This coming Saturday, February 11, the Diocese of Austin is celebrating a Mass at the Cathedral for Consecrated Life. This is to recognize and honor all the religious Sisters, Brothers and religious priests in the Diocese of Austin, including the Paulists. Since there is a free meal connected with this event I naturally signed up to go.

One of the things that they do at this Mass is recognize all the Religious who are celebrating anniversaries of their Final Profession as a Sister or Brother, or their ordination as a Priest. When you register you are to indicate if you are observing an anniversary like your 25th or 50th. I put down that I was not celebrating any anniversary. However, the Chancery called and said that according to their records I was ordained a priest in 1978. I said that is correct. Then they asked, “Well, then aren’t you celebrating your 45th anniversary of ordination?” I hesitated, pulled out the calculator on my phone, and yes it turns out that this May 18 I will have been ordained a priest for 45 years. I was shocked.

First of all, I don’t think of 45 years as a big occasion to celebrate. Twenty-five years, or Fifty years (like Fr. Bruce Nieli will observe this May) is a good reason to celebrate. But we don’t usually celebrate thirty-two or forty-one year anniversaries, and I think 45 is kind of like that.

Secondly, I could not believe it that I am already coming up on 45 years as a priest! When did that happen? Where did all the time go? Then I started thinking about all my priestly assignments and adding up the years: St. Nicholas Parish in North Pole, Alaska, Old St. Mary’s Parish in Chicago, Catholic Information Centre in Toronto, St. Andrew’s in Clemson, St. Paul the Apostle in New York City, Old St. Mary’s Cathedral in San
Francisco, and then over twelve years here. Yes, it all added up. I was surprised. How time flies when you are having fun! And for the most part, it has been fun.

Perhaps this also explains while I get tired a little bit more easily. Not as young as I used to be, but I am VERY grateful for a wonderful life as a Paulist priest. It has been challenging, exciting, interesting, surprising, deeply rewarding, but never dull. Well, maybe somewhat dull in the endless meetings that are part of modern church life.

I believe that whatever God calls you to will be likewise interesting, challenging to growth, and mostly not dull. I urge young people to not be afraid to respond to God’s call no matter what it is. You will not regret it.
 

Before I close, I urge all parishioners to respond to the request to fill our the survey for our Visioning Project at St. Austin Parish/School. As we are preparing to move into our new home in several months, we want to use this as an opportunity to renew, refresh and clarify our mission. What can we let go of? What can we refine and strengthen? What do we need to add? Your input is both important and appreciated.  So please take a few minutes to open the link and fill out the survey. If you can't find the email we sent you on Tuesday, the link is at the button below. Many thanks.

God bless, 

Help Us Dream - Take the Survey!

Next Sunday, January 29, we are glad to host our Bishop, Bishop Joe Vásquez, He will be here in the afternoon to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation with about 30 high school students from our parish. It will be a wonderful outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our parishioners. Please remember all the confirmandi (those receiving the sacrament) in your prayers.

I try to interview each of the confirmandi individually. The technology of Zoom makes it much easier, if not quite as rich as an in-person meeting. I always ask what the Sacrament of Confirmation means and is all about. Invariably the students tell me that the Sacrament of Confirmation means that they are confirming their choice to be Catholic. They are confirming their faith.

That is certainly a part of the Sacrament of Confirmation, and we are happy to have them confirm their faith as their own, but it is NOT what Confirmation is primarily about. After all, the Orthodox and Eastern Rite Catholics confirm babies at their Baptism. Rather, the basic meaning of Confirmation is that God confirms God’s choice of us. God chooses us as God’s beloved adopted children in Baptism, and now God confirms,
or guarantees, God’s choice of us. And the “confirmation number” so to speak, is not a string of letters and numbers, but rather the Gift of the Holy Spirit.

When we baptize an adult or teen, we follow that immediately with Confirmation, and then First Communion as the THIRD act. People who love and study liturgy would like for us to go back to this arrangement for ALL people, even infants. So babies would be Baptized, and either then or sometime before second grade when they make their First Communion, they would be Confirmed.

