Sunday, June 29, 2014

Pastor's Corner, June 29, 2014

Dear Parishioners and Friends,
The martyrdom of Saint Peter and Saint Paul is celebrated today throughout the universal Church. Peter was the apostle to the Jews and Paul to the Gentiles. Both, however, ended their zealous lives in the heart of the empire – the city of Rome.
Jesus had mentioned to Peter the way he would die when he told him, “You will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” St. Peter died by crucifixion, probably in the year 64 during the reign of the Emperor Nero. According to tradition, St. Peter was crucified head down because he did not think he was worthy to die in the same manner as the Lord. His burial place is directly below the high altar of St. Peter’s Basilica.
St. Paul died during the reign of the same Emperor, probably in the mid-60’s. Tradition holds that he was beheaded and not crucified because Paul was a Roman citizen. The Trappist Monastery, Tre Fontane Abbey, was built near the place of St. Paul’s martyrdom. His body was buried along the Via Ostiense. The Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls was built on top of his tomb.
In Christ,
Msgr. Baker

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Pastor's Corner, June 22, 2014

Dear Parishioners and Friends,
Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as Corpus Christi (“The Body of Christ”).
You will notice an insert in today’s bulletin which outlines some advice on how to reverently receive Holy Communion. Our reception of Holy Communion is really the expression of our faith in the Lord’s Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist and the outpouring of our love for Him. Please read the insert carefully and I hope you find the advice helpful.
When I lived in Italy I visited the site of a Eucharistic miracle that contributed to the establishment of the celebration of Corpus Christi. In 1236 a priest was on pilgrimage to Rome to ask for strength in his vocation and to remove his doubts about the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. On his way he stopped at Bolsena, a small town north of Rome. During Mass in Bolsena, at the moment of the consecration, the sacred host began to bleed. The priest took the corporal (the cloth underneath the paten and chalice) and wrapped up the bleeding Host. He immediately took it to Pope Urban IV who was in nearby town of Orvieto.
It was this same Pope Urban IV who created a new feast, the Feast of Corpus Christi, and he commissioned St. Thomas Aquinas to write hymns for the feast day. St. Thomas wrote two hymns which we still sing today, “O Salutaris” and “Tantum Ergo.”
In Christ,
Msgr. Baker

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Pastor's Corner, June 15, 2014

Dear Parishioners and Friends,
The doctrine of the Blessed Trinity is the central mystery of our faith. It is the very “heart” of who God is. I guess that’s why it is difficult to explain this mystery in words! We must always keep in mind what the Catechism says about the doctrine of the Trinity. It is an “ineffable mystery, infinitely beyond all that we can humanly understand” (251).
But God has revealed Himself to us as a trinity of persons and so He meant for us to at least begin to grasp His inner life and give ourselves over to Him. When we say that we believe in the Holy Trinity we are saying that “we worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity, without either confusing the persons or dividing the substance; for the person of the Father is one, the Son’s is another, the Holy Spirit’s another; but the Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal” (Athanasian Creed, possibly formulated as early as the 4th Century).
I think a good way to think of the Trinity is to remember that Scripture says that God is love. From this St. Augustine concludes that God is three, “the one loving the one who has his being from him, the other loving the one from whom he has his being, and that love itself” (De Trinitate, VI, 5, 7). Think of it this way, God the Father is the Lover, God the Son is the Beloved and God the Holy Spirit is Love.
O Most Holy Trinity, the Undivided Unity, the greatest of all mysteries, have mercy on us!
In Christ,
Msgr. Baker

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Pastor's Corner, June 8, 2014

Dear Parishioners and Friends,
Today, at St. Patrick’s Church in Pottsville, the now newly ordained priest – Fr. Kevin Lonergan – will celebrate his Mass of Thanksgiving. He will return to the Cathedral next Sunday and celebrate the 10:30 a.m. Mass. All are welcome. Please remember him in your prayers that he may be a holy priest and that he will always be faithful to his vocation.
Today we also celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room on the Feast of Pentecost. The word “Pentecost” comes from a Greek word meaning “fifty.” Greek-speaking Jews used the word to describe the Jewish feast of Shavuot which in Hebrew refers to the Festival of Weeks. In Leviticus 23: 16 the Israelites are instructed to count seven weeks or “fifty days” from the end of Passover and then make a special offering to the Lord. It was originally a harvest festival but it eventually became known as a celebration of the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai.
It was on this day that the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles and the Blessed Mother and it is consider the “birthday” of the Church. It was on this day that the Holy Spirit empowered them for their mission of proclaiming the Gospel throughout the world and baptizing all who believed in the Good News.
Veni Sancte Spiritus. Come Holy Spirit.
In Christ,
Msgr. Baker

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Pastor's Corner, June 1, 2014

Dear Parishioners and Friends,
Since today is Sunday we do not celebrate the saint whose feast day falls on this date – St. Justin Martyr. Around the year 155 this philosopher who converted to Christianity wrote one of the earliest descriptions of the Mass:

On the day we call the day of the sun, all who dwell in the city or country gather in the same place. The memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophets are read… When the reader has finished, he who presides over those gathered admonishes and challenges them to imitate these beautiful things. Then we all rise together and offer prayers for ourselves… and for all others, wherever they may be... When the prayers are concluded we exchange the kiss. Then someone brings bread and a cup of water and wine mixed together to him who presides over the brethren. He takes them and offers praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and for a considerable time he gives thanks (in Greek: eucharistian) that we have been judged worthy of these gifts. When he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all present give voice to an acclamation by saying: ‘Amen.’ When he who presides has given thanks and the people have responded, those whom we call deacons give to those present the ‘eucharisted’ bread, wine and water and take them to those who are absent.”

It is amazing to compare this almost 2,000 year old description of the Mass and compare it with today.
In Christ,
Msgr. Baker