From the Pastor

24^th Sunday in

Ordinary Time – A

Sept. 17, 2017

Unlike almost everywhere else, the establishment of Catholicism in the present-day USA was easy. Only a handful of missionaries, all clergy, were martyred; while lay Catholics faced discrimination, rejection and even violence until recent times, there were no mass persecutions or executions of Catholics here. But this was FAR from the case in Korea!

It seems Christianity was brought to Korea by invading Japanese soldiers in 1592. Korea had little contact with the ‘outside’ world [like North Korea today], but around 1777, Christian literature was smuggled in and ‘home’ churches began to grow. When the first Priest managed to sneak into Korea around 1790, he found 4,000 Catholics who had never met a Priest! Seven years later there were 10,000 Catholics; but after six main waves of violent persecutions led by the government during the 1880’s, 10,000 martyrs had shed their blood for the faith. Why were the then Father
Andrew Kim Tae-gon and Layman Paul Chong Ha-sang chosen to represent them all? Read on …

Collect – Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gon & Companions

O God, who have been pleased to increase

your adopted children in all the world,

and who made the blood of the Martyrs

Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gon and his companions

a most fruitful seed of Christians,

grant that we may be defended by their help

and profit always from their example.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ … and ever. Amen.

MARTYRS: THE SEEDS OF CHRISTIANS.
Born August 21, 1821, Andrew
was only 18 when his father, Ignatius Kim, [beatified in 1925] was executed for being Catholic; Andrew
was 1,500 miles away in a seminary, but courageously returned in secret to Korea after Ordination in 1854: the first native born Korean Priest. A year later, he was arrested for mapping routes for missionary Priests to sneak into Korea. On September 16, 1846, at just 25, he was brutally tortured and beheaded. The Bishop who ordained him, who was the first Bishop of Korea and a French missionary, requested the honor of being buried next to Andrew Kim Tae-gon.

Layman Paul Chong Ha-sang’s father was also martyred in the 1801 persecution that killed all Korean Christian clergy. Born in 1794, he inspired his fellow Christians to persevere, even with no priestly shepherds or Sacraments. As a servant in Korea’s diplomatic corps, he asked the Bishop of Beijing to send Priests to Korea; after he pleaded Korea’s cause in Rome, Pope Gregory X recognized the Korean Diocese’s legitimacy; he defended Christianity to his own government in defense of Christianity, and was tortured and executed on September 22, 1839. Saints
Andrew and Paul, honored on
September 20, are certainly great examples to follow!

Prayer over the Offerings – St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon

Look with favor, almighty God,

on the offerings of your people and,

through the intercession of the blessed Martyrs,

grant that we ourselves may become

a sacrifice acceptable to you

for the salvation of all the world.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

THINGS KNOWN ONLY TO GOD.
When Pope Saint John Paul visited Korea in 1984, he canonized 100 Koreans
and 3 French missionaries; some were Bishops or Priests, but most were Lay people: 47 women, 45 men. As he said at the Rite: “The Korean Church is unique because it was founded entirely by lay people … even today their undying spirit sustains the Christians of the Church of Silence in the north of this tragically divided land.” May we never take our freedom to worship for granted!

Prayer after Communion – St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon

Nourished with the food of the valiant

as we celebrate the blessed Martyrs,

we humbly ask you, O Lord,

that, clinging faithfully to Christ, we may labor in the Church for the salvation of all.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

DO WE CHERISH THE EUCHARIST?
The Church in Korea LONGED for the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist; are we as appreciative of and overjoyed to celebrate them so freely and regularly? Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gon, Paul Chong Ha-sang and Companions, pray for us.

In His holy Name,

Rev. Thomas J. Serafin, KHS

From the Pastor

23^rd Sunday in

Ordinary Time – A

September 10, 2017

Since 1668 we have celebrated Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15, one day after we mark the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, but its roots go back to the 12^th Century. Originally called Our Lady of Compassion from the Latin ‘cum patior’
– ‘to suffer with,’
it is based on what the Prophet Simeon said to Mary
when the Infant Jesus was presented in the Temple: “and you yourself a sword will pierce.” [Luke 2:35a]
That’s the first of our Blessed Mother’s Seven Sorrows
or biblical Dolors
[which gives us the name Dolores]; the others are: The flight into Egypt [Matthew 2:13, 14]; Finding the Child Jesus in the Temple [Luke 2:43-46]; Meeting Jesus on the Way to Calvary;
The Crucifixion;
Descent from the Cross; and Burial of Jesus. Some of these events are also found in the Rosary’s Sorrowful Mysteries and in the Stations of the Cross.

