At the beginning of last week’s bulletin article, I wrote about the transition in leadership in the Church that took place in 2005, following the death of Pope St. John Paul II who had served the Church as the Successor to St. Peter for more than two-and-a-half decades.  During his pontificate, this great pope made a significant impact on the Church and the world.  I recently watched the video footage of his first words as pope from the loggia of St. Peter’s as he addressed the crowd gathered in the square below.  In his off-the-cuff remarks, he said: “I was afraid to receive this appointment, but I did it in the spirit of obedience to Our Lord and with total trust in His Mother, our Most Holy Lady.”  This total trust in Mary would be a thread that would run through his entire pontificate.  In fact, his papal motto was: Totus tuus, Mater Ecclesiae (Totally yours, Mother of the Church).

In virtually every major document that he wrote, he connected the topic with the Blessed Virgin Mary, seeing in her the model for our lives as followers of her Son.  In his final encyclical, Ecclesia de Eucharistia (On the Eucharist in its Relationship to the Church), he devotes the final chapter to Mary, calling her the “Woman of the Eucharist.”  In some ways, we can see this section as a summation of his two great loves as a priest, bishop, and pope – the Eucharist and Mary.  It is therefore fitting for us to hear from his writings on these two loves as we continue to reflect on the Eucharist, especially on this Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven.

The Holy Father writes the following about Mary’s inseparable union with the Eucharist:

Experiencing the memorial of Christ’s death in the Eucharist also means continually receiving this gift. It means accepting – like John – the one who is given to us anew as our Mother. It also means taking on a commitment to be conformed to Christ, putting ourselves at the school of his Mother and allowing her to accompany us. Mary is present, with the Church and as the Mother of the Church, at each of our celebrations of the Eucharist. If the Church and the Eucharist are inseparably united, the same ought to be said of Mary and the Eucharist. This is one reason why, since ancient times, the commemoration of Mary has always been part of the Eucharistic celebrations of the Churches of East and West. (EE, 57)

It can be a very fruitful practice for us, when we are at Mass, to call to mind Mary’s presence among us.  That is not too difficult for us at the Cathedral, for as we look to the altar where the Eucharist is celebrated, Mary looms large in the background in the beautiful mosaic at the high altar.  The next time you are at Mass, keep this connection in mind, especially as the Word becomes flesh among us once again at the Consecration.  As Our Lord is lifted up, notice Mary looking with love upon her Son, the Bread of Life, and upon all of us, her children, as we prepare to receive Him into our hearts in Holy Communion.  Then, when we receive Him, let us ask Mary to help us receive His graces with the same openness that she had to the Lord in her life.  Perhaps we can use a portion of the prayer the Church gives to us to be prayed after receiving Holy Communion:

I ask you, most dear Mother, to obtain for me forgiveness of all my sins, the grace of serving Jesus most faithfully from now on, and the gift of final perseverance, so that with you I may praise Him forever.  Amen.

Father Alford     

Continuing with the ten commandments, I want us to reflect on the most misunderstood commandment this week. The sixth commandment – You Shall Not Commit Adultery. Before we get into it, let us keep in mind that we live in one of the most interesting times where most of us are experts on almost everything at the same time. In other words, we seem to have absolute knowledge about everything. For this reason, every subject, issue, or topic, whether political, moral, economic, medical, religious, most of us have a boundless understanding of them all. As funny and impractical it may be, this is the reality in our times.

Because of this, too many Christians today believe that they have a endless understanding of the scriptures and theology. They understand the sixth commandment to exclusively prohibit a sexual relationship between men and women outside marriage. Unfortunately, these people fail to realize that the sixth commandment also forbids every sexual act involving any form of bodily, psychological, or emotional abuse of oneself or others. The attempt to manufacture a limited or truncated understanding of the sixth commandment seems to be one of those efforts we make in justifying our sexual sins.

The sixth commandment, You Shall Not Commit Adultery, obviously includes all sexual relationships between persons not bound by the sacrament of marriage. It also consists of any form of same-sex sexual relationship, masturbation, rape, pornography, sodomy, lust, bestiality, incest, and child sexual abuse of all kinds. There are many others, but these are among the more common sexual sins. The sixth commandment encompasses them and many more.

Teaching his disciples about the sixth commandment, Jesus Christ explained that every kind of lustful looks and thoughts constitute sexual sins (cf. Matthew 5:28). There can be no better explanation of this commandment than this given by Jesus Christ. This is because most of these sexual sins begin with lustful thoughts and looks.

