My "Angel" Altar Boy Today

Fr. Gerome invited John Paul to serve at the weekday Masses.

I had about 5-6 comments about him "being an angel".

Here are some pictures and videos.

My Announcement at All Masses (After Post-Communion Prayer)

Hello everyone.  I’m Deacon Dennis. 

And I just wanted to let you know that, over the summer, Fr. Resti who oversees St. Joseph’s Parish in Vacaville asked me if I could help him at his parish.  So I volunteered to be on temporary “on loan” duty at St. Joseph’s. 

I say that I say that I am “on loan” but I will actually be “a-lone” since there is no deacon at this parish that is slightly smaller than ours.  (They have no deacon in a parish of about 2,000 families, so I hope to eventually recruit new deacons for the parish.)

St. Catherine’s will still be my parish, and my wife, Tove Ann, and I still plan to attend Mass at St. Catherine’s with our kids whenever I’m not on deacon duty at St. Joseph’s.

[This reminds me of a joke about two parishioners at St. Catherine’s.  One attended the Sat. 5pm Mass, and the other attended the Sunday 12pm Mass.  One day, they happen to meet at a parish festival.  The first parishioner said to the other parishioner, “Hey, do you still go to St. Catherine’s?”  The second parishioner replied, “Yeah, I still go to St. Catherine’s.  Do you still go to St. Catherine’s?]

So I’m not leaving St Catherine’s.  I’m just going to help St. Joseph’s. 

I give you all a big group hug (from my deacon’s bench here).  And I love you all.

God's Plan for Marriage, Sex & Family (Homily #37)



12pm Mass

 

5pm

10am Mass (monotone)



Pope Paul VI with Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (Future Pope John Paul II)



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Audience: 3 Masses (1500-2000 parishioners)

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God’s Plan for Marriage, Sex & Family (Homily #37)

27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Oct. 4, 2015

Over 20 years ago, I was at World Youth Day in Denver, Colorado, in 1993, when Pope St. John Paul the Great visited the United States.  In his all-too familiar Polish accent, the Holy Father departed from his prepared homily and said, “The family is under attack!  The family is under attack!”

And according to Italian moral theologian Cardinal Carlo Caffara, Cardinal Caffara once received a letter from Sr. Lucia of Fatima, Portugal, who the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to in 1917.  Sister Lucia wrote to Cardinal Caffara, “The final battle between Our Lord and the devil will be over marriage and the family.”

Whether it’s John Paul II or Sr. Lucia’s letter, these themes are consistent.  This makes today’s Gospel on Jesus’s teaching on marriage and family so needed for us in the 21^st Century.

There are two simple points from the Gospel on Jesus and His Church’s teaching on marriage and family.  They are the 2 main purposes of marriage and the marital act.

1.)  The unitive purpose: The complementarity of the man and woman in marriage until death.

2.)  The procreative purpose: The openness to children and fruitfulness in marriage.

And I realize that for us today, even among Catholics, the Church’s teaching on marriage and family can be difficult.  But it is not impossible.  “With God, all things are possible” (Mt. 19:26).

I.

Regarding the first point about the complementarity of the man and woman in marriage, the unitive purpose, or the two becoming one flesh, Jesus pointed us to the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.  For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife.”  Jesus affirmed what we see in the First Reading where it is written in the Book of Genesis: God will make a “suitable partner” for the man in marriage. 

In Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, this exclusive suitability is a complementarity, a natural unity of a man and a woman.  It is “natural” or is a type of “natural law”.  The suitability of one man and one woman is inscribed in nature.  Jesus reveals that God is the author of marriage—not the state, not the federal government.  The state’s role, rather, is to uphold the natural law, not re-define it.  “What God has joined, no human being (and that means no state officials, no judges) must separate.”

Additionally, in the Judeo-Christian worldview, the man and the woman share a fundamental equality in their dignity.  Just as Eve came from Adam’s rib, his side, so too does the Church come from Jesus’ “rib” his pierced side when he died the sleep of death on the Cross.  The man and woman are side by side, equal in dignity, different in function. 

God instituted marriage, but Jesus elevated marriage to the dignity of a Sacrament.  This is why, dear brothers and sisters, for Catholics, we must be married in the Church instead of just being married civilly before the Justice of the Peace, or in Reno, or even just living together – or cohabiting – without marriage.  The vow or consent of the man and woman makes the marriage.  In the case of two baptized people before a priest (or a deacon delegated by the pastor), it is the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, but in the case of two Catholics only civilly married, in the eyes of God they are not properly married.  [READ SLOWLY:] For those Catholics in the state of only a civil marriage, this is an invitation to be married in the Church and have your marriage “convalidated” with the priest in a simple, beautiful ceremony. 

