Pastor's Corner, June 30, 2013

Dear Parishioners and Friends, 

We continue our lesson of the gifts of the Holy Spirit with the gift of piety. The previous gift – the fear of the Lord – disposes us to find ways to be good sons and daughters of God, our Father. In doing so, we will then exercise the gift of piety. 

Piety is basically giving filial worship to God as our Father. With the help of this gift our wills are disposed to the motions and inspirations of the Holy Spirit and to revere God as our Father. It is a kind of reverence for Him which in turn “spills out” into a deep love for our neighbor who we know also to be a son or daughter of God. In this way the gift of piety does more than simply give to others their due (thus perfecting the virtue of justice). The gift of piety loves others in a selfless way in imitation of the way God loves us. 

With this gift we follow the Ten Commandments not simply because they are commanded by God but because of our love for Him. Just as we follow the desires of our earthly fathers because we love them so too we follow the Ten Commandments because we love our heavenly Father. 

In Christ,

Msgr. Baker

Pastor's Corner, June 23, 2013

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

   The first gift of the Holy Spirit on which I would like to reflect is the fear of the Lord.

   First of all, “fear” of the Lord does not mean that we are scared of God. It means that we are deeply aware that God is all-powerful and holy and that he does not tolerate sin. With this gift we know God to be beyond our understanding but also, amazingly, he is near to us as our Father. Probably one of the best ways to think of this gift is to consider it as the “awe” or “reverence” we have for the Lord. As the Bible says, “Happy the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commands” (Psalm 112:1) and “the beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord” (Sirach 1:12). 

   The fear of the Lord guides us to find ways to be good sons and daughters of God. We want to please Him by our holy lives which reflect His holiness. Therefore, we are helped by this gift to avoid sin and any undue attachment to things of this world out of our love for God. We make choices which give God glory motivated not simply out of fear of punishment (purgatory or hell) but out of the love that governs our relationship with Him. Just as we fear hurting someone who loves us and that we love, so too we have a fear of the Lord. 

In Christ,

Msgr. Baker

Pastor's Corner, June 16, 2013

Dear Parishioners and Friends, 

On Father’s Day I want to take this opportunity to thank all fathers who sacrifice so much for their wife and children and ask God’s blessing on all of you. Being a Christian parent in today’s world is certainly not easy. It never has been. That’s why they and all of us are in need of the powerful work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 

Today I start a series of reflection on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Prophet Isaiah says this about the coming of the Messiah: “But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord” (Is 11:1-3). The Tradition of the church identifies seven gifts and teaches that they come to all the faithful through the sacrament of Baptism and especially Confirmation. 

By the effectiveness of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit the human soul becomes like God, like steel glowing in the fire. These gifts so penetrate into our lives that our thoughts and our feelings become those of Jesus Christ. We truly become “alter Christus” or “another Christ.” 

In Christ,

Msgr. Baker

Pastor's Corner, June 9, 2013

Dear Parishioners and Friends, 

Fr. Miller, expert at horseshoes

This weekend we say farewell to Fr. Brian Miller. We are grateful to the Women’s Alliance for organizing a coffee and donuts reception after all Masses. Fr. Miller will begin his new assignment this coming week at St. Patrick’s Church in Pottsville. We are grateful to God for his priestly ministry among us these past three years and we know that through him the Lord will continue to bring abundant fruit in his new parish. 

This week Fr. Bernard Ezaki will arrive as the new assistant pastor and Fr. Tolentino will begin his new ministry as chaplain to the Allentown hospitals and nursing homes while remaining here at the Cathedral as a resident. As I mentioned two weekends ago, the Cathedral will now be served by only two parish priests, although Fr. Tolentino will assist will some Masses and confessions. 

We have already informally welcomed our two new deacons, Deacon Rob Snyder and Deacon Kevin Lonergan. I hope you can join us to formally welcome them and Fr. Ezaki on the weekend of June 22 – 23 after all Masses in the PAC. We thank the Knights of Columbus who will organize the coffee and donuts reception after all Masses. 

In Christ,

Msgr. Baker

Pastor's Corner, June 2, 2013

Dear Parishioners and Friends, 

This afternoon Father Joseph Ganser, formerly our transitional deacon here at the Cathedral, will celebrate his Mass of Thanksgiving following his ordination to the priesthood, which took place yesterday. 

It is very fitting that his Mass of Thanksgiving take place on the very Sunday that the Church celebrates Corpus Christi (The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ). The priesthood finds its highest calling and meaning in offering sacrifice and it is the priest who guarantees that it is really Christ “who acts in the sacraments through the Holy Spirit for the Church” (CCC, 1120). 

The Holy Mass is at the heart of the life of a priest and gives meaning to his life. When he says, “This is my body… this is my blood,” he lends his voice to Christ so that our Savior can perpetually give Himself to us under the appearance of bread and wine but with the reality of His Body and Blood. As St. John Vianney once famously said, “the Mass is the sacrifice that God makes to man of His Body and of His Blood. Oh, how great is a priest!... The priest will only be understood in heaven. Were he understood on earth, people would die, not of fear, but of love.” 

In Christ,

Msgr. Baker