This is a BIG change. Dioceses that have done this (like San Angelo) find that it is, shall I say, not popular. Recently a few of us involved in catechesis here at St. Austin have looked at this again, especially as several parishes in our area are moving Confirmation from tenth grade to ninth grade. However, we have decided for the immediate future to remain with our current practice of confirming students in tenth grade.

In any case I ask you to remember our students receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation next weekend. Please pray that they will be strengthened in faith, to joyfully follow Christ more closely.

God bless!

Things continue to develop here at St. Austin parish. This past Saturday, on January 7, we held a very positive “Listening Day” for about 45 parishioners and staff to begin a strategic planning process for our community. It was both a positive and effective experience. We were led and guided by Helen Osman, who has worked both for the Diocese of Austin and at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. We expect her report this week, and will discuss with the Parish Pastoral Council our next steps.

We chose to do this at this time because we, as a parish and school community, will be facing a big change in the Fall as we move into our new building, our new home. We want this major event in the life of our parish and school to be a catalyst for sharpening and promoting our mission. So please stay tuned for further information on this strategic planning process, and please keep our parish in your prayers.

Speaking of the building project, we are bringing a formal close to our Beacon of Hope capital campaign. Thanks to your generosity we have exceeded our goal in pledges, and I will be making a special announcement about this at all Masses this weekend. Next week I will post my announcement on the parish website.

Also, this Saturday, January 14, the crane over our building will be taken down, a very clear sign of progress. We are moving right along, and anxious to see the finished building. There is a new drone video of our construction, which you can view on our website. Find the video and more at Construction Updates. 

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We are proud of our church office address of 500 West Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. The church offices will be closed that day. I hope all of you will take the opportunity of this holiday to reflect on Dr. King’s stirring words, and our continuing obligation to work for justice for all in our country and society. Our eNews is filled with invitations through which you can work and advocate for justice.

We are supposedly in kind of a “lull” between the Christmas and Lenten seasons (Ash Wednesday is February 22) but it certainly doesn’t feel at all like a lull. Well, as my mother, Bernice, used to say: “no rest for the wicked”. However, I am taking three days for a retreat in Kerrville next week, so please remember me in your prayers.

God bless!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! As we celebrate this wonderful feast of God becoming one of us in the Christ Child, I wish you all Blessings and Joys of this Holy Season!

I especially want to welcome all who join us in this holy and holiday time.  

WELCOME to all our regular and faithful parishioners. We are so blessed by your presence!

WELCOME to any college or university students home visiting family from other institutions of higher learning. We are so happy to see you again!

WELCOME to any relatives or friends visiting family or friends here in Austin. We rejoice that you are with us and we hope your stay in Austin is WONDERFUL (but not so wonderful that you want to move here – just kidding!)

WELCOME to any visitors who were last with us for Easter or last Christmas. We are happy to see you again!  Know that you are always welcome, and we are blessed the more that we enjoy your presence. I hope and pray that we will see you more often!

WELCOME to any Christians of another denomination. You are our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus and we are happy and honored to have you with us during this festive and holy time of year, or at any time. Glad you are with us.

WELCOME to the members of other faiths or of no faith. You honor us by your presence and we are pleased that you have come to visit us. We all live on this one planet, our Mother Earth, and we are all called by our common humanity to honor and respect each other. Thank you for joining us.

WELCOME to any who have come in just to get out of the cold or out of the night. You are most welcome. We are happy to share with you the music, light, decorations and joy of this very special season. WELCOME.

And to all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!   

The mystery of the full Incarnation is what we celebrate with great joy. In this reflection on Christmas by Sujata Jena we are invited to become vulnerable, to join with the vulnerable.

The Meaning & Challenge Posed by Christmas

Flesh. Ultimately, this is what Christmas, as a religious holiday, comes down to. Christmas is the Feast of the Incarnation, that is, the en-fleshment of God in Jesus. That is what the Latin root of incarnation means, the being made flesh.

Ever since the event of the Incarnation, ever since God became flesh in Jesus, our flesh has enormous dignity and eternal purpose. God has become flesh so that we can, in the fullness of our being, share eternally in the life of God.