More so, there is something about indecent dressing that we must be aware of while reflecting on the sixth commandment. Living in a very individualistic age, many of us have forgotten that it is a moral obligation to be one’s brothers’ keeper. And what does it mean to be one’s brother’s keeper? While trying to stay away from sin, we must do well to help others do the same. But how can an indecent dressing help one to be their brother’s keeper?

While we should train ourselves to keep custody of our eyes and minds, it is important to help others do the same. Sadly, it helps throw some of us, who are less disciplined, into sinful sexual thoughts and fantasies when we dress indecently. Because of this, when we dress decently, we glorify God by helping to reduce temptation in the world.

In 2005, the Church experienced the sad loss of one of the great saints in our modern day, Pope St. John Paul II.  For people my age, he was the only pope we had ever known and I remember feeling a bit of anxiety about who would replace him.  When his successor was named, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), many (including myself) were overjoyed, for his impact on the Church as a theologian was well known.  Others were not so excited, for he was seen by some as being very rigid and too academic, and they wondered how he could possibly fill the shoes of the great pope he was to replace.

One of the early moves of his early pontificate that would calm the fears of many of those who questioned his ability to lead the Universal Church was the publication of his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est (God is Love).  In that document, he wrote beautifully, blending his intellectual prowess with his pastoral heart and spiritual insights.  If you have never read this document, it is well worth your time.

In this document, he distinguishes among three Greek words that are translated in English simply as “love”, all of which carry a different connotation.  Those three words are eros, philia, and agape.  Much of the document is focused on agape love, as it is the highest form of love and the one demonstrated by Jesus in the offering of Himself to us.  It would thus become the model of the Christian love that is at the heart of the Great Commandment of love of God and love of neighbor.

The Holy Father writes about the importance of the Eucharist as it applies to this agape love.  It is in the Eucharist that we are drawn into the love the God has for us.  Our sharing in His life through this gift unites us to Him in a special way.  It is then from that union with His love that we are capable of loving our neighbor in the way that He commands us.  In fact, our reception of this gift demands that we love our neighbor.  He writes the following to make this point:

A Eucharist which does not pass over into the concrete practice of love is intrinsically fragmented. Conversely, as we shall have to consider in greater detail below, the “commandment” of love is only possible because it is more than a requirement. Love can be “commanded” because it has first been given. (DCE, 14)

This is a helpful point on which we should all reflect.  Does our reception of the Eucharist lead us to live this command to love our neighbor with greater intensity?  It can be a helpful practice when we come to Mass to call to mind those whom we find most difficult to love and to ask for the grace that comes from the Eucharist to love them with greater generosity.  We cannot be content to walk away from receiving the Eucharist without making a resolution to do our best to love those most difficult to love.  Think back to what Father Peter wrote so powerfully on last week about our carrying grudges.  If we walk away from Mass without a real desire to let go of those grudges, no matter how difficult it may be, our reception of the Eucharist is intrinsically fragmented, according to the pope.  The Lord’s command to love that person is possible not because of any ability that we have, but because of the love that He pours into our hearts in the Eucharist. 

Father Alford     

Dear Parishioners and Friends, with the permission of our Parish Rector, Fr. Brian Alford, I am inviting you to an overnight Pilgrimage/bus trip to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, on Friday and Saturday, October 15-16, 2021.

Founded about two decades ago by his Eminence, Raymond Cardinal Burke – the then Bishop of the Diocese of LaCrosse, the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in LaCrosse attracts thousands of pilgrims from around the world every year. While seeking a deeper relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ through devotions to our Blessed Mother, Catholics from around the world make this pilgrimage. Achieving this spiritual goal, many of these pilgrims end up attracting countless miracles and blessings for themselves and their loved ones.

As a privileged son of our Blessed Mother, when a group of parishioners asked me to help organize and lead this pilgrimage, I quickly agreed to it for three reasons. First, our Blessed Mother has been so kind to me and blessed me with many unmerited gifts, including my call to the priesthood and a promise to protect it until the end. Second, I have heard many people recount how blessed they feel after such spiritual pilgrimages to such powerful Shrines of our Blessed Mother. Lastly, as one of your priests, I pray every day and seek ways of helping you grow in your relationship with Christ through devotion and friendship with our Blessed Mother. For these reasons, I am inviting you all to join me on this pilgrimage. The first 50 people that register and pay will be accommodated for this pilgrimage.