In Saint John’s highly symbolic Gospel, in his account of Christ’s Passion and Death, we hear the tender dialogue in which the dying Jesus gave us His Mother to be our Mother: “Woman, behold, your son.” [C.f. John 19:26-27] By this Jesus made her our companion, who suffers with her children, as all loving mothers do. Here are the orations for Our Lady of Sorrows.

Collect – Our Lady of Sorrows

O God, who willed that,

when your Son was lifted high on the Cross,

his Mother should stand close by and

share his suffering, grant that your Church, participating with the Virgin Mary in the Passion of Christ, may merit a share in his Resurrection.

Who lives and reigns … for ever and ever. Amen.

STABAT MATER.
So few younger Catholics know the strains of the 13^th Century hymn traditionally sung at Stations of the Cross: the Stabat Mater. The first of its 20 verses is: “At the cross her station keeping, Stood the mournful Mother weeping, Close to Jesus to the last.” It poetically sings of she who, though technically not a martyr, suffered most exquisitely and intensely as she stood beneath her Son’s Cross. What a comfort to know she stands with us in all our sorrows and woes.

Prayer over the Offerings – Our Lady of Sorrows

Receive, O merciful God,

to the praise of your name the prayers

and sacrificial offerings which we bring to you

as we venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary,

whom you graciously gave to us

as a most devoted Mother

when she stood by the Cross of Jesus.

Who lives and reigns … for ever and ever. Amen.

DON’T BREAK YOUR MOTHER’S HEART. One of the symbols of Our Lady of Sorrows is a heart pierced with seven swords; Jesus never ‘broke’ His Mother’s heart, but as He followed His Father’s will, she did experience intense grief and sorrow. He did cause her anxiety and worry when He was ‘lost’ for three days in the Temple, but as He explained to her, He HAD to be about His Father’s business. We, on the other hand, as brothers and sisters of Jesus through Baptism, often break our Blessed Mother’s heart. How so?

Instead of being busy about our Heavenly Father’s business, we often busy ourselves with monkey business. Instead of living for what will last forever, we get consumed with and by the passing things of earth … all of which break’s our Blessed Mother’s heart. And what mother is not grieved when her children bicker and fight with each other? We should all take inventory of how we break our Blessed Mother’s heart and give her heart more reasons to be proud of us!

Prayer after Communion – Our Lady of Sorrows

Having received the Sacrament of eternal redemption, we humbly ask, O Lord, that, honoring how the Blessed Virgin Mary

suffered with her Son, we may complete

in ourselves for the Church’s sake

what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.

Who lives and reigns … for ever and ever. Amen.

TO LOVE AS MARY LOVED.
Life often requires us to suffer with those we love; our willingness to feel another’s pain, to weep with those who weep, [Romans 12:15b]
is a sure sign of our love. May we imitate this kind of love, seen in our Blessed Mother
and many mothers.
Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us!

In His holy Name,

Rev. Thomas J. Serafin, KHS

From the Pastor

22^nd Sunday in

Ordinary Time – A

September 3, 2017

At the onset of a new academic year is the feast day of the patron saint of, among other things, students
and teachers! Born around 540, Saint Gregory the Great was Pope from 590 until he died on March 12, 604, which immediately became his feast day, as he was ‘acclaimed’ a Saint by the people at his death; the canonization process came centuries later. But in the liturgical reforms of the 1960’s, Saints with an Obligatory Memorial were moved out of Lent, and September 3
became his ‘new’ Feast Day.

His great, great grandfather was Pope Felix III [celibacy was optional then!] and although the Western Roman Empire was long gone, his family was still politically powerful and wealthy. His father was a Senator and Prefect in Rome; his mother was of noble birth, so he was set for an easy, luxury-filled life, but felt called to be a monk. He strictly adhered to the monastery’s harsh lifestyle, but was regularly called to public service, in the Church and the secular world. After Pope Pelagius II died, whom he had served as one of his Seven Deacons and as ambassador to Constantinople, Saint Gregory the Great was elected Pope in 590; here are his orations.

Collect – Saint Gregory the Great, Pope & Doctor

O God, who care for your people with gentleness and rule them in love,

through the intercession of Pope Saint Gregory,

endow, we pray, with a spirit of wisdom those to whom you have given authority to govern,

that the flourishing of a holy flock

may become the eternal joy of the shepherds.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ … and ever. Amen.

