Peter, do you love me?

In today's Gospel we hear Jesus ask Peter three times, "Simon, do you love me?" Three times the Peter says, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you!" And Jesus responds, "Feed my sheep." There are two things that we can learn from this. First is the mercy of the Lord - yes the mercy of the Lord. We remember that Peter denied Jesus three times, and now Jesus gives better three opportunities to redeem those denials. Each time that we have denied Jesus with our sins, He calls us through the sacrament of confession, "Bill Brunner, do you love me?" And by confessing our sins, we say, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you!" Since we will not let our sins keep us from the love of Jesus for us - but we need to respond to that invitation to "un-do" that sin.

This Sunday is also the Sunday of the "Primacy of Peter." Since the Church looks at this Gospel as the time when Jesus gives Peter the first place among the apostles. After all, Peter, and only Peter, is the only one that Jesus told to "feed my sheep." This primacy continues to this day through the ministry of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.

In the Holy Land, on the shore of the sea of Galilee, there is a little church called the "Primacy of Peter Church." Re-read the gospel again, and look at these pictures. This church was built on the spot that tradition holds that today's Gospel took place. In the upper picture you can see the inside of the church. In the center is a large rock. This is the rock on which Jesus served his disciples the breakfast of fish. It is just off this shore that Jesus directed them to the miracle of the large catch of fish. It is hear that Jesus, in his mercy, invited Peter to re-affirm his love of Jesus, and those reverse the denials. It is also here that we can enter in prayer, and respond to Jesus when he invites us to do the same.

The lower picture is one of me standing on the sea-shore just outside the church.

Reflection for the Third Sunday of Easter

The priest at today's Mass will pray these words over the gifts of bread and wine that we offer. Receive these gifts from your Church. May the great joy you give us come to perfection in heaven.
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The prayers that are said over the bread and wine always contain a little "theological nugget," and if you want to understand what we as Catholics believe about the Eucharist, meditate and reflect on these little prayers.
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Reflecting on today's prayer, we see the basic "back and forth" of each Mass. We give God something, joined to the sacrifice of Christ; and God looking down on His Son and our offering, gives us so much more back, so much more!
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Receive these gifts... What do we give to God? We give Him our very lives. Each morning I pray: Accept O Lord, through the Immaculate Heart of your Mother, this day with all its prayers and works; joys and sufferings... We give our lives by giving God all our prayers and works -- and also all our struggles. This could be the struggle of not gossiping about a co-worker behind her back. It could be the struggle of going one day of not committing that sinful habit that we have been struggling with. It is also offering Thanksgiving to God for all the many gifts He gives us each day. So the gifts are not only bread and wine, but our very selves.
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We give these things because God originally gave them to us. We give them because these struggles have value when joined to the sacrifice of Christ. We given them because of the great promise of God - that He wants to give us a great gift of joy here on earth and perfect and complete joy in heaven. Just a little cooperation with God, and He responds with so much more.
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Since we are still celebrating Easter, this joy on earth is the fore-taste of the resurrection we will experience in heaven. So in the closing prayer, we pray: Lord... bring us to the glory of the resurrection...

Back from Lent and Easter!

This week marks a return to the "normal daily schedule" at the North American College. Lent is over, so there the station churches have finished up for the year. Holy week was beautiful. The post-Easter travels to Fatima have lefted me refreshed, both bodily and spiritually - I am now ready for the final push to the end of the year - to finish my STB degree at the Angelicum, and return home in June.

The refectory is all set for the 2010 Rector's Dinner!

This week is also marked by the annual Rector's Dinner. This is the yearly fundraising dinner for the North American College. It also presents us, seminarians, to offer our gratitude to the generous benefactors of the college, who provide the material possibilities for us to be formed in the heart of Rome - in the heart of the Church.