For couples living together even if they have kids already, secular research studies have shown that the rate of divorce, spousal abuse, and infidelity are higher than those that are married.  This, too, is an invitation to be married in the Church.  When we are married in the Church, God pours forth His graces upon the marriage and family which do not occur in any other way.  This is the unitive purpose of marriage.

II.

The second main purpose of marriage and the marital act is the procreative purpose: the procreation and education of children.  In the Gospel, Jesus said, “Let the children come to me” after being indignant or angry when his apostles did not welcome children. 

Thus, all sexual activity belongs in marriage.  Notice that the Church here doesn’t just teach that sex belongs in marriage, but all sexual activity belongs to only married people that have taken a vow.  This is called chastity, not just abstinence, but chastity.  We must prepare not only our children for chaste, faithful Christian marriages.  But we ourselves who are married should also practice chastity, too, within marriage.

The unitive and procreative aspects of marital love cannot be separated.  What God has joined, let no man put asunder.  Contraception and sterilization are contrary to the plan of God for marriage and family.  Contraception deliberately violates the mutual self-giving of a man and woman as designed by God.  The Church isn’t saying that conception must occur with each marital act, but rather, that when married couples do engage in the marital act, that it is open to life.  And, for those that need to space their children’s births, couples may turn to natural means such as Natural Family Planning – N.F.P. – which respects the women’s fertility cycle.  Secular studies have shown that the spousal abuse, infidelity and divorce rates are in single digits – actually 1-2% – for those who practice NFP.

Did you know that, up until 1930, all of Christianity – our separated Protestant brothers and sisters included – taught that contraception was against God’s law?  Then, the Protestants, one after the other, voted to change this 2,000 year-old teaching.  Only the Catholic Church affirmed that contraception was against God’s plan for marriage and family.  In 1968, Blessed Pope Paul VI, wrote a letter called Humanae Vitae.  In Humanae Vitae (no. 9), the Holy Father beautifully taught that married love is total, truly human, faithful, mutually exclusive, and fruitful.  He warned that contraception would promote marital infidelity and a general lowering of morality, especially the youth (HV no. 17).  He foresaw that men would lose respect for women, not as an equal partner but someone to use to just satisfy his needs.  Governments would disregard the dignity of the human person and basic human rights (by treating humans beings as a number), and the contraceptive mentality would eventually lead to abortion and as we see today human trafficking, pornography, domestic abuse, sexual slavery and violence around the world and even in our own city. 

At Fatima, Portugal, when the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to 3 shepherd children, she said that many marriages do not please Our Lord and most souls are lost because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason.  Against this flood of modern-day assaults, let Christians rejoice in the Good News of God’s plan for marriage, sexuality and family.  So, in summary: The 2 main purposes of marriage and the marital act are the (a) unitive and (b) procreative aspects. 

The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony will help us lead marriages that are pleasing to God, and as we sang in the Responsorial Psalm, “May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives!”

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!




  

Pastor Asked My Son To Lead Angelus (Sept. 30, 2015)

Fr. Glen asked my son, John Paul, to lead the Angelus on Wed.  John Paul did fine.  Father gave him a microphone.

Father actually first asked him to lead it on Tuesday, but I guess JP was taken off guard and declined.

On Wednesday evening, I was in the middle of grabbing my cell phone to record John Paul lead the Angelus.  But then I caught myself and stopped.

It wasn't necessary.  The blog HERE of my son being commissioned already was a big moment in our family.

Thank you, Fr. Glen!

Blood Moon 2015 -- Next Blood Moon in 2033

Here's a picture of the kids and the so-called "Blood Moon" tonight:

Super Moon is between JP & EJ.



Here's another shot.

'Can't really see it, but it's the best angle we got.



The kids will be a lot older when this happens again in 2033.

 

My Wife's Tears During Our Son's Altar Server Commissioning

My wife cried at my son's commissioning as an altar boy. 

I saw the tears in her eyes as the priest said, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," at the beginning of Mass today.

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Here were some moments from the day:

Before Mass, as my son, John Paul, stood in line with the other servers to be commissioned, my wife told me to remove some lint on JP's pants.  So I did.



L to R: EJ, Tove Ann pregnant w/Therese Maria Hope, and Faith Marie



Then, the procession began to the hymn of "Here I Am, Lord."  Here's a 3-second clip.



Then we found a spot in the corner.  A friend of ours, Jane, told us of a place for us to sit, but I told her we were fine.  That was quite thoughtful of her.

Jane was in this clip:





We later gave up our seat for another family and ended up sitting on the floor.  Actually, I had offered the spot to the wife (and her daughter) only, motioned them to sit, and said to her husband, "The guys will stand." 