To register, call Bill Vogt at the parish office (217-522-3342 ext. 131) and make your registration. The payment will be $270.00 for a private room with a standard king-size bed and $230.00 to share a room with someone else. The payment will cover the transportation, hotel, bus tip, and shrine donation expenses. Payments will be accepted by checks, cash, or ETF and must be addressed to the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception, Springfield, IL.

The last day for registration with a full or half payment ($150.00) will be Monday, August 30, 2021. For half-payments, complete payment will be due on Monday, September 27, 2021.

Whether you plan to join us for this pilgrimage or not, everyone is welcome to join us on a Novena Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe. This Novena will start on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary Thursday, October 7, 2021. It will take place daily right after the 7:00am Mass (8:00am on Saturday) and will be streamed online via the Cathedral Facebook page. Please, bring your intentions and those of your loved ones to this Novena Prayer. We will conclude the Novena upon arrival at the Shrine on Friday, October 15, 2021 – the Feast of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus.

For any questions, clarifications, or inquiries about the pilgrimage, contact me (Fr. Peter Chineke) at 217-522-3342 ext. 134 or send me an email at [email protected]

As we continue our papal reflections on the Eucharist, I would like to take us back to the time just before the calling of the Second Vatican Council.  Pope St. John XXIII was elected to become pope on October 20, 1958.  Thought by many to be a leader who would keep the status quo and not advance many new initiatives due to his advance age, John XXIII surprised the Church by announcing a few months after his election that he would convoke an ecumenical council, only the 21^st time it had been done in the 1900 year history of the Church.  History therefore remembers him mostly for this historic decision.  However, there was much that this pope contributed to the life of the Church apart from calling the Council.  One of those contributions came in the form of an encyclical that he wrote in his first year as pope to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of great priest St. John Vianney’s entrance into his heavenly reward.  The name of the document was Sacerdotii nostri primordia and today marks its anniversary of promulgation (August 1, 1959).  

St. John Vianney is known for his humility and zeal for souls.  He is perhaps best remembered as one who would spend long hours (sometimes more than 15 hours) each day in the confessional, reconciling sinners to Christ and His Church.  He also found time for teaching and preaching to his people and he was considered very effective in these efforts, no doubt an overflow of his deep interior life.  Pope St. John XXIII, in reflecting on this great priest, noted how the center of his efforts was to be found in one place – the Eucharist:

The devotion to prayer of St. John M. Vianney, who was to spend almost the whole of the last thirty years of his life in Church caring for the crowds of penitents who flocked to him, had one special characteristic—it was specially directed toward the Eucharist…He did everything that there was to be done to stir up the reverence and love of the faithful for Christ hidden in the Sacrament of the Eucharist and to bring them to share in the riches of the divine Synaxis. (§45, §47)

While the Second Vatican Council would use the words “source and summit” to describe the Eucharist, St. John Vianney witnessed to this reality in his life as a priest.  Many souls who witnessed his love for the Eucharist and his reverence at Mass were profoundly impacted, thus deepening their love for this great gift.  His influence continues to make a difference in the lives of the faithful as they read about this great saint.  In particular, priests look to this man, their Patron, hoping to imitate his holiness and love for souls, particularly his love for the Eucharist.

Toward the end of the encyclical, the Holy Father invites the faithful to pray for priests, words which I think are very appropriate to repeat today as they are ever timely, especially as we prepare to celebrate St. John Vianney’s feast day on August 4:

On the occasion of this centenary celebration, We would also like to exhort paternally all of the faithful to offer constant prayers to God for their priests, so that each in his own way may help them attain holiness.  Those who are more fervent and devout are turning their eyes and their minds to the priest with a great deal of hope and expectation. For, at a time when you find flourishing everywhere the power of money, the allure of pleasures of the senses, and too great an esteem for technical achievements, they want to see in him a man who speaks in the name of God, who is animated by a firm faith, and who gives no thought to himself, but burns with intense charity. (§107)

Please ask the intercession of St. John Vianney for the priests of our diocese in general, and those of the Cathedral in particular, that we might more perfectly imitate his love for the Eucharist, which will enable us to serve all of you with greater zeal and to lead all of us to a deeper love for greatest gift we can offer to you in the Holy Eucharist.