Fresco painting of the Conversion of St. Paul in the Cappella Paolina in the Apostolic Palace. Painted by Michelangelo in 1545

Connected with this dinner is also the Papal Foundation's annual trip to Rome. This foundation provides the Holy Father with much of the funding for his works of social charity. We cannot forget that the Holy Father and the Vatican is the largest charitable organization in the world. These people make that possible. Part of their trip includes their daily Mass. I was very honored to be asked to serve for their Mass today in the Pauline Chapel (Cappella Paolina) in the Palace of the Pope.

Thislittle chapel is decored with two massive fresco paintings by Michelangelo, and has recently been restored. What a treat! It is just a beautiful chapel, and after Mass the servers and choir, all seminarians from the North American College were invited to join the Papal Foundation for their tour of the Sistine Chapel and part of the Pope's Palace.

On the left: Archbishop DiNoia, the celebrant of today's Mass

In additional treat of being invited to serve for this Mass was that Archbishop DiNoia was the celebrant and gave the Foundation a brief talk after the Mass. Archbishop DiNoia gave the college a great lecture on preaching to young adults last year, and he has been to the college a number of times - including celebrating the Easter Vigil for us.

The Archbishop's talk was a short word about liturgy and the new translation of the prayers for Mass. He remarked that every religious tradition has "a sacred language" for their acts of worship. The Hindi uses Sanskrit. The Muslims use Arabic. The Jews use Hebrew. And up until 1970, Catholics only used Latin as their "sacred language." So allowing Mass to be celebrated in English was (and still is) quite a "new thing." So we are still learning how we should be doing it, and we have learned much more since 1970 about theology, and translating, so that is why we need a new translation of the prayers of the Mass.

For the glory of God and the aid to his faithful here on earth...

Five more saint! The Pope recently approved the canonization of five men and women, so that they can be invoked as saints of the Church. Remember that saints are our friends in heaven, the holy men and women, who with their prayers help us to join them too in heaven.

Two of particular interest:

Brother Andre Bessette - the founder of the Oratory of St. Joseph in Canada. Have you ever buried a statue of St. Joseph so that through his prayers your house may find a buyer? He started this custom.

Mary of the Cross (Mary Helen MacKillop) - foundress of the sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart. She is the first Australian to be invoked as a saint. May she be the first of many.

A feast to honor a chair?

It seems strange - a feast of the Church to honor a chair? Today is the feast of the "Chair of Peter." Of course a physical chair is not meant, but rather the chair serves as a symbol of the teaching and caring authority of Peter and his successors. The feast today honors that commission and reminds us to pray for the Pope, who is called the sucessor of Peter and for our own bishop, who has his own chair in the cathedral - since he too shares in the teaching and caring authority of the Church.

The inside of the Church of Peter's Primacy, where the Apostle Peter received "his chair" - the great commision from Christ "to feed my sheep." The large rock that occupies most of the sanctuary is the rock on which Christ served the disciples fish cooked over a charcoal fire after his resurrection.

The goal of Christ is to get us to heaven. But as we read yesterday at Mass the road to heaven is filled with many stumbling blocks -- we call these temptations. So it makes sense that if God wants us to be happy with him in heaven, he will provide us with a guide so that we can avoid those stumbling blocks. He has done this in the Church and in a particular way in the person of Peter - and his sucessors - the Popes. This gives the Pope great authority -- but this authority is not a power trip, but rather one of care - remember what Christ says be not like the pagans who laud their authority over them - but be rather the servant.

The exterior of the Church. It is built right on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Can you recognize Brian Romportl, another seminarian fro the diocese of Green Bay, and my friend Adam Verona, from the diocese of Pittsburgh?

Christ gave this primacy to Peter on the shores of the Sea of Galilee after the resurrection when he told Peter feed my sheep (read John 21). There is a church building on that spot to commerate this event. It is because Christ entrusted his sheep - his flock - which means us and his Church - that we honor the memory of St. Peter and respect his sucessor - the Pope.

