St Ann's in Burleson

Sunday, March 20th, the day before I headed for Subiaco, Deacon Don Warner and I made a trip to a rapidly growing parish south of Fort Worth, St. Ann's in Burleson, Texas. If the traffic on I-35 is not too bad, it takes about 15 minutes from downtown Fort Worth. The pastor of the parish is Father Mel Bessileu. Once a rural parish, St. Ann's is now rapidly growing, with demographics from both Anglo and Hispanic populations. 

On Sunday I celebrated the 1:00 PM Mass in Spanish to a full Church and also blessed the new Altar of repose, the tabernacle, the new Stations of the Cross, and various images in the back altar. Due to some scheduling limitations, I'll have to wait to bless the altar at a Liturgy of the Word on Holy Saturday afternoon. 

     

St Ann's Burleson

The new altar of sacrifice, tabernacle, altar of reservation and the stations of the Cross bring a dimension of Catholicity to the parish Church, which had been constructed in the 1970's. It certainly seemed to bear the "stamp" of that time. Thanks to the generosity of the parishioners they now have a parish Church which is truly Catholic in appearance, but which also lends itself well to full participation in the Liturgy.

Fr. Mel and I broke and blessed the ground for a new parish center to help accommodate the pastoral and social needs of this growing parish. The parish also has a very committed pro life outreach and a number of the parishioners of St. Ann's operate a pregnancy care center, with a sonogram, and social outreach to mothers and families. Congratulations to Fr. Mel, staff and parishioners of St. Ann's. 

Preferring Nothing Else to Christ

I spent last Sunday, St. Benedict's day, at the Abbey of Subiaco in Subiaco Arkansas. I was invited over a year ago by Abbot Jerome Kodell OSB to be the principal celebrant and homilist for the community celebration. The Benedictine abbey at Subiaco, a daughter house of St. Meinrad Archabbey, sent monks to teach, support, and evangelize north Texas in the late 1880's and early 1890's to the German speaking immigrant communities of Muenster, Lindsay, Windthorst, and Rhineland Texas. Later on they also assumed the pastoral care of the venerable St. Mary's parish in Fort Worth and taught on the faculty of Laneri HIgh School in Fort Worth. In my homily, which I am including with this entry, I thanked the Benedictines for their ministry in North Texas. Even though they are no longer physically present, their living of the Rule of St. Benedict, to "seek God" by "preferring nothing else to Christ" has born spiritual fruit that even today is still very much part of the lives of those rural communities in our Diocese.

A very Blessed St. Benedict's day to all who live the Rule, or who have been blessed by part of ministry of the Benedictine monks and nuns in their Abbeys  and Priories in our country.

HOMILY

St. Benedict's Feast Day - March 21, 2011

Subiaco , Arkansas

[This is not like a Monastic Scriptorium, but  an I Pad helps me, and perhaps is the current equivalent of the functions that the Scriptorium performed!!]

I wish to thank Abbot Jerome and the community your welcome to me here today. Your welcome certainly has been an expression of what is found in the Rule of St. Benedict, to treat each guest as Christ Himself! I believe, in many ways, that even before I have arrived, here I have come to know you and your community, through the Faith and the families of the people in so many of the parishes of the Diocese: Fort Worth at St. Mary's Parish and Laneri High School, Rhineland, Windthorst, Muenster, Lindsay, and Gainesville. What your monks did, and the living of the rule of St. Benedict in North Texas continues to bear fruit to this day, even though the monks are no longer physically present, through the families, the faith, and the connections with the Academy and the Monastery, you are still a part of the life of the Diocese of the Church in Fort Worth, of the Faith in North Texas.

As our Liturgical Calendar brings us once more to this feast day of St. Benedict, let us reflect on the words of Pope Benedict XVI at the Angelus on July 10, 2005. He spoke about how St. Benedict, amid the ashes of the decaying Roman empire, planted the seeds of a new civilization. The principal aim, the Pope said, of St. Benedict was not to found a monastic institution to evangelize the barbarian peoples, but "he pointed out to his followers the search for God as the fundamental and indeed, one and only aim of life: Quaerere Deum [to seek God].