Father Alford     

In the July 11, 2021, edition of our Cathedral bulletin, I reflected in my column on the fourth commandment, “honor your father and your mother.” This fourth commandment begins the second part of the decalogue (the ten commandments). The first part of the decalogue includes the first three commandments.  In these three, God reveals his will for our relationship with Him. The second section consists of the last seven commandments in which God makes known his will for our relationships with one another. This week, I want us to reflect on the fifth commandment – YOU SHALL NOT.

In several places in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the bible), Moses made the law against killing very clear (Exodus 20:13, 21:12; Deuteronomy 5:17). But in the Gospel, Jesus goes further to explain this commandment in detail. After stating that whoever kills is liable to death, Jesus expanded the notion of killing to include any actions that attack the human life’s dignity and sacredness (Matthew 5:21-26).

Killing is evil. The Church condemns it in the strongest terms, especially with Pope Francis’s recent abolition of the death penalty as an act that is “morally inadmissible.” While this is so, one may not easily deny the near-justifiability of some killings – specifically, those imposed by states as legal punishments for some heinous crimes.

In reflecting on the fifth commandment that openly condemns killing, I want us to ruminate over another action that involves a deadlier form of killing. One that comes to mind readily is grudges. In many ways, living with grudges has become natural to our human condition. While living with grudges is a moral error and one that we must always endeavor to confess, it is a sin that primarily attacks the dignity and sacredness of the bearer’s life. Bearing grudges against others negatively affects those people in some ways. And, the fact of living with grudges destroys the bearer spiritually and emotionally.

One who bears grudges has a high propensity to self-hate, passive aggression, and unforgiveness. These sins deny the bearer of grudges the ‘peace of mind’ that disposes one to good and charitable actions towards self and others. When this happens, the spiritual strength of the soul begins to deteriorate, and one’s ability to make moral judgments starts to decline. Sometimes, these happen even while we carry ourselves around as good and devout Christians.

Moving forward, let us keep in mind that living with grudges is a form of killing – not just killing the ‘other’ but also killing oneself. When the scripture tells us that we shall not kill, it does not say we shall not kill others but ourselves. So, let us do well to pay closer attention to this commandment by staying away from actions and inactions that directly or indirectly attack the dignity and inviolability of the human person.

Day: August 6th

This Friday (in 2021), we celebrate the feast day of the Transfiguration.  We hear this story every year on the 2^nd Sunday of Lent (a fitting preparation, as it was in Jesus’ life, for His going up to Jerusalem and entering His Passion and Resurrection), and, on August 6^th each year.  Resuming our “bible study” that I wanted to do during these summer months, today I want to turn to this marvelous scene.  Changing up things slightly, I want to just invite all of us together into a prayerful meditation on this passage.  

During my mission trip to Costa Rica in July, each day we did a Holy Hour together and joined in meditating on a consecutive scene from Jesus’ life.  This kind of prayer offered profound insight into Our Lord, and His continued friendship with us, and was a source of tremendous joy as, each evening, we shared with each other the graces of the day.  So, don’t just read the below lines these week, pray them.  The prayers below are my own.  Yours does not have to be the same.  Take what strikes your heart, speak to God as He moves You to speak, and simply remain with Him.

Jesus, I know that You are with me.  [Take a deep breath.  Give yourself space, and peace, and quiet.]  Right now, Jesus, I turn to You and recognize Your promised presence with me.  I do not come to get anything, or to receive any answer, or to fix any problem … I just want to be with You.  I want to grow in intimacy with You.  I want to receive Your love.  And, I want to love You in return.  [Take another deep breath.  Let Jesus love you.]

Open my mind Lord, to Your words that I will reflect upon today.  Open my heart to Your love, especially as You show it in Your transfiguration.  Open my eyes to see how You reveal Yourself in this passage.  Come Holy Spirit.  Come Holy Spirit.  Come Holy Spirit.  [Open your bible to Mark 9:2-8, and just let the lines wash over you.  Below is the movements that Jesus brought about in my heart.]

Jesus … led them up a high mountain.  Jesus, I want to be invited close to You like that.  Why just Peter, James, and John?  Why not everybody else?  Did You know their hearts, and knew which apostles would need that particular grace?  Peter, who would deny You; John, who would see You crucified; James, who would be the first to be martyred for Your name.  Of course, You knew what they would need! And You know me just the same!

Jesus … was transfigured before them.  You have shown Your glory and loveliness to me, haven’t You?!  Like last week during my Holy Hour: just Your gentle encouragement.  Or on the mission trip, when You sustained me through that atrociously hot Eucharistic procession.  Or, even here today, as I know Your Presence in the tabernacle: the host, white, gleaming, simple, but transcendent.  