In Saint Peter's basilica the second most important altar is the "Altar of the Chair." On this day it is decorated with candles and of course Mass is celebrated there. It is a visible reminder for us to worship God and thank him for providing us with the Church and the Pope to guide on the the path of Christian life towards happiness with him in heaven. Incidently, this will also be the altar where I will be ordained on October 7, 2010.

This is also one of the few days that the famous statue of St. Peter is vested. This is a particularly beautiful devotion in the city of Rome.

To understand this better I would suggest reading the homily the Pope gave when he was installed as the Pope: Mass for the Inauguration of the Pontificate (24 April 2005).

First Sunday of Lent - in the Holy Land

As the pilgrim group left Galilee we entered into the deserts of Judea. We wondered how this could be called the "Promised Land." It was in a landscape like this that Jesus would have been tempted.

Today we join Christ in the mystery of his temptations in the desert. The deserts in Judea were the first deserts that I have ever seen, and they are stark and lonely. This is were Christ entered into the struggle with and triumph over the evil one, the Father of Lies. How could Christ be tempted? After all he was God -- but he was also man, and it is in his humanity that he was tempted. He allowed himself to be tempted, so that we could see that the one who tempts us, the Devil, can be overcome. The Church proclaims this reading at the beginning of Lent to remind us of the struggle that we enter into by living the Christian calling of our baptisms. Christ has triumphed, so that we too can triumph.

Here I am swimming in the Dead Sea

What is a temptation? Imagine walking through the desert, being lost in the desert for days. The land starts to fall away, and you approach a large lake. Imagine your thrist. Imagine how much you would want to drink the water. Imagine cupping your hands in the water, lifting it to your mouth and taking a big drink. Instead of sweet fresh living water, you taste the burn of saline water -- dead with so much salt. The "lake" you have found after wondering through the desert is the "Dead Sea." It is the only water on earth that brings death and not life. The water of this sea is what you thought you wanted, but instead it brings death. This is the image that shows what a tempation is. A temptation is that which looks like what we want -- like the water in the desert, but which actually is what brings death --.

Holyland reflection for the fifth Sunday after the Epiphany: “Depart from me Lord…”

Between Capernaum and the German retreat house that I stayed at in Galilee is a little bay called the "Bay of the Parables." Ancient devout tradition holds tihs is where Jesus taught the crowds from a boat, as we read in todays Gospel. The shore rises up around the bay to create a little natural amphitheatre, allowing the whole crowd to hear the parables.

At the bottom of this entry I have included a link to today's readings from Mass and a good homily from my former teacher at Mundelein, Fr. Bob Barron. I have been juggling the best way to share the Holy Land experience with you, my friends and family. I think the best way is to bring in the pictures and my personal experiences as we move through the "year of grace" - the liturgical year, since through the flow of the liturgical year we together enter into the mystery of Christ's life here on earth.

We even tested out the theory at the bay of parables - here are some of my friends from the North American College reading the parables. The level of the sea has dropped since Christ's days, it used to be above the dried reeds in the picture.

I spent Christmas day this past year walking along the shores of Lake Gennesaret (a.k.a. Sea of Galilee), where the story from today's Gospel takes place. At first it seems like two days Gospel is an odd link between the unrelated episodes of Jesus teaching the crowds, and the call of Peter. Why does the Church put these two episodes together in today's lectionary? The first part does not even tell us what Jesus taught the crowds, "The he sat down and taught he crowds from the boat." If we want to find out what Jesus taught we actually need to go to the Gospel of Mark (4:1-41). What the Church wants to emphasize here is not so much the what of Jesus's teachings, but rather who the teacher is.

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Is Jesus just like "every other wise man and great teacher" or in him do we find some one unique and amazing? This is a very important question - if Jesus is simply one of many "wise men and great teachers," we can simply disregard his teachings when the become too difficult, or unfashionable. This is what many actually are trying to do: Jesus say he who divorces his wife causes her to commit adultery, and if you wish to be called my disciple take up your cross and come and follow me. These teachings, among others are hard - the world wants to live in all sorts of adultery; the world does not want to pick up the cross. The world wants to ignore these teachings precisely because they are hard and unfashionable. Jesus however is not just "a wise man and a great teacher."