So this Christmas I urge you to be good to your flesh. Try not to overeat. Get enough rest. Go slow on the eggnog and holiday drinks. Eat only two pieces of pie rather than four. Be good to your flesh. Get some exercise (see the list posted below). Let go of stress. Enjoy your flesh. Christmas teaches us that our flesh was worthy of Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Therefore our flesh has great dignity, and a wonderful, spectacular destiny in the Resurrection. But that is something we celebrate at Easter.

Meanwhile, Merry Christmas!

• Go for a holiday stroll at nearby Pease Park with its stunning limestone bluffs, shaded trails, and a rich cultural history. An outdoor oasis in the heart of Austin, Pease Park provides opportunities for play at the southern end and an immersion in nature as you travel north along the trails.

• Visit Austin recommends this list of urban hiking trails on it~ The Barton Creek Greenbelt boasts almost 13 miles of trails, and is one of the top-rated hiking spots in Texas. Barton Creek passes both Sculpture and Twin Falls (with steep cliffs that are great for climbing) and snakes through a dense forest. Or hike the leafy 10-mile Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail at Lady Bird Lake, which skirts along shimmering waters and has picturesque views of Austin’s skyline. Experience a lush hidden escape within the city limits at the quiet St. Edward's Park or the 227-acre Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve, where you can hike through forested greenbelt trails (reservations required on weekends and holidays). 

• Texas Parks & Wildlife has a holiday calendar of events with outdoor activities at various parks across the lone star state.

• Lastly, if you're feeling "holiday-ed out," and want to just get out of the house for beautiful views check out this map of Where to Watch the Sunset in Austin from Austin Things. ​​​​​​​​​

This week, on Thursday, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is an important Feast Day, not least of which is because this is the patronal feast of the United States of America. So pray for our country that day.

Unfortunately, I have found that there is not infrequently some confusion and mis-understanding about this feast. First of all, this is about the conception of Mary, not Jesus. Perhaps because of the anticipation and nearness of Christmas, people
sometimes mistakenly associate the Immaculate Conception with the conception of Jesus. But that occurred nine months prior to Christmas, and we celebrate that on March 25 in the Feast of the Annunciation, when the Archangel Gabriel “announced” to Mary that she was chosen to be the Mother of God’s Son, Jesus.

The Feast we observe this week, the Immaculate Conception of Mary. refers rather to the conception of Mary in her mother’s womb. Her mother is traditionally known as Anna. While Mary’s conception occurred in the usual way, what was special about it, and what we celebrate in this Feast, is that it was “immaculate”. In other words, Mary’s
conception was not negatively affected by original sin.

All the rest of us, from our beginning, have carried the burden of original sin. Unfortunately original sin has been taught as a dark mark on our soul from our earliest times, leading us to selfishness, lying, laziness and all the other bad habits and sinful inclinations we carry around with us. However, such an understanding is poor theology.

Original sin is not something that is there, like a dirty mark on the soul, but rather something that should be there that is missing. As St. Thomas Aquinas taught, original sin is “analogous” to sin; that is, original sin is like sin in its effects. It is not so much a mark that is there that needs to be cleansed and taken away, but rather a lack, an emptiness of something that should by rights be there, but is in fact missing, that is absent. Original sin is not a presence, but an absence. It is the absence of the union with God we were created to have. It is the absence of grace. That is what original sin is.

So when the Angel Gabriel addresses Mary at the Annunciation (Jesus’ conception) the Angel calls her “full of grace”. That is, from the first moment of her being, Mary was not lacking what was supposed to be there all along: God’s grace and love. Mary was conceived “immaculately” in that from the very beginning she was full of God’s grace and love.

Therefore Mary is an exemplar and model of what all of us are called to be, what all of us look forward to in heaven, namely being full of grace, in perfect harmony and union with God. 

Mary is therefore an example and sign of hope for all of us. We hope to be full of grace in the Resurrection, and Mary shows us what that will be like. So in the Immaculate Conception we see our destiny as fully in union and harmony with God. And that is a very good thing.

Happy Feast Day!