THE TRIPLE TIARA.
Although the papal crown did not exist until centuries AFTER
Saint Gregory, he is depicted wearing it since he was the first Pope to truly serve as 1] Universal Pastor; 2] Father of all Earthly Rulers; and 3] Vicar of Christ.

Blessed Paul VI was the last Pope to wear it; his tiara, on display in Washington D.C.’s Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, was sold to Catholics in the USA, its proceeds given to the poor, which would elate Saint Gregory. For he used his authority and position to send missionaries to the ends of the then-known world, i.e., he sent Saint Augustine of Canterbury to bring the Faith to Anglo-Saxon Britain. During plagues and war, he used the Church’s assets and her ministers to care for the poor and displaced. From his time on, people looked to the Roman Church, not their government, for aid and protection.

Prayer over the Offerings – Saint Gregory the Great

Grant our supplication, we pray, O Lord,

that this sacrifice we present in celebration

of Saint Gregory may be for our good,

since through its offering

you have loosed the offenses of all the world.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE SACRED MYSTERIES.
During his time in monastic life he gained great insight and experience with the sacred liturgy which had yet to be formally organized. A prolific writer [his symbols are a pen
and book], the Preface on Christmas, Easter and the Ascension, and other prayers still used at Mass, are attributed to him.

He is credited with composing and/or promoting ‘plainchant’ or simple singing of the Mass; there is little historical proof for this, but we still call it ‘Gregorian chant’ in honor of him. A legend says a scribe saw a dove, the biblical symbol of the Holy Spirit, whispering into his ear. Thus, through Word and Sacrament, Saint Gregory helped form the foundation of the holy Mass; in fact, we still pray the “Our Father” where he placed it in the rubrics for holy Mass!

Prayer after Communion – Saint Gregory the Great

Through Christ the teacher, O Lord, instruct those you feed with Christ, the living Bread,

that on the feast day of Saint Gregory

they may learn your truth

and express it in works of charity.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

CHARITY IN ACTION. He removed lazy clerics, saw that each Parish had a Deacon, whose main role is to care for the poor, and regularly invited a few poor people to his table for dinner, thus exhibiting charity in action; may we do so as well. Saint Gregory the Great, pray for us.

In His holy Name,

Rev. Thomas J. Serafin, KHS

From the Pastor

21^st Sunday in

Ordinary Time – A

August 27, 2017

This week we honor the patron saint of brewers and beer. [I’m sure that got your attention!] He was born on November 13, 354, lived in what is now Algeria, North Africa, and died on August 28, 430 which is now his feast day. He became the patron of breweries due to his conversion from a raucous life of parties, entertainment, worldly ambitions, fathering a child out of wedlock, and causing his mother, Saint Monica, countless tears. He himself even prayed, “Lord, grant me chastity … but not yet!” However, we’ve just … tapped the keg … when it comes to Saint Augustine, Bishop & Doctor of the Church.

Collect – Saint Augustine, Bishop & Doctor

Renew in your Church, we pray, O Lord,

the spirit with which you endowed

your Bishop Saint Augustine that,

filled with the same spirit,

we may thirst for you,

the sole fount of true wisdom,

and seek you, the author of heavenly love.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ … and ever. Amen.

“OUR HEARTS ARE RESTLESS UNTIL THEY REST IN GOD.”
Although Saint Augustine’s
father was a pagan, his mother made sure he had a Christian education. Back then, infants and children were not normally baptized; once, the very ill future Saint became a catechumen, but quit baptismal preparations when he recovered. He became a father at 18, and then sought to satisfy his thirst for the meaning of all life, and his own life, through philosophy and non-Christian beliefs. While studying in Milan he met the future Saint Ambrose, whose powerful preaching piqued his curiosity about the Catholic Faith. After three years of struggle, his mother’s anguished prayers, and the grace of God, Saint Augustine was baptized in 386. A year later, his mother, Saint Monica, died.

In art, he is depicted with a heart on fire, often with arrows
shot through it – a symbol similar to a Saint Valentine’s Day
heart, shot by Cupid with arrows of love from the one seeking to win that heart. For as he wrote in his Confessions:
“Our hearts are restless until they rest in God.”
He also lamented, “Too late have I loved you, O Beauty so ancient, O Beauty so new. Too late have I loved you!” For although, as he wrote, God had been calling him – or shooting arrows of love at him – from so many sources [nature, biblical revelation, his mother’s tears, his life experiences, etc.] he had been deaf to – and in denial of – God’s gracious call. May we be ever attentive to what God is calling us to do!