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Look again at the readings. In Mark the teaching of the parables is immediately followed by Jesus calming the storm at sea. In today's reading from Luke immediately after Jesus taught the crowd he directs Peter to a miraculous catch of fish (Peter here represents the world, who resists the direction that Christ gives), forgives his sins, and calls him to now be catching men. Are these not all things that only God can do? The first two are genuine miracles that show the Jesus is Lord even over the weather and the animals (the heavens and the deep), and the forgiveness of sins and the calling of men is reserved to the power of God. By connecting the two we are supposed to see that we should strive to follow the teachings of Christ and his Church, because there in Christ we find something more than "a wise man and a great teacher," but rather we find God himself teaching us - so we follow the teaching not because it is easy or fashionable, but rather because they are the words of a Father who dearly loves us as his sons and daughters, and wants what is best for us.
So what did Jesus teach the crowds from the boat? We are those crowds that he teaches, and he teaches us the love of God the Father for us, but also he teachs us what we do not want to follow. Just as Peter did not want to listen to the direction that Christ wanted to give him, but when he did listen and responded to the word, he was richly provided, in fact he received more fish than he could even receive - so too with us - when we listen to the teaching of Christ, we too will receive abundant blessings and rich rewards.

The man in this picture is my friend Matt Libra from Portland in Oregon. This is the only waterfall on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Fishermen come here to wash out their nets, just like in the days of Christ. I even saw a fishman come in to wash his nets while praying here one day. There is a good chance that this is where Jesus found his first four disciples, Peter and Andrew, James and John, since they would have come ashore here to wash their nets.

Now the last part of the story is really quite a mystery. Why does Peter follow Jesus? Why did Jesus decide to call Peter? In these two questions I see my own vocational call. Why do I follow Jesus? Why did Jesus decide to call me to be a priest? Venerable Servant of God, Pope John Paul II, even ponders over this own call to the priesthood in the book Gift and Mystery. Peter would find it to be a great gift that God has called him to be his disciple, and I am finding it to be a great gift to be called by God to be one of his priests - configured to his bleeding heart. I eagerly look forward to October when I will be ordained a deacon in Rome, and to next year when I will be ordained a priest back home.

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Yet - I do not know why Christ has called me. Yes - with Peter there was the amazing catch of fish, but is that enough for Peter to give up his income, his family, all that he knows - in order to follow this mysterious man Jesus? Could it be that while Jesus was speaking, "...now you will be catching men," Peter's heart was tuned to the heart of Christ that was speaking literally "heart to heart" in a deep mystery of prayer and contemplation? God has arranged it so that I would met the right people to help me hear the call, learn to pray, grow more solid in my faith - yet was this enough for me to hear the call? What can I point at in myself to say, "God called me for this reason?" I do not know, but deep from within my heart, during times of prayer, I have not so much heard, as felt a pull towards the priesthood - and this was the heart of Christ breaking though my hard heart and pulling me towards him.

Today's readings from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

The homily of Fr. Bob Barron, from Word on Fire Ministries

Well apparently I wasn't the only one who couldn't resist...

Apparently I wasn't the only one who couldn't resist the draw of Il potere e la grazia, i patroni dell'Europa. This is the exhibit that I promise I will write more about...but now this breaking news from Catholic News Service:

Pope Sneaks Out to See Exhibit

VATICAN CITY -- Twenty-five years ago, it wasn't unusual for Pope John Paul II to sneak out of the Vatican in the winter to go skiing.

Pope Benedict XVI left the Vatican unannounced last evening to visit an art exhibit, according to reports today from Vatican Radio and L'Osservatore Romano.

