he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. [John 13:5] Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. [John 13:6] He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Master, are you going to wash my feet?" [John 13:7] Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later." [John 13:8] Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me." [John 13:9] Simon Peter said to him, "Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well." [John 13:10] Jesus said to him, "Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all." [John 13:11] For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, "Not all of you are clean." [John 13:12] So when he had washed their feet (and) put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, "Do you realize what I have done for you? [John 13:13] You call me 'teacher' and 'master,' and rightly so, for indeed I am. [John 13:14] If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. [John 13:15] I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.
Good Friday Homily and Readings:
Today is the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. We will formally receive the oils from the Chrism Mass, which was celebrated on Tuesday at the Cathedral. We will participate in a foot washing ceremony.
Getting our feet washed is about contact with Jesus. It is to remind us that Jesus is constantly making attempts to contact us.
Allowing Jesus to contact us means knowing we will never be abandoned.
Faith enables us to let Jesus contact us. We let Jesus contact us if we are open to the Holy Spirit.
We let Jesus contact us in Baptism, Marriage, Reconciliation, confirmation, anointing of the sick, Holy Orders, and at the Eucharist.
The woman at the well let Jesus contact her. That contact transformed her life.
Jesus contacted Peter. Peter became our first Pope.
Remember the story of the Man born blind. By letting Jesus contact him, he was both spiritually and physically cured. It can cure us too!
When we let Jesus contact us this is what happens:
We can pass from unrest to a profound feeling of peace. We can shift from despair to hope. We can pass from darkness into light. We can move from death to life.
This foot washing is about contact with Jesus…letting Jesus contact us. He is helping us to understand the Eucharist. He is saying this: We do not really understand what it means to celebrate the Eucharist unless we are prepared…unless we are prepared to perform the lowliest and least exciting of tasks for one another.
During the rest of Holy Week, I challenge all of you to be aware of contact with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus said in the Gospel, “Wash each other’s feet.” Not literally, but let Jesus love you and in turn, pass that love on to others.
When the prayer after communion is complete, I will process with the blessed sacrament around the congregation and then place it in the confessional. When this is complete, I will genuflect and all leave in silence. That blessed sacrament will be used tomorrow during the Good Friday celebration.
Now I need some volunteers for the foot washing (358 Words).
Holy Thursday: Reception of the Holy Oils:
Oils are brought up with the gifts. The presenter holds the oil and says, oil of the sick, and then brings it forward. The priest describes the oil.
Presenter 1: The Oil of the Sick.
Priest: May the sick who are anointed with this oil experience the compassion of Christ and his saving love, in body and soul.
R: Blessed be God forever.
Presenter 2: The Oil of Catechumens.
Priest: Through anointing with this oil may our catechumens who are preparing to receive the savings waters of baptism be strengthened by Christ to resist the power of Satan and reject evil in all its forms.
R: Blessed be God forever.
Presenter 3: The Holy Chrism.
Priest: Through anointing with this perfumed Chrism may children and adults, who are baptized and confirmed, and presbyters, who are ordained, experience the gracious gift of the Holy Spirit.
R: Blessed be God forever.
Exo 12:1] The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, [Exo 12:2] "This month shall stand at the head of your calendar; you shall reckon it the first month of the year. [Exo 12:3] Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this month every one of your families must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household.
[Exo 12:4] If a family is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join the nearest household in procuring one and shall share in the lamb in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it. [Exo 12:5] The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish. You may take it from either the sheep or the goats. [Exo 12:6] You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present, it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight. [Exo 12:7] They shall take some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel of every house in which they partake of the lamb. [Exo 12:8] That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. [Exo 12:11] "This is how you are to eat it: with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you shall eat like those who are in flight. It is the Passover of the LORD. [Exo 12:12] For on this same night I will go through Egypt, striking down every first--born of the land, both man and beast, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt-I, the LORD! [Exo 12:13] But the blood will mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; thus, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you. [Exo 12:14] "This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual institution.
[1 Cor 11:23] For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, [1 Cor 11:24] and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." [1 Cor 11:25] In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." [1 Cor 11:26] For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
[John 13:1] Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. [John 13:2] The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper, [John 13:3] fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, [John 13:4] he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. [John 13:5] Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. [John 13:6] He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Master, are you going to wash my feet?" [John 13:7] Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later." [John 13:8] Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me." [John 13:9] Simon Peter said to him, "Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well." [John 13:10] Jesus said to him, "Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all." [John 13:11] For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, "Not all of you are clean." [John 13:12] So when he had washed their feet (and) put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, "Do you realize what I have done for you? [John 13:13] You call me 'teacher' and 'master,' and rightly so, for indeed I am. [John 13:14] If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. [John 13:15] I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.
Good Friday Homily and Readings:
April 22, 2011, Herby, Is52:13—53:12;Heb4:14-16&5:7-9;Jn18:1—19:42
A group of production managers calculated the time it would take experienced hikers to trek 50 miles. Next they chose 9 accomplished hikers, and Herby. If the hikers made it back TOGETHER in the allotted time, each would receive $10,000.
Herby, sweating and tired after the first few miles, fell behind. Time was wasted waiting for him. The hikers tried moving Herby to the middle of the line and divided up his backpack among them. They made better time, but it was not enough. Finally, they put Herby right up front and took turns encouraging him. They showed him compassion when his feet were hurting. They were patient with him when he needed to rest. Not surprisingly, they collected the money.