First of all, a look back, to thank and congratulate everyone who joined us and participated in the special “Slab Signing” event two weeks ago. It was a great success! Special Thanks to the team at Hensel Phelps, our general contractor, who prepped and organized the event. Special Thanks also to our parish team, to Sharon Lehtonen and her crew who provided the refreshments, to our stalwart leaders Trish Dolese, Christopher Kennedy, and the Development Committee, for organizing and supervising the signing, and of course to our wonderful Knights of Columbus who fed us all delicious sausage wraps! I am so happy that many of you made your mark on this construction project which holds so many of our hopes for a brighter future as a parish and school community. To all those who participated in the “Slab Signing”, along with all those
who have participated in our fundraising campaign and all those who have supported our project through your prayers, THANK YOU! We had much to be grateful for on Thanksgiving because of our development project. God is good!

Last week I had the privilege of participating in the blessing and dedication of the new Paulist House of Studies (i.e., seminary) in Washington, DC. Many of you have helped to make this building a reality by your donations and prayers, and I can assure you that they have been well used. It is a stunning building architecturally, and at the same time both very comfortable and homey, and also very efficient and well suited to a house of study and mission in the 21st Century. I hope you will have an opportunity in the future,
if you are ever in the DC area, to stop in and say hello to the Paulist seminarians and priests in residence there. Tell them you are from St. Austin Parish in Texas and they will welcome you warmly. In addition, I also picked up a few good ideas on how to do a dedication of a new building. The Paulists in DC know how to do a dedication right.

Sunday ADVENT begins! Happy Liturgical New Year!!! Advent is a beautiful time, of prayers of longing and peace, of yearning for the coming of the Christ Child and of a much brighter future. It is a season of Hope.

Too bad so much of Advent is lost in the Christmas rush. The later we get into the season, the harder it is to enter into the spirit and feeling of Advent. So I encourage to take advantage now, in the early days of Advent, to open your heart to the longing for a Savior, and the desire of God’s Kingdom, before we are hopelessly distracted by the commercial fervor of Christmas. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!

God bless,

First of all, especially for those of you who read this on Friday, Happy Veterans Day! May we all be grateful for the service of all veterans in defending and protecting our country and our liberties. THANK YOU to all Veterans!

Tuesday we celebrate the Feast of St. Albert the Great. Albert was a Dominican who was born around the year 1200 and died on Nov. 15, 1280. He was a teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas, who was also a Dominican and a great theologian. Albert was a philosopher, a bishop, and a scientist, and is regarded as the patron saint of scientists.

Albert was involved in many disputes and controversies in his life, including defending the orthodoxy of his star pupil, Thomas Aquinas. Albert sought reconciliation and peace. But he was not afraid of science and reason, and saw God as the author of both. St. Albert is a great model for us today, especially when we see a conflict between science and religion. Any apparent conflict is due to a lack of reason and more importantly imagination on our part. Both religion and science seek truth, but in different ways with different objects. However, truth is one, and so what seems contradictory to us is due to our failure to see the issue as a whole.

Friday is the Feast of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, one of our American Saints, born on August 29, 1760 in Grenoble, France. Against her family’s opposition she became a nun, showing her strong will. In 1818 with four other nuns she set off to the missionary territory of Missouri, with a strong desire to minister to Native Americans. However, they opened a log cabin convent in St. Charles, Missouri, up the Missouri River from St. Louis. The Sisters opened a school in St. Charles. The demand for education and pastoral work on the frontier kept Rose from being able to work directly with Native Americans however. Finally in 1841 the Jesuits opened a mission in Kansas to serve the Potawatomi tribe. Now 71, Sr. Rose was too old to learn the Native American language, but she asked to go along. Unable to teach, she prayed for the success of the mission, and the Native Americans named her Quahkahkanumad, which means Woman Who Prays Always. St. Rose is buried at the Sisters' house in St. Charles, and I have had the benefit of praying there. Last time I was there the guide told me that every year, on the anniversary of St. Rose’s death, an elderly Native American woman comes to pray at St. Rose’s grave. Apparently the story has been passed down for several generations in the Native American person’s family that when the Potawatomi were forced off their native lands during one of several Trail of Tears events, and shipped to Kansas, one of the very young Potawatomi girls was held and rocked by Sr. Rose Philippine Duchesne, comforting her. And this story of such a simple but profound act of comforting has been passed down in her family. So if you are ever in the St. Charles, Missouri area, stop in and say a prayer at the shrine of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne.