Prayer over the Offerings – Saint Augustine

Celebrating the memorial of our salvation,

we humbly beseech your mercy, O Lord,

that this Sacrament of your loving kindness

may be for us the sign of unity

and the bond of charity.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

“PRAY AS THOUGH EVERYTHING DEPENDED ON GOD. WORK AS THOUGH EVERYTHING DEPENDED ON YOU.”
This quote from Saint Augustine summarized his life. He was not ordained a Priest until 391, at 37; but had not sought Holy Orders. It was the people of the local church who begged their Bishop to ordain him! He reluctantly accepted the call, but was NOT given faculties to preach: a privilege Bishops reserved to themselves in those days. But as a presenter at a Council dealing with one of the many heresies that rocked the Church at that time, his oratory skills were noticed – and 5 years later, in 396, at 42 – he was ordained Bishop of Hippo – a diocese he shepherded for 34 years until his death in 430 at 76. May we also let God work through us!

Prayer after Communion – Saint Augustine

May partaking of Christ’s table

sanctify us, we pray, O Lord,

that, being made members of his Body,

we may become what we have received.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

“EVERY SAINT HAS A PAST; EVERY SINNER HAS A FUTURE.” This quote from Saint Augustine offers great hope. For just as he never gave up on himself, and his mother and others never gave up on him, we who receive Jesus in the Eucharist have the same support system! Saint Augustine, pray for us.

In His holy Name,

Rev. Thomas J. Serafin, KHS

From the Pastor

20^th Sunday in

Ordinary Time – A

August 20, 2017

In 1925, Pope Pius XI instituted the feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, now celebrated on the last Sunday in Ordinary Time, to combat unhealthy levels of nationalism and secularism. In 1954, his successor, Pope Pius XII, extended this regal imagery with The
Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 22. This feast ‘crowns’ the octave or eighth-day of Mary’s Assumption
into heaven celebrated on August 15. However, honoring Christ’s Mother
as Queen is far from new, as we see in the four reasons Pope Pius XII gave for declaring her Queen. These four reasons form the basis for The Queenship of the BVM’s orations.

Collect – The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

O God, who made the Mother of your Son

to be our Mother and our Queen, graciously grant that, sustained by her intercession,

we may attain in the heavenly Kingdom

the glory promised to your children.

Through our Lord … for ever and ever. Amen.

THE QUEEN MOTHER.
All Marian doctrines are based on sacred
Scripture, and are focused on her Son. In the Annunciation the Archangel Gabriel said God would give Mary’s Son “… the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” [Luke 1:32b-33] In the Visitation Elizabeth called Mary “the mother of my Lord.” [1:43]
So the Bible clearly presents Mary as a Queen Mother who gave birth to Christ, who is King of kings and Lord of lords.

In the 300’s, Saint Ephrem [† 373]
called her ‘Our Lady’ and ‘Our Queen,’
which many Church Fathers continued to call her. From the 1200’s, hymns were composed that called her by this title, like the still popular ‘Hail, Holy Queen.’ As the Dominicans helped promote the Rosary, and Saint Philip Neri [† 1595] spread the custom of May Crownings, Mary’s ‘Queenship’ became even more popular. So the first two reasons we rightfully call her ‘Queen’
are one: the Bible
– and two: the Church’s ever-developing Tradition. The other two reasons are found in the next two orations: God the Father’s will and His grace.

Prayer over the Offerings – Queenship of the BVM

As we observe this Memorial of the

Blessed Virgin Mary, we bring you our offerings, O Lord, praying to be given strength

by the humanity of Christ,

who offered himself to you on the Cross

as the unblemished oblation.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

MARY’S UNIQUE BOND WITH HER SON. Pope Pius XII noted that we rightfully call her a ‘Queen’
because of the unique role she played by totally
accepting the Father’s will – and the gift of His grace. As noted above, she became a ‘Queen’ in her own right by giving birth to Christ the King … but God asked far more from her than that! As the New Eve, she shared personally, intimately, and more than anyone else did in her Son’s redeeming life and Death. From His infancy and childhood, ministry, and, above all, at the foot of His Cross, she ‘reigned’
with Jesus … long before He took her to His side in heaven.