But he must not have heard me because he ended up sitting down himself.  :/ 

I told my wife that she was pregnant and I didn't want her to sit on the floor.  She told me that as a deacon family (with a son that is about to be commissioned an altar server) she wanted to offer our spot to another family. 

It was a way for us to honor the day: To be a family that serves another family.

It wasn't just me serving, or my son serving, or he and I serving, but rather it was our family serving together.

For my wife, it was a little act of love.



I took some pictures and recorded some of the moments.  John Paul was seated with the other servers across the way.  This was our view.  JP is seated on the corner in the front pew.

So.....I think the best part of the day was seeing my wife cry with tears in her eyes over our son.  This reminded me of my own mom who cried when I was off to school at kindergarten.  I remembered how, back then, I looked at my mom from behind a fence and how I didn't know why she was crying.  My mom cried tears of joy.

My wife, too, cried out of tears of joy.  I don't think I, as a man, will fully understand this.  Ain't that right, mamas out there?


Here's a video of the commissioning:

Part One (presented to community)

 

Part Two (prayer over new altar servers)

Here are some other pictures.

 

 

Fr. Gerome gives altar servers a holy card.

 

One of my proudest moments JP and the group was how Fr. Glen, the pastor, instructed the kids to bow before the altar before returning to their pews.  They did it together--- the way servers synchronize their bows together.

 

I said under my breath watching them, "That's how you do it!"  The young kids showed their first public act of reverence as altar servers.

 

I'm sure the other kids present at Mass saw the reverence.  And hopefully they too will learn from it and imitate it.

Recession.  This was the end of Mass.  JP is pictured between the 2 kid servers in his pew.

Ite, missa est.*

*Go forth, the Mass is ended.


After Mass, I took the kids bike-riding at the park while their mom had some time to herself.  Taking the kids to the park encouraged me to get a new bike for my daughter Mariana.

 

As I think of my wife's tearful eyes, it moves me as I write this.  In fact, as I write this, I have 4 of 5 kids in the room with me, so I have to go soon and get them ready for bed.

For now, her tears of joy are forever etched in my mind.

Group Photo (JP in front right)



 





EPILOGUE

Note for John Paul:

Some of these photos and videos are ordinary.  But when you are older as a man, hopefully you will appreciate these moments.  And you will know how much your mom and I love you!



 

"On Loan" & "A-Lone" @ St. Joseph's Vacaville

I volunteered to accept an invitation from Fr. Resti, the pastor of St. Joseph's in Vacaville, to assist him and his parish.  I will be on temporary "on loan" duty. 

My home parish will remain St. Catherine's in Vallejo.  My family and I plan to attend Mass on weekends and evenings that I'm not on deacon duty in Vacaville.

My joke is that while I am "on loan" I am actually "a-lone" because St. Joseph's, after 25 years of existence, has not had a permanent deacon to assist.  It will be a transition for the parish...

... and for me.  I'm used to having deacons around, esp. deacons around to back me up (and me backing them up) when one could not cover an event.  But at St. Joseph's, I will be the only deacon in a parish of about 2,000.  I think St. Catherine's falls in the 3000-3500 range. 

Click HERE for parish website.

 



My official date to assist is Sunday, Oct. 11, 2015, but I came by the parish to help with Benediction on Friday, Sept. 25, 2015.

There, I met Carlos who helped me with Benediction.  Pat and her team of ladies helped me in the sacristy with some orientation.  Pat said, "I read your bio, and I expected someone older."  :) She's such a helpful lady.  A former parishioner from St. Catherine's who is now at St. Joseph's -- named EJ -- also helped me with the Chaplet. 

In my mind, these St. Joseph's parishioners were my welcome committee.  Thank you for your warm welcome, St. Joseph's!!

Fr. Brian, the parochial vicar, showed me the ropes, too.

This occasion also reminds me of another joke:

There was a parishioner that attended the Sat. 5pm Mass every week.  Another parishioner attended the 12pm Mass every week.  One day, they ran into each other at a parish festival.  The first parishioner said to the other, "Oh, do you go to Mass at St. Catherine's?"  The other parishioner replied, "Uh, yeah, I still go to Mass at St. Catherine's.  Do you still go to St. Catherine's?"

I'm sure I'll get this question even with all the announcements from the ambo and bulletin about my being on loan.  But that's okay.

One thing has become clear to me.  I hope to encourage, inspire and recruit new deacons for this parish.  In time, I suppose.

For now, I'll just be all on loan -- I mean, all alone -- as a visiting deacon until the back up shows up.

St. Joseph, pray for us.