God bless!

This Sunday morning, November 6, we gain an hour as we fall back off of Daylight Savings Time. You get an extra hour of sleep this week. Now is also time to get your flu shot if you have not already done so. This is especially important for us Senior Citizens. But no one likes suffering from the flu.

Next Sunday, November 13, following all Masses we will have the slab signing event on our project of our new home. After so many months (years really) of planning, endless meetings, listening, getting all the various parties from the developer, the contractor, the architect, the Diocese, the Paulists, and all parts of the school and parish to agree, we can now see our new ministry and school building taking shape. It is WONDERFUL!

So it is proper and appropriate that we mark it to make it our own. This is not just another commercial development, like so many we see around our area and downtown Austin. This is our new home for ministry, socializing, education, faith formation, and living as an active and dynamic parish and school community. Therefore it is wholly appropriate and entirely proper that we personalize this construction and make it distinctively our own. So I hope that all of you who have been involved in this once-in-a-generation project, either by serving on one of the many committees that prepared and planned for this building, or helped with the moves we had to make out of our previous buildings, or contributed to our successful “Beacon of Hope For Generations” fundraising campaign, or supported us by your prayers, will join us on Sunday, November 13 after all the Masses that day.

There are several options for participation. Some will be able to enter the actual construction site and mark on portions of the floors. You can add a prayer, a good wish, a statement of gratitude, a hope for the future. Others will be able to write a message, and if they wish their name, on cards that will be added to the time capsule that will be buried under the learning steps in the new school. For those unable to attend you can write your statement and name on a 3X5 index card and mail it to the parish, and we will include it in the time capsule.

And there will be refreshments and continued celebration in the ministry center (i.e. garage) after all Masses, I am praying for good weather on Sunday, November 13. But in any case I am certain that we will have a great time, for we have something truly wonderful to celebrate. More than a physical construction, we celebrate the building of our St. Austin parish/school community!

God bless!

This weekend we, with all the parishes of our Diocese, make the big push for, and take up, the annual Catholic Services Appeal. This is, as you probably know, the annual fund-raising push of our Diocese for the funds to do the work of the Diocese. This drive funds seminary education for diocesan priests and permanent deacons, supports the Gabriel Project, ministry to people in prisons, and many other good works. It also helps
to fund the operation of the Diocesan Pastoral Center.

Here at St. Austin parish, over the last several years, we have received tremendous help from the Diocese in bringing our parish/school development program to reality. We would not be seeing our new parish offices and ministry space, and new state-of-the-art parish school, going up right before our eyes without countless hours and much expertise from the Chancellor of the Diocese and the CFO of the Diocese. Deacon Ron Walker and Mary Beth Koenig put many hours into this project and brought a wealth of experience and a critical eye to all of our legal and financial planning. And while sometimes it felt restricting, in reality it was most helpful.
So in a very real and concrete way, we at St. Austin Parish and School are part and parcel of the Diocese of Austin.

Therefore, I encourage you to prayerfully consider how God is calling you to respond to this Catholic Services Appeal. Certainly there are many appeals out there, not least of which is our parish and our great development project. When Jesus tells us we must be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves (MT 10:16), that being “wise” applies to our good works, including our generosity. So pray over this and think about what you are
called to do.

Thank you for all you do for our parish, our Diocese, and the Church Universal.

God bless!

Something I have always found interesting is attending Mass as a tourist in another city. It is interesting to me to see how the Mass, which essentially always the same, takes on a different flavor in other locations. This is true even of going to other parishes in this city, and it is doubly true in other cities. And when you attend Mass in another country with another culture, it can seem very different, even though it is in essence exactly the same. Jesus is always present, bringing the spiritual reality of His sacrifice on the Cross and the power of His Resurrection. But in appearance it can seem very different.