To seek God, then, finds, it seems to me, the fullest expression of the Rule in Chapter IV, No. 21, "To prefer nothing to the love of Christ." That, I would say, has been the guiding force and foundation to the Benedictine rule and way of life all throughout the centuries, and been a light and path wherever the followers of St. Benedict were called and sent through thte ages, in seeking God, "to prefer nothing to the love of Christ." Everything else that they accomplished, that was built, came from that foundation.

The Scriptures for today certainly give us a clear road map of how to do that. Abbot Martin Marty, Father Isidor Hobi, and Father Wolfgang Schlumpf, among others in the pioneer days of this foundation certainly followed the words of the rule, as did those first monks who came to Texas in the 1880's to lead a monastic life on what was a frontier existence with all of the rigors of the day and time.

To seek God, "to prefer nothing to the love of Christ', is certainly something I have seen in my nearly six years in Fort Worth, in the parishes and foundations that you started. I can still see it to this day in many of the families of Muenster and Lindsay and elsewhere whom I have come to know and love. They, in turn, have showed me that as well. Your presence and spirit, and the rule of St. Benedict still are present in that way.

However, the challenge remains for us today, to seek God, to prefer nothing to the love of Christ. I believe, like St. Benedict, that we live in a culture and society that seems to be in ashes:  a post Christian culture that has some of the same overtones of the pagan culture that resulted in the fall of Rome and resulted in the ashes of civilization. If that in fact, is the case, then the task of building again falls to us. Rather than to lament only as the Psalmist says, "Foundations once destroyed, what can the just do?", should we not, rather than trying to construct or invent some new program, seek God above all else, in preferring "nothing to the love of Christ", starting first with our own lives.

With that as the foundation for the rule of St. Benedict a new civilization was built in his time. Let us then, with confidence and hope, take up those words.  Let us take up that task in this age wherever the Lord brings us together. Make this the calling for our own lives and then for the lives of all who God's Providence sends our way, whether it be in monastic life, the apostolic work of this monastery, or in the lives of those who come to us in our daily lives and ministry. In the close of his rule, St. Benedict said, "Then with Christ's help, keep this little rule that we have written for beginners. After that, you can set out for the loftier summits of the teaching and virtues mentioned above, and under God's protections you will reach them.  Amen."

Fasting Robots

Given to the Apostles

Somehow, the account of the Transfiguration has had an important place and a significant impact on me over the years. I distinctly remember that it was on the day of the Transfiguration in 1978 that Pope Paul VI went home to the Lord. I was getting ready to return to the seminary in St. Louis for second year theology. Little did I know it then, but the Transfiguration that year would be the entrance to one of the most profound periods in the life of the Church in my lifetime. Peter Hebblethwaite, in his book entitled "The Year of the Three Popes" mentions this day specially when referring to the death of Pope Paul VI. As I remember, his reference to this day was something like the manifestation of the Risen Lord in the midst of daily life. 

Franciscan Church of the Transfiguration

In January of 1980 I had the chance to visit Mt. Tabor [the site of the Transfiguration] twice when I was there with a group of seminary classmates on a January pilgrimage. The architecture of the Church of the Transfiguration, especially the gold mosaic of the Transfigured Lord positioned in such a way to catch the rays of the sun, has remained with me. I had the privilege of returning there in November of 2006 as Bishop to celebrate Mass in the Church and to wear the chasuble that Pope Paul VI wore when he celebrated Mass during his momentous trip to the Holy Land in 1964. As a student in Rome, I often passed the mosaic reproduction of Raphael's famous painting right outside the sacristy of St. Peter's. I stop and reflect this magnificent work of art each time I am in St. Peter's. The collects for the Mass for the feast of the Transfiguration, the Preface for the day, and the fact that the second Sunday of Lent has an important role for those in the process of the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, are all parts of our liturgical and catechetical which teach us each time we come to August 6th or the Second Sunday of Lent. The fact that the preface for the day teaches that this vision was given to the Apostles to strengthen them for the passion of the Lord which lay ahead, is something for all of us to reflect on. In our own lives, do we truly understand that the "mountaintop moments" are gifts and blessings of the Lord to take with us, as a light to our paths, for the darker and more difficult moments of life? We cannot stay on the mountain for ever, just as Peter, James and John could not? More often than not, we are in the valleys, in the low places. Yet at those precise moments, remember the blessings and the bright moments of life. In their own way, there could be moments of a transfiguration, of sorts, when the Risen Lord, in His glory, spoke to us in the daily moments of life, to guide us and strengthen us for the journey ahead.