And like other biblical women who gave birth to a king [i.e., Queen Bathsheba, wife of King David and mother of Solomon, who served as an advocate in Israel and Queen Esther, who risked her own life to save Israel] our ‘Queen’ has a role in our salvation. Seated by her Son, she intercedes for us … “now and at the hour of our death.”

Prayer after Communion – Queenship of the BVM

Having received this heavenly Sacrament,

we humbly pray, O Lord, that we, who reverently celebrate the Memorial

of the Blessed Virgin Mary, may merit

to be partakers at your eternal banquet.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

OUR QUEEN IS ALSO OUR SISTER.
Many are confused by our Blessed Mother’s
role; some see her as regally equal to her Son; others deny her any special role other than motherhood. The Catholic Faith firmly teaches that as one of us, she shares in her Son’s royalty – albeit in a unique way – as we all hope to do in the Kingdom of her Son. Holy Mary, our Queen, pray for us!

In His holy Name,

Rev. Thomas J. Serafin, KHS

From the Pastor

19^th Sunday in

Ordinary Time – A

August 13, 2017

Some say the atrocities faced centuries ago by Christians are overly exaggerated. But as Saint Maximilian Kolbe shows: evil is still evil. For the barbarous crimes committed by Nazi Germany and modern day radical Islam are just as, if not more, repulsively heinous.

Born January 8, 1894 and baptized Raymund in Poland, then occupied by the Russians who hanged his father, Julius, in 1914 as a traitor; his mother, Marianne, later became a nun. Like his father he joined the Polish militia, but in 1910 entered the Franciscans and was given the name Maximilian Kolbe. Ordained a Priest in 1918, he earned a doctorate in philosophy and one in theology. Skilled in printing and promoting pamphlets and periodicals, he spread the Faith and devotion to the Immaculate Virgin Mary, combatting the evil forces of his time. Arrested and imprisoned for doing so, he was released; but after resuming his anti-Nazi publications and hiding 2,000 Jews at his monastery, his publishing house and monastery were shut down. In 1941 he was sent to Auschwitz and was martyred on August 14, 1941, at the age of 47. Here are his orations.

Collect – Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr

O God, who filled the Priest and Martyr

Saint Maximilian Kolbe with a burning love

for the Immaculate Virgin Mary

and with zeal for souls and love of neighbor,

graciously grant, through his intercession,

that, striving for your glory

by eagerly serving others, we may be conformed, even until death, to your Son.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ … and ever. Amen.

TWO CROWNS.
As a boy, he had a vision of the Virgin Mary who offered him two crowns with which he is often depicted: the white one symbolized purity, and the red one, martyrdom – and he promised to accept both. Providentially, he was cremated the day after his death: on Mary’s Assumption. His love of neighbor, which his Collect extols, led to his execution.

Depicted in Nazi prison garb with his prisoner #16670, he holds a Jewish prayer shawl with prisoner #5659: Francis Gajowniczek, a married man with young children, chosen to die with nine others as punishment and a deterrent after another prisoner escaped. When he begged for his life to care for his family, Father Maximilian
volunteered to take his place. After two weeks of dehydration and starvation, Maximilian Kolbe was the last of the group to remain alive, so he was given a lethal injection. Saint Maximilian Kolbe is the patron saint of political prisoners and all inmates, drug addicts, families, and the pro-life movement.

Prayer over the Offerings – Saint Maximilian Kolbe

We present our oblations to you, O Lord,

humbly praying that we may learn

from the example of Saint Maximilian

to offer our very lives to you.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

TO LIVE FOR OTHERS.
Few are called to offer the ultimate sacrifice of their life for others, but all are called to imitate Saint Maximilian Kolbe’s example of doing all we can to spread the Faith, despite opposition. Even the man whose place he took, who attended his canonization in 1982 and who died in 1995 at age 94, promoted the Faith – after being criticized by fellow inmates for causing them to lose their beloved Priest.

Prayer after Communion – Saint Maximilian Kolbe

We pray, O Lord, that, renewed

by the Body and Blood of your Son,

we may be inflamed with the same

fire of charity that Saint Maximilian

received from this holy banquet.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

RECEIVE EUCHARIST AT ANY COST!
Even in prison, despite danger and difficulty, with smuggled bread and wine, Saint Maximilian Kolbe offered Mass for his fellow prisoners. How sad that so many have a cavalier attitude about fulfilling the weekly Mass obligation and excuse themselves for the lamest reasons. May this Saint help us take our Faith and the holy Mass obligation more seriously. Saint Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.

In His holy Name,

Rev. Thomas J. Serafin, KHS