That unity and that difference are important. Every Mass is always universal, and always local, and all at the same time. Therefore, whenever you visit a Catholic church in another city or country, you are never there as a visitor. As a Baptized Catholic you are part of the family, and you belong. Just as any visitor to our parish, no matter from how far away the visitor comes, he or she is a brother or sister. They are part of the family and they belong.

It is a wonderful thing that we participate in a global church. What we do on Sunday mornings is also being done all over the world: in huge ornate cathedrals, in ordinary parish churches like our own, in small, rustic chapels, and even on a card table under a tree among migrant farm workers. In essence it is the same event, and we are all mystically connected.

And while that is (to me at least) inspiring, it also brings with it responsibility. We need to support each other with our prayers, and for those who are able, to support each other materially. This weekend we celebrate WORLD MISSION SUNDAY. It is an opportunity and a call for us to support the worldwide mission of the Church both with our prayers and our financial gifts. We do this for a particular mission of the Church each Summer when we host a preacher for a specific mission, as we did this past August when Fr. Dan Noll appealed to us for the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky. This parish responded generously with gifts and prayers. Thank you!

This weekend we are challenged again to support, in broader and overall terms, the Mission efforts of the Church throughout the world in the annual Mission Sunday collection. We can participate personally, through our gifts and prayers, in the mission work of the Church. I urge you to respond generously.

God bless!

This past week the priests of the Diocese of Austin gathered for three days for the annual Priests Convocation. Our Diocese holds a convocation every year at the Marriott Hotel in Round Rock. It is a time of prayer, socialization, and education. This year’s theme was vocations, especially vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

There will be no ordinations to the priesthood this coming Spring for the Diocese of Austin. This has alarmed the Diocese, especially as the number of Catholics in the Diocese grows rapidly, and a significant number of diocesan priests are set to retire. I can also add that there were no Paulist ordinations this past Spring either.

The situation of lack of ordained priests in this country is bad and getting worse. We need more vocations to the priesthood. So we had presentations by Rhonda Gruenwald who has begun a successful vocation ministry in her home parish of St. Cecilia in Houston, and now has taken it on the road, speaking to dioceses across the country. She has enthusiasm and passion for promoting vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. She also presented many possible actions for promoting vocations. Visit her website, Vocation Ministry. 

Some of her suggestions would be applicable to our parish and our Catholic School. Prior to the covid pandemic we had a vocations committee here at St Austin. It is time to revitalize that effort. If you have a desire or passion to work to promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life, please let me know. I am sure we will be organizing an effort here to promote vocations in our parish.

Meanwhile, continue to pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Ask the Master of the harvest to send more workers into the harvest. There is a great need for good priests in our country. If you know of someone who would make a good priest, please mention that to him.

We are currently building a new home for our parish ministries and our parish school. But we also need to generate more priestly and religious vocations to serve in these buildings and beyond. Keep praying for vocations to serve the Church. 

God bless!

Do you realize it is only 11 more Sundays till Christmas!?! Before you know it the stores will be full of Santas and Elves and other secular Christmas decorations. And of course that means SHOPPING!

Much of the stuff we buy is made in China. Recently, the United Nations human rights office, after a long delay, finally released their report that confirmed the allegations of severe human rights abuses by the Chinese government against ethnic Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in China’s Western province of Xinjiang. You can read about it at this website.

I know the little I spend on Christmas presents will not make any impact on conditions in Xinjiang, but nonetheless I feel I have some responsibility to spend my money in an ethical way. It is hard to find something that is NOT made in China. But for this Christmas, while I doubt it will do any practical good, I will make an effort to not buy products made in China. It will be my silent form of protest, and very small connection to the people who are suffering from persecution in Xinjiang.

I will still be able to buy pecans from Texas (always popular gifts) and many other items. But the situation in the Moslem provinces of China is so terrible, and the actions of the Chinese government so grievous, that I do not want in any way to be associated with it much less supporting it.

We all have responsibility for each other. I wish we could do something stronger and more effective. But at least we can pray for those persecuted for their faith and their ethnicity, and we can be prudent and careful in how we spend our dollars. And in this very small way maybe we can enter a bit more fully into the true meaning of Christmas.

God bless!