In the Office of Readings for this day, St. Leo the Great teaches that "The great reason for this transfiguration was to remove the scandal of the cross from the hearts of his disciples, and to prevent the humiliation of his voluntary suffering from disturbing the faith of those who had witnessed the surpassing glory that lay concealed." Cannot the moments of joy, blessing, and presence of God that sometimes comes to us a surprise, be in a small sense, the same experience for us, so our faith is not disturbed, but rather strengthened?

Towards the Transfiguration

The LORD said to Abram:

“Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk

and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.

“I will make of you a great nation,

and I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

so that you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you

and curse those who curse you.

All the communities of the earth

shall find blessing in you.”

Abram went as the LORD directed him.

Bishop Vann will be writing a reflection for the Feast of the Transfiguration but until then here is a musical reflection that draws together the mission in Christ.  Mr. Stevens retells some of the story of Salvation. (Fr. Isaac)

Abraham, worth a righteous one. 

Take up on the wood, 

put it on your son. 

Lake or lamb. 

There is none to harm. 

When the angel came, 

you had raised your arm. 

Abraham, put off on your son. 

Take instead the ram 

until Jesus comes ...

By Immigrants

St. Joseph's Day:  From Sacred Heart in Muenster, St. Peter's in Lindsay to Holy Rosary in Cisco, Texas.  A total mileage for the day of 400 miles!


In these days when there is much discussion on immigration, it should give us pause to remember that the Faith was brought to this country by immigrants, most of whom were our ancestors. This is certainly true of the heritage of Faith in many rural parishes in the Diocese of Texas, with German and Czech roots. On this St. Joseph's Day I had the chance to reflect on the customs and Faith that came with many of our immigrant families to North Texas and do this in the context of the Solemnity of St. Joseph.

Sacred Heart in Muenster, TX. 

Early in the morning, I started out  with Deacon Don Warner, with Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Muenster, Texas, to a group assembled of over 200 people. The parish in Muenster was established at about the same time that the Diocese of Dallas was established, that is, around 1890. Two of the early parish Churches were destroyed by tornadoes (this part of the Diocese being part of "Tornado Alley"). After two churches were destroyed and a third built, the people of the parish, German immigrants of that time, began to pray for St. Joseph's intercession and protection each year on his feast day. I presided at Mass this morning at Sacred Heart at 9:00 AM. I reflected in my homily on St. Joseph's guardianship of the Christ Child and his looking out after his family in the flight into Egypt. In our asking his intercession and protection he also guards and cares for us. Thanks to all who helped with this day in the parish Church, Fr. Ken Robinson, the pastor, the musicians, the Knights of Columbus and all who turned out to nearly fill the Church this Saturday morning! Sacred Heart parish sponsors a grade and high school as well. 

St.Peter's Spire

Following my time at Sacred Heart Church, Deacon Don Warner and I traveled up Highway 82 for a few miles and came to visit St. Peter's Church in Lindsay, Texas. This is another German community, with a Church whose spire can be seen miles away. Fr. Ray McDaniel, the pastor of this parish, showed me the intricate and thorough restoration work that is being done on this Church to restore it to its original beauty. The windows, and much of the art work bear the original German inscriptions. Many of the parishioners are descendants of the original German settlers, and this community dates from about the same time as Sacred Heart in Muenster. The beauty of this parish Church is similar to the so-called "Painted Churches" in central Texas. There are also four chapels (two in front of the Church and two in the cemetery) which are maintained by the descendants of some of the families who originally built them. They are used each year on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi for prayer and stopping points on the Corpus Christi procession. The parish has many young families who live and work and farm in the area. 