The story about Herby is similar to the story in the Gospel. Both are about sacrificing, dying and rising, and living out God’s Will.
The story of Herby is about sacrificing. The hikers start out with their own agendas. They are self sufficient and not willing to reach out to others. In the infant stages of the hike, I can envision physically elite hikers waiting for Herby to catch up, pacing, yelling at him, and swearing under their breath. Halfway through the adventure, they realize they need to make some sacrifices.
The story of Herby is also about dying and rising, but not in the LITERAL sense. One hiker, comparable to taking a knife and stabbing himself in the heart, grudgingly walks over to Herby, takes off his pack, and divides up his belongings. Herby makes better time for a few hours. One hiker bandages Herby’s blistered feet (compassion) Spirits are lifted and they are back on schedule.
Finally, the Herby story is about living out God’s will. By loving Herby, instead of chastising him, the hikers made more progress as a unit. Doing God’s will means loving one another. It means reaching out to the outcasts in our society and actually feeling and experiencing their pain.
The Good Friday Gospel is about sacrifice. It’s about Jesus making the ultimate sacrifice by dying on the Cross for us. It’s about dying and rising.
It’s about Jesus, stumbling, falling with the weight of his Cross…being helped up by others, then stumbling, and falling, again and again. And all along he knew he was trudging toward his death.
Good Friday is about doing God’s will by loving others. Jesus embraced God’s will and died on the cross because he loved us so much. We to will be saved if we embrace God’s will.
The message of the Good Friday Gospel is this: Jesus not only shows us how to die, but he shows us how to live as well (448 Words).
Isaiah 52:13—53
See, my servant shall prosper, he shall be raised high and greatly exalted. Even as many were amazed at him-- so marred was his look beyond that of man, and his appearance beyond that of mortals--So shall he startle many nations, because of him kings shall stand speechless; For those who have not been told shall see, those who have not heard shall ponder it. Who would believe what we have heard? To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot from the parched earth; There was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to him. He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, One of those from whom men hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, While we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; But the LORD laid upon him the guilt of us all. Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth. Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away, and who would have thought any more of his destiny? When he was cut off from the land of the living, and smitten for the sin of his people, A grave was assigned him among the wicked and a burial place with evildoers, Though he had done no wrong nor spoken any falsehood. (But the LORD was pleased to crush him in infirmity.) If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him. Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; Through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear. Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, Because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; And he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses.
Heb4:14-16&5:7-9
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help. In the days when he was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,
John 18:1—19:42 (Passion)
Easter Sunday Homily
DLG 2011, Let Go.
Indiana Jones, played by Harrison Ford, is a swashbuckling archeologist. His missions involve finding valuable religious articles and getting chased by tribes of Indians. Here is a riddle:
Indiana Jones was running from a tribe of hostile natives. He had just found and taken three diamonds. Each diamond weighed one pound. He weighed 200 pounds. Indiana Jones approached an old rope bridge. The sign on the bridge said, “Max Weight 202 pounds. His total weight with the diamonds was 203 pounds. How did he cross the bridge? He juggled the diamonds. He let go of one diamond. By letting go, it made him lighter. It lessoned his burden. It saved his life.
Here is the message of Easter…We cannot have new life without letting go…without dieing first. LEARN TO JUGGLE. In the spiritual life, juggling represents letting go or dieing and then rising to new life.
While juggling I hold onto one ball while the other two are in the air. When I finally toss the one ball back into the air:
It frees me
It makes me lighter
It lessons my burden
Juggling teaches us to let go. As humans, we like to hold on to things that may not be so good for us. We grow attached to things. When we give them up, it makes us free…it makes our loads manageable. It gives us a new lease on life.
I “let go” of chewing tobacco eight years ago. I was at risk for mouth and stomach cancer. I had high blood pressure. I was suffering. I let it go. My blood pressure went down. It struggled for a couple of years but I feel so much better.
Drinking is another one of those bad habits I let go. When I drank I suffered, and so did the people around me. This is no exaggeration. After being sober my relationships were strengthened, my health improved, I was never depressed, and my life has never been better.
Letting go of material possessions frees us to do more of God’s work. When we simplify our lives we are more open to God’s call.
During college I stored my belongings in a storage unit. Storage spaces cost lots of money. I soon realized I did not need the stuff and got rid of all of it. I juggled…I let it go. It was like a weight lifted off my shoulders…it was New life.
Let go of those intangible things that hurt us, hurt others, and lead us farther from God.
Gossiping, impatience, self-centeredness, lying, cheating, stress, and worrying are things we can let go of.
Catholic Christians let go of these things by calling on the Holy Spirit and praying Jesus. Jesus tells us this, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” That is an invitation to you to “let go” and share that burden with God.
It is when we let go that we experience new life. Letting go reduces suffering. Clinging to bad habits and practices creates suffering.
Now just what does it mean to die to self? Learn to do things YOU dislike to do but BENEFIT another person. No-one likes standing in a long line (dieing). Let a person go in front of you at the check-out stand (new life).
There is a belief that nothing that comes to us is negative. All things that come to us give us a chance to grow in holiness and grow closer to God. Everything that is given to us is a gift to help us grow…even suffering and illness.
Things in life that are good for us always come through dieing…through letting go. Take it from Jesus, have faith, trust in God, let go and die, experience new life…in short…learn to juggle with it
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