In the Second Reading for Mass the Sunday, we hear St. James speaking about the importance of the Word of God, that we should “humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.” (Jas 1:21)  He then gives us an important challenge: “Be doers of the word and not hearers only.” (Jas 1:22)  For the past few weeks, we have been focusing on the importance of the Eucharist in our lives as Catholics.  But we must also bear in mind the important role the Word of God in Sacred Scripture also plays in our lives.  The Second Vatican Council provides a beautiful summary of how these two are related, especially at Mass:

The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God’s word and of Christ’s body. (Dei Verbum, 21)

In a document he wrote on the Word of God, Pope Benedict XVI also highlights how deepening our love for the Word of God is at the service of a fuller encounter with the Lord when we are at Mass:

Just as the adoration of the Eucharist prepares for, accompanies and follows the liturgy of the Eucharist, so too prayerful reading, personal and communal, prepares for, accompanies and deepens what the Church celebrates when she proclaims the word in a liturgical setting. (Verbum Domini, 86)

Praying with the Word of God, especially with the readings given to us each day by the Church, is a practice that has grown in recent decades in the Church.  Thankfully, we have more resources than ever to facilitate this encounter with the Word of God, both written and electronic.  For example, beginning this weekend, you will find copies of The Word Among Us, a monthly publication that includes the daily Mass readings, along with daily reflections on those readings and a few other articles.  Feel free to pick one up to help you in deepening your commitment to being nourished by the Word of God.  Another popular publication that many use is Magnificat.  You can also find the daily readings online at https://bible.usccb.org.

In the above quote from Pope Benedict, he points out that the prayerful reading of the Word of God is encouraged on both the personal and the communal level.  When we invite others into our prayer with the Word of God, we are exposed to the unique ways that God speaks to each of us and we are blessed by the sharing of those insights with one another, insights we might not have encountered if our prayer only remains in the personal realm.

With that in mind, we would like to make the communal reading and praying with the Word of God an opportunity for our parish.  Beginning Tuesday, September 21, continuing every other Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm, we will gather together to break open the Scriptures for the upcoming Sunday liturgy.  Joining us will be the candidates who are in the process of discerning entrance into the Catholic Church.  Please consider coming to join us for any of these evenings.  I think you will find that doing so will deepen your love of Sacred Scripture and enhance your overall encounter with the Lord at Mass as He feeds us with His very self in Word and Sacrament.

Father Alford     

In the early fourth century, somewhere in northern Africa, in the town of Tagaste (the modern-day Souk Ahras), there lived a woman named Monica. Tagaste, a city that holds a notable place in the history of western civilization, was one of the cultural and socio-economic hubs of the civilization championed and shaped by Christianity. In this city, Monica was born, raised, and given in marriage to a pagan man – Patritius.

Already a Catholic before her marriage to Patritius, Monica devoted herself to the conversion of her pagan husband. To do this, Monica lived a holy and prayerful life. She was also very loyal and affectionate to her husband. Persevering in these virtues, Monica was blessed to have her husband voluntarily convert to the Catholic faith about a year before his death.

Around this time, Augustine left the faith as a young adult. He became wayward and openly scornful of the Catholic faith. Augustine engaged in various kinds of sinful behaviors that both severed his relationship with his mother and endangered his life. “He went astray in faith and manners” so much that his mother cried and prayed relentlessly for his conversion.

Monica’s motherly love for Augustine, like most mothers for their children, was boundless. She prayed unstoppingly and would always approach any priests and bishops she met to ask for prayers for her son. As we all know that God does not fail, Monica’s prayers were answered superabundantly. Through the instrumentality of St. Ambrose, then bishop of Milan, whom Monica had asked to pray for Augustine, the young man converted to the faith. He later became a priest and later a bishop. Today, Augustine is one of the most influential figures in Christian theology and philosophy, Catholicism, and a Saint for all times.

What a perfect model for Christian wives and mothers! We all can agree that there would not be any St. Augustine today without St. Monica. How inspiring!

Today, we live in a world and culture where most adults who grew up Catholic no longer practice the faith. Many of these people have left the Church and have become very hateful of the Church and its teachings. Some of these people grew up in homes where faith was never an essential part of family life. However, a good number of the people who have left the Catholic faith were raised in good practicing Catholic homes. Like in the case of the young Augustine, it is evident that he grew up in a practicing Catholic home but still left the faith. But his mother did not abandon him or give up on doing the needful. She prayed for Augustine relentlessly and would ask for prayers and counsels from priests and bishops.