        

The Restoration continues at St. Peter's in Lindsay

After being in this north part of the Diocese, I returned to the Metroplex for Mass at St. Joseph's Manor in Arlington, Texas, a small private home whose owners, the Dennings, provide care for a small number of Catholic residents who need long term care and assistance.

        

Following a brief stop at the Cathedral, I headed 100  miles west, into the West Texas town of Cisco, Texas, where I prayed the rosary  with some parishioners at the little church of Holy Rosary. After the Rosary in the Church, we processed over, praying the Litany of St. Joseph, to the parish Hall where a beautiful St. Joseph Altar had been built to celebrate St. Joseph's Day. This was a custom of Sicilian immigrants, who brought the tradition with them. In acknowledging St. Joseph's care for his family, they realized that he still cares for us, and we then share the blessings of table, food, and family with others. This was one of the most beautiful St. Joseph table and altars I had ever seen. This celebration will continue tomorrow, with a dinner of meatless spaghetti for the parishes of Ranger, Cisco, Eastland, and Strawn. Often in the festivity of St. Patrick's day, St. Joseph can get overlooked. Yet, he is powerful intercessor for us, always showing us what it means to be faithful to one's vocation and calling, and doing the right thing, being unafraid.  

Bishop Vann blesses the St. Joseph table in Cisco, TX.

On December 18, 2005, at the praying of the Angelus, Pope Benedict XVI said, concerning St. Joseph, that "It is no exaggeration to think that it was precisely from his 'father' Joseph that Jesus learned--at the human level--that steadfast superiority which is a presupposition of authentic justice, the 'superior justice' which he was one day to teach his disciples (cf. Mat. 5:20).  Let us allow ourselves to be 'filled' with St. Joseph's silence!  In a world that is often too noisy, that encourages neither recollection nor listening to God's voice, we are in such deep need of it."  

News Flash

Photo: Innout/Flicker

Even Taco Bell knows its Lent.  This is not an endorsement. - Fr. Isaac

Into the Fullness of Faith

Recently, I was at four parishes of our Diocese for the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion. These parishes were: Our Lady of Guadalupe in Wichita Falls, Texas, St. Francis of Assisi in Grapevine, Texas, Immaculate Conception in Denton, Texas, and St. Vincent de Paul in Arlington, Texas.

I believe that this year we had around 1100 catechumens and candidates total for the four events. Together with many of their sponsors, catechists, RCIA team members, priests, religious and others we look forward to Lent in anticipation of Easter. The Liturgical Rites were conducted in both English and Spanish and I preached in these two languages. I reflected that "The Gospel for this day says that, 'It was not you who chose me but I who chose you.' It is truly the Lord Himself that has chosen you--the elect and the candidates to be here this day. You have heard His voice echo through the lives of your families, your loved ones, and your parish communities to follow Him by coming into full communion with the Catholic Church. My brothers and sisters here today, while you may understand that you chose this path, it is indeed the Lord Himself who has chosen this path for you:  the path that started with your religious heritage and upbringing, and now leads you into the fullness of Faith at the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord."

The Diocesan Pastoral Council

Last Saturday I attended a meeting of our Diocesan Pastoral Council. We welcomed five new members and elected Mr. Dick Schiefelbein of Holy Trinity mission in Azle, Texas to be the moderator. Special thanks to Fr. Isaac for his formation in the morning on what Catholic advocacy means. Fr. Steve Berg, our Vicar General, was present in the afternoon and I was present most of the morning. 