Yesterday marked the end of the four-month run of the exhibit, "The Power and the Grace: The Patron Saints of Europe," at Rome's Palazzo Venezia Museum, and Pope Benedict was amoung the last of the more than 100,000 people to visit the show.

The Vatican newspaper said the pope arrived at the museum about 6:30 PM with his two private secretaries and four lay women who care for the private papal household. The women are members of the Communion and Liberation's Memores Domini Association.

While the public was held at bay for thirty-five minutes, the pope and his entourage were shown the more than one hundred works on disply by the curator of the exhibit, the Italian ambassador to Italy and an undersecretary of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government.

For the last month of the exhibit, the Louvre in Paris loaned the museum Leonardo Da Vinci's painting of Saint John the Baptist. Other works on display included Jan van Eyck's painting of Saint Francis of Assisi with the stigmate, Caravaggio's Saint John the Baptist, and El Greco's painting of Saint Louis IX of France.

It's not every day that I make it in the newspaper

Biography?

Well I am pretty sure that is not what most of you were expecting, but I must admit that he has quite a good name.

Exams are going well, two down, four to go -- including a double header on Wedensday (Sacraments and Ecumenical Theology). Then it is on to Belgium for a relaxing week at the American Seminary there.

Hope all of you find a little something to bring a smile to your face today.

25 Years old and still enjoying the last day of school...

Today was the last day of school for the first semester. It is quite a joy. I celebrated by attending an expostion called Il Potere e la grazia, i patroni d'Europa (The power and the glory: the patron saints of Europe -- more on this in a later post - I promise).

This also means that the exam period begins. There are advantages, such as a looser house schedule, and a more free to use my own discretion in the use of time. But there are also disadvantages, such as well -- having exams. I have a pretty solid schedule with one exam a day each day next week.

Thank you for the prayers.

Answering to a higher call.

Imagine being the only minor league play of the year to get the much sought after 30-30 record? Imagine having the realistic prospect of fulfilling your childhood dream and actually playing for the pro's? It is even the team that you loved when you were a kid that is interested in you. Just waiting for the call?

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce to you Mr. Grant Desme. He is just the man I have been describing. What a story: Grant did receive the call to show up for spring training with the Oakland A's, but instead he answered a different (and higher) call. He will be joining the Norbertines of St. Michael Abbey in California to become a Catholic priest. Talk about dedication. Read the story for youself: A's MVP Desme Retires for Priesthood

Christian Triumph in Iraq

The blood of martyrs is the seeds of the Church.

There is a new Chaldean-Catholic Bishop for the faithful in Iraq!

On Jan. 17, 2010 Emil Shimoun Nona was consecrated as the Chaldean-Catholic bishop of Mosul. He succeeds Servant of God Paulos Faraj Raho, who was martyred by Islamic extremists in 2008.

Our prayers should go out to the Chaldean-Catholics of Iraq, who so bravely remain faithful in a country so hostile to the faith.

Papal Audience

(photo courtesy of L'Osservatore Romano)

This past Saturday as part of the celebrations for the 150th Anniversary of the Pontifical North American College, the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, granted the entire college a private audience. This amounts to about 500 men and women in total.

Much to all of our surprises the seating was general, it was not divided among alumni, seminarians, benefactors, etc., but rather first-come-first-serve seating. Adding to this was that Papa Ratzinger moved down along the sides of the center aisle and greeted every person within his arm reach along the aisle.

Here is the text of the talk that His Holiness delivered to us:

Your Eminences,
Dear Brother Bishops and Priests,

I am pleased to welcome the alumni of the Pontifical North American College, together with the Rector, faculty and students of the seminary on the Janiculum hill, and the student priests of the Casa Santa Maria dell'Umilita'. Our meeting comes at the conclusion of the celebrations marking the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the College's establishment by my predecessor, Blessed Pius IX. On this happy occasion I willingly join you in thanking the Lord for the many ways in which the College has remained faithful to its founding vision by training generations of worthy preachers of the Gospel and ministers of the sacraments, devoted to the Successor of Peter and committed to the building up of the Church in the United States of America.