Are you a wife and your husband is not serious with his faith or has left the faith entirely? Be like St. Monica!

Are you a mother, and your children have left the faith or are not serious with it? Be like St. Monica!

A few weeks ago, we heard in our Sunday Gospel reading the first of the seven “I AM” statements that Jesus uses in the Gospel of John.  This first statement: “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35) might be His most important title, as it is at the heart of His teaching on how He offers Himself to us in His Body and Blood in the Eucharist, which is the “source and summit” of our lives as Catholics.  In that same Gospel passage, as Jesus is describing this gift He will give, His disciples say: “Sir, give us this bread always.” (Jn 6:34)  Their hearts had been stirred and they desired to receive this gift as often as possible.

It is my hope that our focus on the Eucharist over the past several weeks has stirred in your hearts a desire to receive our Lord in Holy Communion with greater love and to receive Him more frequently.  It is on the topic of frequent reception of the Eucharist that I would like to conclude our reflections on this most important topic of our faith.  You may recall that I have mentioned Pope St. Pius X in a couple of my Sunday homilies, how we was the pope that lowered the age for first reception of Holy Communion.  He also wrote about the proper motivations we should have when receiving the Eucharist.  One of the most significant topics he addressed in his writings on the Eucharist was the encouragement to receive Holy Communion more frequently, even daily if possible.  Before that time, frequent reception of Holy Communion, even every Sunday, was not very common.  Some Catholics were content only to receive Holy Communion once a year during the Easter Season, which is the origin of the term “Easter Duty.”  To instill a greater love for this gift and to open the door to the graces contained in this gift, the Holy Father wrote:

But since it is plain that by the frequent or daily reception of the Holy Eucharist union with Christ is strengthened, the spiritual life more abundantly sustained, the soul more richly endowed with virtues, and the pledge of everlasting happiness more securely bestowed on the recipient, therefore, parish priests, confessors and preachers, according to the approved teaching of the Roman Catechism should exhort the faithful frequently and with great zeal to this devout and salutary practice.

The Eucharist, as Pope Francis reminds us, is medicine for our weaknesses, and the more we receive this medicine, the stronger we become.  It has been my experience that those who commit to frequent reception of the Holy Eucharist make significantly greater progress in living the life of Christian discipleship and find greater peace and fulfillment in their lives.

Here at the Cathedral, we have daily Mass at 7 am and 5:15 pm Monday through Friday, and at 8 am on Saturday morning.  Maybe you cannot make it to Mass every day, but could you start by trying to get to Mass for at least one daily Mass a week apart from Sunday?  That is how I started many years ago, going on Friday morning on my day off.  As I grew in my love for Jesus in the Eucharist, I wanted more, so I started going nearly every morning.  That decision to make the Eucharist a daily part of my life was one of the primary catalysts that led to my entering the seminary and eventually becoming a priest.  Frequent reception of the Eucharist transformed my life drastically, and very much for the better.  The Lord wants to do the same in your lives as well.  Will you give Him the opportunity to do so?

Father Alford     

It is almost twenty months since Covid-19 changed nearly everything in the world. Schools closed. Churches closed. Many big businesses shut down temporarily while others closed indefinitely. Still, several small businesses died a painful death. Amid all these, people’s social life is stifled to death as humanity, especially the sick and the elderly, continues to suffocate in social isolation.

While things are easing off gradually, people are almost getting used to the new lifestyle of social insulation imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. One can hardly deny the possible emotional and psychological consequences of this new lifestyle. People are getting used to being ALONE. Some of us are becoming comfortable with lonely life so much that attending any social events and making physical contacts and connections with other people are gradually becoming undesirable.

To address this social conundrum, last Wednesday, August 11th, we had a fun-full parish event – “Fishing with Father Alford.” This event, the first time in our Cathedral parish, took place at the Villa Maria Retreat Center shore of Springfield Lake. The “Fishing with Father Alford” was intended to help our people have a fun social time with one another and their priests after these loooooong months of isolation and social distancing. That goal was met with about thirty parishioners and friends gathering for nearly three hours of fishing, snacking, and chatting. There were also joyful shouts whenever someone catches a fish.

Personally, the highlight of the fishing last week was seeing Julia, one of our youngest parishioners at the event, smile and take pictures with the fishes before they were thrown back to the lake. The joy in her face and in the faces of the other children that evening was deeply Christlike! Their presence and the fun we all had reenacted a friendship and camaraderie so deep to be captured with words. I am sure that Julia and others who were part of the event will agree with me.