As I hope you have heard, we have postponed and rescheduled the “Slab Signing” event for our new construction. It was originally planned for October 2nd. But due to some delays and some safety concerns, it has been rescheduled to Sunday, November 13. The good news is that it will be after all Masses on Sunday, November 13. Unfortunately, due to the home UT football game, there will NOT be a slab signing event after the 5:00 p.m. Mass on Saturday, November 12. So plan to join us after one of the Masses on Sunday, November 13. You must wear closed-toed shoes. No flipflops or open-toed shoes on the construction site. We will be limited to groups of ten people at a time, so it may take a while. We also will have alternative opportunities for people to express their wishes and prayers OUTSIDE the construction site, for those in a hurry or with mobility issues. We will be as accommodating as we can. Please join us!

On another topic completely, this coming Friday, October 7 is the Feast of our Lady of the Rosary. It is a beautiful feast, for the Rosary has been a favorite form of prayer for many Catholic for many centuries. The Rosary has been prayed by families in their homes, by groups at wakes and funerals and other occasions, and by individuals for centuries and centuries. However, the occasion of this Feast is rather dubious. This feast was a response to an enormous naval battle with thousands of ships and many thousands of men that occurred near the town of Lepanto, in Greece, on October 7 in 1571. A combined naval fleet of Catholic states in Europe met the mighty fleet of the Ottoman Empire, which of course was Moslem. It was a struggle for the control of the faith of Europe. If the Ottomans had won we would very likely all be Moslems, for there would be little to
prevent the Ottomans from conquering Europe, especially as Europe was rent by religious divisions between Catholics and Protestants.

The Turks had the advantage of more men and many more ships than the Catholics. The Catholics however had more canons and bigger ones, and firepower was the key element of the battle. The result was an overwhelming victory for the Christians, halting the Moslem expansion into Europe. The Pope at the time, Pius V, had played a large part in bankrolling the Catholic fleet. He also called on all people throughout Europe to pray for victory, especially by praying the Rosary. Therefore, Pope Pius V attributed the lopsided Christian victory to the intervention of the Blessed Mother. In gratitude, Pope Pius V established the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on the anniversary of the great Christian victory at Lepanto.

As we celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, we do not call upon Mary to intercede as a warrior queen to crush our enemies, but rather to intercede on our behalf for better relations and understanding between all the children of Abraham, our Father in faith, including Jews, Christians, and Moslems. If the power of the Rosary can help win battles it can also help foster understanding, cooperation, and respect among the children of Abraham.

Happy Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary!

Our St. Austin parish and school community is off to a new and busy year of activities. Please check our parish website often for updates on events at the parish.

Among the bigger activities at this time is the construction of our new ministry and school building. We anticipate moving into our new facilities next July. That will be the culmination of much hard work and generosity. Please continue to pray for the success of our development project, Beacon of Hope for Generations.

To help memorialize this wonderful development, we hope that on Sunday, October 2, following the 8:45 a.m. and the 11:30 a.m. Masses, we will be able to go out to the construction site for our new ministry home, and parishioners and school families will have the opportunity to write with chalk or crayons on the concrete pillars and floors expressions of congratulations, wishes of success, prayers for safety and prosperity, and other thoughts of good will. All of those sentiments will, of course, be covered up by the construction, but will remain there for future archeologists to find. I hope you will be able to join us and participate.

Please pray for good weather and a nice day. Light refreshments will be served, perhaps in church or maybe in the parish ministry space on the first floor of our garage.

On another note, as you read this I will be participating in a Paulist Pilgrimage to Prague, Budapest, and Oberammergau. I am very much looking forward to it. Know that I will be praying for the continued success of our big development project, and in thanksgiving for all of you who have participated in this by offering your time and talent, your financial contributions, and of course your prayers. And of course I will be back in time for the signing of our construction on October 2.

God Bless,

As some of you may know I had a partial knee replacement on my right knee on Tuesday, June 28. The last three weeks have been interesting.

Because I had only a partial knee replacement, which requires less invasion of the knee and less cutting, and because I had a very talented surgeon, anesthesiologist, and fantastic nurses, and because I received really exceptional care from dedicated parishioners for the first week after surgery, I have come through with flying colors. I am truly blessed!