The statutes of our Diocesan Pastoral Council were reformed with the help of my good friend, Barbara Ann Cusack, J.C.D, of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Canons governing the Diocesan Pastoral Council are found in the Code of Canon Law in Canons 511-514. Canon 511 specifically states that "in every diocese and to the extent that pastoral circumstances suggest it, a pastoral council is to be constituted which under the authority of the bishop investigates, considers, and proposes practical conclusions about those things which pertain to pastoral work in the diocese." 

DPC Members discuss the upcoming  Advocacy Day in Austin

The meeting was fruitful as the Council reflected on its role, and how it could be involved in the upcoming Advocacy Day at the State Capitol in Austin next month. Previously I had asked the members to attend the seminars and educational sessions for the implementation of the revised Roman Missal this fall. They are also in the process of  reflecting how to best undertake a welcome home effort for returning Catholics and to work with me in the development of a vision statement (with the help of the Catholic Leadership Institute in Philadelphia) that promotes a spirituality of communion.

Welcome to our new members, Melani, Dustin, Teresa, Pilar and Janae and thank you to the continuing members for your commitment and Faith.

Without Half Measures

On Sunday evening, March 6th, Fr. Isaac and I had an evening of dinner, conversation and prayer at the men's house in Grand Prairie, Texas of what is known as the Focolare Movement. This house is within the parish boundaries of St. Matthew's parish in Arlington, Texas in the Diocese of Fort Worth. There is also a women's house nearby. I had met with some of the members earlier last year in part of my ongoing project of meeting with various members of all of the ecclesial movements in the Diocese. Although I am not a member of Focolare I have always been drawn to its charism of forging unity in the Church and in the world through its "spirituality of communion." This is a vision that I have been working to preach and teach about in our Diocese. I would like to draw closer together in the family of God and for us to be more effective witnesses to our Faith in a divided world, and at times, a divided [in a number of ways] household of Faith. I first got to know the Focolare when I was a student priest in Rome in the early 1980's through some Italian friends, and then later on through close priest and bishop friends. Focolare was founded in northern Italy by Chiara Lubich in 1943. There is a thorough and helpful reflection on this vital movement in the life of the Church by John Allen Jr., in a recent article he posted on his Blog for the National Catholic Reporter.

Chiara Lubich and Pope John Paul II
Photo: L'Osservatore Romano

Fr. Isaac and I had a good evening of reflection with the men present that evening. We talked about the history of the Focolare movement, the life of the Church here in North Texas, and faith in general! I have asked our Diocesan paper, The North Texas Catholic, to do an article on Focolare on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its arrival in the United States this spring. If you haven't heard much about Focolare, I would certainly encourage study and reflection on the life of Chiara Lubich. I was given a book entitled Rays: Short reflections on Living God's WillI, by the local Focolarini at Christmas time. In it are many quotes by Chiara Lubich, but one that I like in particular goes thus, "Loving means doing the will of the Beloved, without half measures, with our entire being--with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind."

A Necessary Part of the Life of Faith

Mid-last week I made a trip to Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. Our Vocation Director, Father Kyle Walterscheid, was at St. Joseph's Seminary in Covington, Louisiana and Theological College in Washington D.C. Msgr. Michael Olson, Rector of Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving Texas, and Father Isaac Orozco were at St. Mary's Seminary in Houston, Texas for the seminary Board of Directors meeting.


In my three days at Hales Corners, I had the time to visit with our three seminarians about their studies and formation, the staff and faculty about the same, and also had the privilege to confer the Ministry of Reader on eight candidates. I am very thankful to Father Jan de Jong, for his leadership and guidance, and the staff and faculty of the seminary. Sacred Heart School of Theology is administered by the Sacred Heart Fathers, who once had their novitiate in St. Marie, Illinois, in my home Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. The resident students in this seminary are "second career" vocations and so it is inspiring to be with these men as they seek to respond to the Lord's call to follow Him in the call to priesthood. At the end, I had the chance to visit with one of my close friends and classmate from my graduate study days in Rome, Rev. Kenneth Omernick. Then I was able to return from the piles of new and old snow in the north to the sun and warmth of Texas to begin to prepare and reflect for Lent.

