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]