Sermon: 14th Sunday of the Year

Sorry it has been so long since I last posted. I have been traveling and am currently in Charlotte, NC. You might be wondering about the above photo, well, you will have to listen to the sermon to understand. This week I was visiting the parishes of Kingsbury County, South Dakota. Have a listen:

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Sermon: 13th Sunday of the Year

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Where's Fr. Christensen? Part II

Another of the three parishes I have been taking care of for the past couple of weeks is St. Anthony's in Selby, SD. Selby has a population of 647. The Church has a beautiful statue of St. Anthony:



Here is a wide view of the Sanctuary:



And a little closer view:

Above the Altar is suspended a beautiful crucifix with Jesus vested as a priest, after all on the cross He was both Priest and Victim. Something that you liturgy nuts (myself included of course) will notice is that Jesus is wearing a Maniple:

There is also a lovely statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

St. Anthony's has a cabinet that has various liturgical items in it. Oh, if only some of them were still being used:

Next on our tour of the Catholic Churches of North Central South Dakota will be St. Joseph's in Eureka.

Where's Fr. Christensen?

For the past couple weeks I have been ministering to three small parishes in north central South Dakota; St. Michael's in Herreid, St. Anthony's in Selby, and St. Joseph's in Eureka. In the next three posts I will share some photos I have taken of the three parishes. I will begin with Herreid, population 360 (in 2008).

Here is a view of the Church (I posted this on facebook and someone accused me of straightening all the hymnals for the picture):

Here is a closer view of the Sanctuary. Notice the lovely altar cloth on the altar in the foreground. It matches both the tabernacle veil and the vestments:


Here is a closer view of the High Altar which, thank God, was not removed after the "changes" of the Second Vatican Council. Notice the veiled tabernacle, one of my favorite things:

Here is one of the side altars, this one is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

They even have some of the "old school" confessionals. In case you are wondering, yes, I use them.

So there you have it, a few pictures from where I have been the past couple of weeks. The next post will have pictures from St. Anthony's in Selby.

Novena Of Confidence

Since we are in the month of the Sacred Heart, I thought it might be a good time to share one of my favorite prayers. Recently a priest friend of mine shared it with me and now I pray it daily.

O Lord Jesus Christ, to your most Sacred Heart,
I confide this/these intention(s):

(State you intention(s) here...)

Only look upon me, and then do
What your Sacred Heart inspires.

Let your Sacred Heart decide
I count on it, I trust in it
I throw myself on Your mercy,
Lord Jesus! You will not fail me.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in You.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I believe in Your love for me.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Your Kingdom come.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus,
I have asked you for many favors,
But I earnestly implore this one.

Take it, and place it in Your open, broken Heart;
And, when the Eternal Father looks upon It,
Covered with Your Precious Blood,
He will not refuse it.

It will be no longer my prayer, but Yours, O Jesus.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.
Let me not be disappointed. Amen.

Sermon: 12th Sunday of The Year

Well folks, thanks to some encouragement from some of you I have started recording my sermons once again. You can listen to them here or in your ipod/iphone by subscribing to White Around The Collar on itunes by clicking here.

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Blog Traffic

This is what happens when Fr. Z links to you on his blog:

Maybe if this kind of traffic keeps up I will feel more obligated to post more regularly...

Welcome Readers of WDTPRS

Fr. Z of the blog What Does the Prayer Really Say offers me culinary solidarity, so welcome to all you who have come via his blog.

Mmmm Mmmm Good

Those of you who know me well know that I enjoy cooking alot (and if you have seen me, you know I also like to eat). Tonight I am hosting a brother priest and a transitional deacon for dinner and so a good part of today is being spent in the kitchen.

In the footsteps of the great and mighty Fr. Z, I think I will share the process with you via photos and commentary, this post with be updated as I go.

First, dinner will begin with a caprese salad. Here I am beginning the prep work:

The roast beast (aka beef) prior to preparation:

After a nice slathering of olive oil and a generous rubbing with garlic and a plentiful sprinkling with salt, pepper (fresh ground of course) and rosemary:

Into the oven it goes:

Final update. The roast was amazing. Due to some circumstances beyond my control (yes, there are such things) I was unable to take some pictures of the finished roast, but boy was it juicy and delicious. The caprese salad, garlic mashed potatoes and the brussel sprouts were delicious as well. We finished it all off with an american classic: apple pie and ice cream.

Now For a Little Humor

Anticatholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice UPDATED

I just saw this online and was horrified by what I saw. I can't believe that a company would sink so low as to mock something so Sacred to Catholics as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Don't get me wrong, I can laugh at myself, but this goes too far. Take a look, and if you feel so moved, send a note to Hyundai at consumeraffairs@hmausa.com to express your feelings, I did.



UPDATE:

Here is the response I recevied from Hyundai, I'm not sure if it's exactly an apology, but it's something I guess:

Hello and thank you for your feedback regarding Hyundai advertising.

Hyundai Motor America would like to thank you and other consumers for sharing concerns about a new ad titled "Wedding" which aired during the opening games of the FIFA World Cup broadcast last week. We take comments of this nature very seriously. Because of feedback like yours, we have removed the ad from all Hyundai communications and stopped airing it.

We credit the passionate World Cup viewers and Hyundai owners for raising this issue to us. The unexpected response created by the ad, which combined both soccer and religious motifs to speak to the passion of international soccer fans, prompted us to take a more critical and informed look at the spot. Though unintentional, we now see it was insensitive. We appreciate your feedback and hope you will accept our
sincere apologies.

With appreciation,

Hyundai Motor America

A Beauty Crowned with Thorns and Crucified

Today in my Sacramental Aesthetics class I came across this amazing quote from Hans Urs Von Balthasar. I found it moving. Hopefully you will as well.

Both the person who is transported by natural beauty and the one snatched up by the beauty of Christ must appear to the world to be fools, and the world will attempt to explain their state in terms of psychological or even physiological laws (Acts 2.13). But they know what they have seen, and they care not one farthing what people may say. They suffer because of their love, and it is only the fact that they have been inflamed by the most sublime of beauties - a beauty crowned with thorns and crucified - that justifies their sharing in that suffering.

Yes, my friends, the crucifixion, with all its horror and shame is beautiful. Our wounds too, the ones we bear in our hearts, can be beautiful as well, if only we unite them to the sufferings of our Lord.