It is appropiate, in this Year for Priests, that you have returned to the College and this Eternal City in order to give thanks for the academic and spiritual formation which has nourished your priestly ministry over the years. The present reunion is an opportunity not only to remember with gratitude the time of your studies, but also to reaffirm your filial affection for the Church of Rome, to recall the apostolic labors of the countless alumni who have gone before you, and to recommit yourselves to the high ideals of holiness, fidelity and pastoral zeal which you embraced on the day of your ordination. It is likewise an occasion to renew you love for the College and your appreciation of its distinctive mission to the Church in your country.

During my Pastoral Visit to the United States, I expressed my conviction that the Church in America is called to cultivate "an intellectual 'culture' which is genuinely Catholic, confident in the profound harmony of faith and reason, and prepared to bring the richness of faith's vision to bear on the pressing issues which affect the future of American society" (Homily at Nationals Stadium, Washington, 17 April 2008). As Blessed Pius IX rightly foresaw, the Pontifical North American College in Rome is uniquely prepared to help meet this perennial challenge. In the century and a half since its foundation, the College has offered its students an exceptional experience of the universality of the Church, the breadth of her intellectual and spiritual tradition, and the urgency of her mandate to bring Christ's saving truth to men and women of every time and place. I am confident that, by emphasizing
these hallmarks of a Roman education in every aspect of its program of formation, the College will continue to produce wise and generous pastors capable of transmitting the Catholic faith in its integrity, bringing Christ's infinite mercy to the weark and the lost, enabling America's Catholics to be a leaven of the Gospel in the social, political and cultural life of their nation.

Dear brothers, I pray that in these days you will be renewed in the gifts of the Holy Spirit which you received on the day of your ordination. In the College chapel, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady is portrayed in the company of four outstanding models and patrons of priestly life and ministry: Saint Gregory the Great, Saint Pius X, Saint John Mary Vianney and Saint Vincent de Paul. During this Year for Priests, may these great saints continue to watch over the students who daily pray in their midst; may they guide and sustain your own ministry, and interceded for the priests of the United States. With cordial good wishes for the spiritual fruitfulness of the coming days, and with great affection in the Lord, I impart to you my Apostolic Blessing, which I willingly extend to all the alumni and friends of the Pontifical North American College.

(c) Copyright 2010 - Liberia Editrice Vaticana

Back from the Holy Land

It was a great trip, and I can not even expect to be able to re-cap it in only the short time that I have right now. I hope that all of you had a happy and holy Christmas season. More pictures from the trip will be forth coming.

Three Saints "on-deck"

Today the Holy Father signed a number of decrees confirming that men and women put forward for consideration did in fact live a life of heroic virtue. This moves all one step closer to being declared saints. What is needed are confirmed miracles. Please pray for there intercession that these three holy men can be raised to the altars quickly.

Venerable Pius XII, Victor over the Fascists

The first one was a surprise to everyone. There was not even the splinter of a rumor that B-16 was about to declare Pope Pius XII to be venerable. Some have even commented that the Pope's own private secretary did not know. (Which would not surprise me). This gives me great joy, since history has maligned this Holy Man, and I have a personal devotion to him.

Venerable John Paul II, Victor over the Communists

The second was much anticipated, and expected: Pope John Paul II is now considered to be venerable. Above is his first communion picture. In conversation with George Weigel once, I asked if he thought Benedict would put Pius XII and John Paul II on parallel tracks. Dr. Weigel thought no. It is not often I am right, when Dr. Weigel and I disagree.


The last one is Fr. Jerzy (George) Popielouszko (pictured above). He was martyred by the Polish Communist in 1984. To declare him Venerable on the same day as John Paul II, who did so much to end Communism in Europe, must make both smile in heaven.

One last picture of Pius XII