Visits like these and like the ones Father Walterscheid and Father Olson made are continual reminders of the importance of the entire Church promoting, praying for, and encouraging the call to consecrated life and priestly ministry. It is not just the work of the Bishop or Vocation Director or the priests, but is the necessary part of the life of Faith for all.  And as has been recent custom we have held Lenten evenings of discernment for those who would like to meet, pray, learn and inquire about priestly and religious vocations.  

The Power of the Sacraments

As I am here at my desk in the Cathedral in Fort Worth, after having prayed the last Vespers and Compline for Ordinary Time for awhile, I am reflecting on some of the events of the past week here in Fort Worth.  Since I was out of town for a few days, I am a little behind in these reflections.  It is my hope now to begin to catch up on life here in the Diocese of Fort Worth and beyond.

Shortly after the Texas Mission Conference I made a trip the next day to the new Holy Redeemer parish Church in Aledo, Texas, not far out of Fort Worth. This is a relatively new parish, brought into being some years ago by the expressed desires, hopes, and prayers of people living in the area. As a first part of a master plan, I dedicated their new church nearly two years ago, and now I returned for the blessing of the new windows around the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. These windows were planned by a group of people from the Church, led by their pastor, Fr. Publius Xuerub, with artistry and talent of Conrad Schmitt Studios in New Berlin, Wisconsin. The windows are stained glass in the classic sense, that truly portray our faith. There are eight window, symbolizing the Seven Sacraments (there are two for the Eucharist, one for the Body of Christ and one for the Blood of Christ). These windows eloquently and powerfully teach the way that stained glass windows did years ago. They represent the beginning of life to the end, by using sunrise to sunset. The background of the celebrations of the Sacraments and the people in these scenes are the hills and valleys in the geography of Texas. At the bottom of each pane of glass are Texas wildflowers, matched to the Sacrament. For example, the Sacrament of Baptism, at the beginning of life, has the Texas bluebonnets matched to it! They bring the eternal truth of our Faith, the power of the Sacraments, into the current life and time, just as medieval stained glass and art did.

All of the figures in these windows are looking toward the Tabernacle in the Chapel in prayer and dialogue with the Eucharistic Lord! When the sun is coming through them, they truly shine with the light of God!  Like the stained glass windows in our Cathedral of St. Patrick they eloquently teach and proclaim our Faith without one single word. They would truly be what we used to call "sacramentals"!  I am very proud of the parish and its efforts in this most important form of sacred art.

To All The Nations

The weekend of February 25 - 27 saw the annual meeting of the Texas mission Council held in Fort Worth this year. Some years ago (in 2006) Maryknoll Magazine published an article in entitled "Texas in Mission" that chronicled the history of the various mission activity, projects and spirit in Texas. The state of Texas seems to be unique in that it the only State that has such a mission council. Many Dioceses and parishes have their own mission councils in Texas as well. The mission apostolic work in Texas is "animated" and supported by the Texas Mission Council whose president is Rev. Gerry Kelly MM of Houston. The Mission Council meets twice a year at St. Mary's in College Station. The Mission Council helps to plan this annual mission council which draws participants from all over Texas. Last year, the Conference was held on the Border at Brownsville, and in prior years in such locations as San Antonio.

Participants at the Texas Mission Council Conference

The theme this year was "Youth in Mission" and drew around 75 participants.  During these days together, some of the most impressive, thoughtful, and moving presentations were given during a panel presentation entitled "experiences in Mission." There was a high school perspective, a college perspective and a Young Adult Perspective. Above all, these were presentations about the importance of mission to young people here in Texas, and how these can be experiences of conversion and growth in Faith.

Thanks to Father Gerry Kelly MM, the Texas Mission Council, and all who helped to plan this weekend. Occasions such as this not only strengthen the face of mission in Texas, but as well give us all an occasion to reflect on the fact that "mission" is not just an option or nice idea, but in fact, is integral to our Catholic Faith. This teaching is reflected, for example,  in many pages of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and in the Code of Canon Law, for example.

"Go, therefore, to all the nations...!"