My physical therapists, and many helping parishioners, are all surprised and delighted that my progress since surgery has been so rapid and with only very little pain, and that of minor intensity. I am truly blessed!

I am way ahead of the usual recovery schedule, taking way less drugs than usual, and doing pretty well. I am truly blessed!

I am particularly grateful to Fr. Paolo Puccini who has received his baptism of fire. As the only priest on staff, he has had to handle many hospital and duty calls on his own, cover almost all the Masses, and keep the parish moving. He has been ably assisted by the parish staff, especially our Parish Administrator, Diane Zbasnik. I have not had to worry about the operations nor the liturgical celebrations nor the duty calls. I am truly blessed!

Finally, I want to thank all you generous parishioners who have been praying for me. Don’t stop yet! Also, thank you to those who have brought meals, provided rides, sent get well cards, offered recovery items like walkers, and helped in many ways. It has been a great outpouring of care and concern. I am truly blessed!

And I want to thank the Holy Spirit who has blessed me with a little more patience and willingness to accept help during all this. It has felt good to be so cared for. I am truly blessed.

God bless,
 

This past two weeks I have been involved in the Paulist General Assembly in Washington, DC. This is a gathering of elected representatives from the entire Paulist Community that takes place every four years.

We prepared for this General Assembly with “pre-assembly gatherings” to gather input and suggestions from the Paulists themselves and from the people with whom we minister. There were three such meetings via Zoom, one for the East Coast, one for the West Coast, and one for the middle of the country. Diane Zbasnik, our Parish Administrator, was one of the lay representatives.

From the document collating the results of the Paulist Pre-Assembly we are given this description:

Three Paulist pre-assemblies took place via zoom over three days in the Fall of 2021. A total of 87 Paulists and 35 Lay representatives participated. Participants were asked to reflect on four questions and shared in small groups using a contemplative listening and discernment process. After each small group there was a large group discussion where the reflections of each group were shared with the whole group. On the final day, each small group advanced two priorities for the General Assembly and among those, the whole group indicated their three top priorities.

I was able to participate in portions of two of these pre-assembly events. We then held the actual General Assembly in Washington, DC, over the last two weeks. Several issues were addressed, some of interest only to internal Paulist concerns, but several beyond the Paulists. There was much discussion about inclusion of laity and other clerics in our mission and some steps taken in that direction. But the pre-eminent issue of the three pre-assembly meetings, and of the General Assembly, was how to address the caustic state of division and opposition in our country, church, and society. Much thought and prayer went into the discussion of this issue, and later I will share with you the results of our discussion.

On the whole the General Assembly was a positive experience. There was a great sense of brotherhood, and less division and dissension than I recall in some previous General Assemblies. Having the beautiful installation Mass for Fr. René Constanza as our new Paulist President, which I hope you saw, was a great and positive way to set the tone for the deliberations that followed. Nonetheless, I am glad the Paulist General
Assembly is over for another four years, and I am back and involved in our parish.

On a more local note, I want to inform you that even though my term as pastor here at St. Austin Church is up at the end of this month, having completed the full term of 12 years here, the Paulist General Council made an exception and assigned me another two years here as your pastor. So you are still stuck with me.

Try to stay cool in the midst of this heat, and God bless! 

There are faces we remember among those gathered for the Paulist General Assembly, among them, 
Fr. Bruce, Fr. Bernie, Fr. Ivan, Fr. Tom, Fr. René, Fr. Dat, Fr. Larry, Fr. John, Fr. Bob, Fr. Chuck, Fr. Eric, Fr. Steve, Fr. Rick.

On Tuesday of this week, June 7, a new administration of the Paulist Fathers will be inducted into office. 
Fr. Dave Dwyer, CSP, will be the new Paulist First Consultor, Fr. Frank Desiderio, CSP, will be the new Vice-President, and Fr. René Constanza, CSP, will be the new President of the Paulists. Please remember them in your prayers. 

I will continue to serve on the Paulist General Council and will be a delegate to the Paulist General Assembly in Washington, DC, this week and next. The General Assembly meets every four years and sets the direction for the Paulist Community.