In these times of uncertainty with a lingering pandemic, we need to make intentional efforts to stay socially and spiritually connected to maintain our sanity. Attending Masses and other parish and community events are important if we must survive these unusual times and maintain healthy emotional and spiritual lives.

For an added opportunity, this time for a more spiritual encounter with one another and with our Lord Jesus Christ, I am inviting everyone to a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, in October. I plan on this to be a time of short retreat and spiritual renewal for everyone. We will also have a holy time to pray together, listen to a reflection, have a tour of the Shrine, do a Holy Hour of Adoration and Benediction, and celebrate the sacraments in that beautiful Shrine of Our Blessed Mother.

The registration for this pilgrimage is ongoing and will end on Monday, August 30, 2021. Please, call Bill Vogt or Lisa Duffey at the parish office at 217-522-3342 to register. For any questions about the pilgrimage, call me at the parish office or through email at [email protected].

It’s hard to play Fur Elise if you had never heard it … hard to pray the Breviary if you have never sat down with someone and seen how it is done … hard to back squat 300lbs unless you learn from someone who knows how to do it.  

It is also hard to be holy if you’ve never gotten to know a saint.

I think it was this deep-down realization that got me interested in telling the lives of the saints last year when we all started writing for the bulletin and this past year digging into the sacraments has only deepened my love and appreciation for the saints.  I cannot recount everyone we got to know last year, but how can I forget the zeal of St. Francis Xavier – bringing baptism to as many as he could?! Or, St. Don Bosco – his vision of the Eucharist as one of the pillars that holds us on the path to Heaven?!  Or, St. Patrick – writing his own Confessio, recounting the tremendous mercy of God, offered to all of us in Confession?  Or, Mary and Joseph – their loveliness and holiness in marriage?! 

The thing is, we can study the scriptures and peruse the catechism, but if we never get to know concrete examples of the faith lived-out, we can struggle to turn the brain-knowledge of our faith into a heart transformed by grace and a life alive with God’s love.  But if we do have those examples, not only can we be inspired by their lives, and we can see in them the Gospel incarnate again and again.  But also, the saints are more than examples for us, they are friends and helpers along the way!  They not only have run this race before us, they are now on the sidelines cheering and coaching us along the way.  We see how they responded to the particular circumstances of their day, and we can speak to them about the particular circumstances of our day, and in friendship with them we grow in our friendship with God. 

This year, our overall theme for parish catechesis will be continuing onto the third pillar of the Catechism (after the first – on the creed: the what we believe, and the second – on the sacraments: the where we are sustained in our belief; and before the fourth pillar of prayer: Who we are in communion with).  This third pillar is the moral life – often called “Life in Christ”: the how we live out our faith – and though I am certain the other priests here will offer tremendous insights into our conscience, as well as the virtues, commandments, and beatitudes that composes our roadmap to sanctity, I am all the more excited to learn those things in and through the lives of our saints.  

Every saint has wrestled with vice, and discovered virtue; has fallen short of God’s commands, and received His forgiveness and continued call.  And they remain for us not only models, but continuing members of our Church, if in the life beyond!  This week, I have not chosen any saint in particular, but I offer to all of us the question: Have I befriended any saints?  St. Bartholomew (August 24^th), St. Monica (August 27^th), and St. Augustine (August 28^th) are famous ones we celebrate this week.  Do you know their story?  Do you know what they struggled with?  Do you know why they are a saint?   What about St. Emily de Vialar (spent her life in care for the poor, Feast day August 24^th), St. Zephirin (Pope, battled heresy, Feast Day August 26^th), or St. Sabine (Roman Martyr, Feast Day August 29^th)?  There are so many saints, spend a few minutes getting to know them, and then spend a few minutes talking your life over with them!  

– Fr. Dominic Rankin has long loved Pope St. John Paul II, but really got to know him better during his seminary studies in Rome, where the great saint lived so many years of his life, and is now buried in St. Peter’s Basilica.  One day, praying at JPII’s tomb, he was saddened by the fact that he would never be able to join the great pope to celebrate Mass.  And then God gave a great grace: at every Mass, everyone who is in union with Christ, is reunited around Him.  And so, we cannot be closer to the saints, including those we love the most, than when we go to Mass.  Which saints are with you in your pew?  Which saints have I concelebrated Mass with?!