Peter said … let us make three booths … for they were exceedingly afraid.  Oh, fear.  I did not want to talk about fear today.  Do we have to go there?  Yes, of course, I should bring it to You, but it feels so wimpy to approach You with all my fears and uncertainties…  Then again, I suppose that is why You came to us anyway, to be with us in our fears.  To love us through them, not just despite them.  So yeah, that meeting later today, and that liturgy with bishop … there is a bit of fear there.  What if I do not know what to say?  What if I forget something?  Then again, Your love is not going anywhere is it?  

This is My beloved Son, listen to Him.  I am so distracted Heavenly Father.  There are so many things that fill my mind and heart, and it is so hard to hear Your Son’s voice.  I want to hear it.  I yearn to hear it.  I desire to hear it.  How can I hear Him better?  Ok, scripture is obvious.  I can give myself more time to ponder Your words there.  Oh, the words of the Mass.  Of course, so many of Jesus’ words are right there when I pray them; I can be more intentional.  And, my friends, the best of them are the ones that constantly offer me glimpses of Jesus’ voice, couldn’t I stop and listen to them with more attentiveness?

And suddenly looking around they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.  And Who else would I need?  If I have Your friendship Jesus, I can rest happy.   If I know You, that is enough.  If You love me, and if you are with me, what else matters?  

Lord, I want some takeaway from my prayer today.  Where are You inviting me?  [Give Him time to speak to your heart.]  Ah, resting in Your friendship.  I can choose peace knowing Your love.  Thank you Lord!  [It could be a very different movement for you.  That is good.  Each of us is having a conversation with God, it should not look the same!]

– Fr. Dominic Rankin has long since had a particular love for the transfiguration.  It became his favorite mystery of the rosary when Pope St. John Paul II added it along with the other mysteries of light, to the traditional joyful, sorrowful, and glorious mysteries in 2002.  Not discounting any of the other mysteries, but mountain tops, apparitions of saints, God’s voice from heaven, and Jesus appearing in glory just had a way of capturing my 9 year old heart.  

For the last couple of weeks, I worked at the St. John’s Hospital here in Springfield as a full-time chaplain. My time at St. John’s hospital was an excellent opportunity for me to experience pastoral hospital ministry in a more intense way than usual. I had encounters that both challenged and strengthened my faith and relationship with God in a different way. I also had encounters that left me reflecting on the condition of our Catholic faith in the present times. One of such encounters was my visit to a mid-aged lady in her hospital room one afternoon, who described herself as a cafeteria Catholic.

When I visit patients, they usually understand that I am a Catholic priest because I dress like one and introduce myself as one. Because of this, they usually expect that I jump into giving them the Holy Communion or the other sacraments. But very often, I do not talk about the sacraments until after getting to know the patient and his or her treatment and health condition. And when I talk about the sacraments, I normally start by inquiring about the patient’s faith condition.

As a Catholic priest-chaplain, I visit mostly Catholic patients. But I understand that there are too many kinds of Catholics in our times. While some Catholics are practicing and are sacramentally disposed to receive the sacraments, others may be practicing but not sacramentally prepared to receive the sacraments. However, there are others who are non-practicing but asks for the sacraments. For these reasons, asking about a patient’s faith condition is, for me, a necessary step before administering the sacraments to them.

So, on that beautiful afternoon, I walked into this patient’s room. When I inquired about her faith, she told me she is a cafeteria Catholic. I never had of “cafeteria Catholicism” before that afternoon. So, I asked her what she meant. She graciously explained that the way I pick my foods at a cafeteria is the same way she (as a cafeteria Catholic) does with Catholic teachings. I smiled and asked about her relationship with the sacraments. I know that one ought to be in good condition with the Church (believing and practicing all that the Church teaches about our Lord Jesus Christ) to be disposed to receive the sacraments.

My encounter with this patient at the hospital left me reflecting on our faith as Catholics. Somehow, many of us have become cafeteria Catholics. Sometimes, intentionally and other times, unintentionally. We all know what the Church should and should not teach, believe, and practice. Our subjective interpretations of the catechetical and biblical teachings of the Church have become more important than the objective interpretations of these divine truths and moral teachings. Unfortunately, the rejection or abandonment of any of the teachings of the Church, catechetical or scriptural, indicates membership in the cafeteria Catholicism. This cafeteria Catholicism is different from the Roman Catholicism into which we are baptized.