PathToHoliness

It has been a rough last two weeks. I came down with the worst flu bug I can remember and then we had a blizzard with 20 inches of snow in mid Missouri. Cindy and I had to fly to Denver for a convention and then I had to fly to another one in Phoenix. Let’s just say that flying, below zero to 70 degree temps and dry hotel and convention centers are not good for your sinuses! But I survived!

The photo is the altar in St. Mary’s Basilica in Phoenix. It’s conveniently located right across the street from the convention center and has a noon weekday Mass.

Cindy took a picture of our St. Francis statue after last week’s snow storm. That’s the image I use for my Twitter account.

We did have a snowy week and were supposed to get more last night and today. We even went to Saturday evening Mass last night thinking we may not have been able to go this morning. However, Msgr. Higley, prayed that the snow would miss us and he was answered. At least we haven’t received what we expected. Just a light dusting so far.

It’s a cold day in Missouri on Gaudete Sunday. We just had our first snow of the season and the wind is howling. Hopefully the roads won’t be any problem going to Mass in a short while

Here’s an excerpt from today’s second reading that I thought I’d share. Besides the whole concept of being patient, which is one I need to work on constantly, I like the reference to farmers!

See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You too must be patient. (Jas 5:7-10 Reading 2)

At the end of Mass yesterday our Associate Pastor, Fr. Ben Nwosu, sang what he calls the Jefferson City Song. Fr. Ben is from Nigeria where life is very different than we can imagine here in the USA. When he was assigned to our diocese he fell in love with our community so he composed a little song that he started singing after Masses. He says that when he has been back home he’s taught it to his family and friends and they sing it there too. I caught part of the song on my phone to share with you.

Traveling? Need to know where to find a church and what time Mass will be? Then make sure you’ve got Masstimes.org bookmarked. You can look up churches anywhere in the world. The service is totally dependent on donations too so please help them if you can. Here are some other options to use their service.

Automated Church Lookup: 1-734-794-2100

If the Live operator is not available when you call please leave a message and she will call you back. You can also email the live operator.

I don’t think I ever did a post about the new version of iBreviary which is now iBreviaryPro. It’s another app I use almost every day. I’m finding it harder and harder to carry around and use my Liturgy of the Hours books, especially doing a lot of air travel. These apps are really helping make saying your norms easier.

The Vatican Council for Social Communications has approved an iBreviary application created by Italian priest Fr Paolo Padrini for the iPhone.

Infomobile reports it brings complete missal and principal prayers in Spanish, French, English, Latin and Italian. “That’s cool, but what really sets this application apart from all others in the AppStore is that it’s the first app with approval of the Vatican!” Infomobile says. “As with almost any iPhone app, iBreviary is easy to use, sporting iPhone like user interface. In addition, size of the characters can be increased, landscape mode is supported (using accelerometer) and much more.

Excerpt from CathNews.

After Mass this morning I was talking to a couple and the subject of mobile phones came up. Turns out they had been wondering why I was looking at my iPhone during Mass. As the wife put it, “I was thinking, Can’t he leave that alone during Mass?” It gave me a good chuckle but at the same time made me realize how many people aren’t aware of what new technology can do today. So I used it as a teaching moment and they were amazed.

So, here’s the app that I was using. iMissal by Cantcha, Inc. It has become one of the apps I use frequently since I go to daily Mass. It’s very solid and contains much more than just the daily readings. Here’s a full list:

Here is what is included in iMissal:

Mass Readings: All the Mass Readings for every liturgical cycle (A,B,C,I,II) are included! This includes First Reading, Psalm, Second Reading, Alleluia, and Gospel for all Sunday and Weekday Masses. Reading text is always available for every day, no WIFI connection necessary. Uses translations officially approved for Mass in the U.S. Great resource for Lectors.

Read the rest of this post…

On Father’s Day I really enjoyed myself working at the Iowa Corn Indy 250 in Newton, IA. Of course I missed being with my family but I did get home at a reasonable time in the evening.

Once again IRL Ministry took care of us spiritually. Fr. Phil DeRea celebrated Mass in the Driver’s Mtg. Room at the Media Center. One of the drivers, Helio Castroneves, attended along with team members, media and other people involved in race day activities.

As a special treat, Fr. DeRea brought a number of rosaries to give away. He was in Rome on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and had them blessed by Pope Benedict. I was lucky to receive one.

After Mass I spoke with Fr. DeRea. He says that Father’s Day is an emotional day, especially when you think of the wonderful memories of our fathers. He calls IRL Ministry a “Parish on wheels.” He, along with another minister, provide Mass and church services at races around the country. He also performs other services like weddings and baptisms. He says IRL Ministry has permission from the Vatican through Pastoral Care For People On The Move.

You can listen to my interview with Fr. DeRea here: Fr. DeRea Interview

IRL Ministry is a 501c3 not-for-profit, non-denominational organization, which was developed to help the racing community. We exist because of the donations we receive from the racing community and great partners that join with us to reach out to the people that are part of this great sport. Our financial records are available for review by contacting our office. We desire to be good stewards of the blessings we are given.

I uploaded quite a few photos from the race which you can find here: Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album.

Our Diocese celebrated the annual Chrism Mass last night and I think we had more people attend than normal. We had a full Cathedral.

This is a picture of our Bishop John Raymond Gaydos receiving the oils which would be blessed later.

It was awesome to see all our priests together including one celebrating 70 years as a priest! He’s 94 years old and drove himself to Jefferson City from St. Louis.

This is the Chapel at Chicago Midway Airport in Concourse C. I was sitting in Concourse A yesterday with a long wait for my flight when I heard an announcement for Mass. That pretty much answered my question about what to do with my time.

I headed right on over and got there a little early. The priest was there waiting too and was very happy to hear Confession. So I got two sacraments!

The Mass was very nice and we had quite a few people show up. Most large airports have some type of ministry like this and I’ve been able to take advantage of them at various times. It is a wonderful work and I pray they are able to continue it.

This week I was in Lexington, KY and attended morning Mass at St. Peter Church.

To my surprise the 7am Mass is in traditional Latin. Here’s an iPhone photo image from Monday.

Latin Mass Ministry

Individuals of the Diocese of Lexington served through this ministry are expected to be members of a parish of the diocese, and may request the celebration of other sacraments with the permission of their local pastor.

We had a choir chanting responses and songs. You can hear what they sounded like here:

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Fortunately for me they had paperback booklets with the Mass in Latin and English so I could follow along.

Welcome to Holy Week 2009. Although I was on the road last week I did make it home in time to attend our Chrism Mass.

This is a photo from right after all the priests in our diocese went up on the Altar for the blessing of the holy oils by our Bishop Gaydos.

It’s a beautiful Mass and I’m glad I had the opportunity to attend. Here’s a description of the purpose of Chrism (holy oil) from Wikipedia:

Chrism is essential for the Catholic Sacrament of Confirmation/Chrismation, and is prominently used in the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Orders. Those to be confirmed or chrismated, after receiving the laying on of hands, are anointed on the head by the bishop or priest. In baptism, if the person baptized is not to be immediately confirmed or chrismated, the minister anoints them with chrism. Newly ordained priests are anointed with chrism on the palms of their hands, and newly ordained bishops receive an anointing of chrism on their foreheads. It is also used in the consecration of objects such as churches and altars.

These holy oils are usually stored in special vessels known as chrismaria and kept in a cabinet known as an ambry. When the oils are distributed to a priest for him to use in his ministy they are kept in a smaller vessel with three compartments, known as an “oil stock”. There is also a type of oil stock that is shaped like a ring, to make the anointing easier. The “jewel” of the ring is a container with a removeable lid.