Monsignor Marren’s Desk Archives: 2020-2023

Walking towards the office one evening, I stopped by to talk to our Edge Youth Group. One of them asked me “What is truth?” To which I replied, “Truth is a person–Jesus Christ. He says so Himself: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Jn 14:6. In light of that, Cardinal Newman made the following observation: “No truth can really exist external to Christianity.” What we see as truths today are merely facets of truth, particularly in the realm of information.

On a daily basis, we constantly hear people speaking of disinformation, conspiracy theories, and so on and so forth. Of course, few are really interested in the truth; they are more interested in who is doing the best job at brainwashing the people. Despite all of this, people are really interested in truth, and over the years, have offered some interesting comments on truth; for example:

“If you want to annoy your neighbors, tell the truth about them.” Pietro Arentino

“Truth is the object of philosophy, but not always of philosophers.” John C. Collins

“Everyone wishes to have the truth on his side, but not everyone wishes to be on the side of truth.” Richard Whately

“Always tell the truth if you want to make trouble.” Unknown

“All men are born truthful and die liars.” Vauvenargues

“Lie and the world lies with you. Tell the truth, and the world lies about you.” Unknown

“There’s no better way of exercising the imagination than the study of law. No poet ever interpreted nature as freely as a lawyer interprets truth.” Jean Giraudoux

“You should know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad.” Aldous Huxley

“Don’t mind the lies people tell about you–be thankful they don’t tell the truth.” Unknown

“The truth is great and shall prevail, when none cares whether it prevails or not.” Coventry Patmore

Having absorbed all the above pearls of wisdom, we should recognize that it is not always easy to discern the truth. Take the following case, for example:

Some years ago, the late Father Joseph Manton tells of a scene in an Irish courtroom. Apparently, there was this young man accused of committing some particular offense. In the middle of the trial, the young man pleaded guilty and threw himself on the mercy of the court. Whereupon, there was an unprecedented commotion among the jurors which ended up with the foreman standing up and proclaiming: “We, the jury, find the defendant Not Guilty.” “But the accused has already admitted his guilt,” said the amazed judge. “Ah, yes, your Honor,” said the foreman, “We know. But, your Honor, if you knew this young man as we, the jurors know him, you would know that he is an awful, awful liar.”

I rest my case.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

Prayer is part and parcel of all religions. But when to pray, how to pray, the times to pray, and the forms of prayer, these aspects of prayer have developed over time. Our Catholic aspects of prayer are deeply rooted in the Jewish culture.

Without going too deeply into these aspects, which an article like this does not allow, at this time, we can say, Jewish law required its people to pray three times a day; morning, afternoon, and evening (Shacharit, Minchah, Arvith Maariv). Tradition has it that Abraham introduced morning prayer; Isaac afternoon prayer; and Jacob evening or night prayer. The writings further explain that each Patriarch brought with them a particular quality to the prayer service. Abraham served God with Love; Isaac with Awe; and Jacob with Mercy.

Prayer is always seen as a service of the heart. Through prayer, we grow closer to God and become more attune to His Voice. Praying regularly throughout the day, we sanctify each day and also our work. Already we can see the root of praying the Divine Office is rooted in the Jewish culture. Most people had no access to the Divine Office prayers so it was suggested that at the three “hours”: morning, Noon, and evening; they should pray three Hail Mary’s. With the passage of time, the Hail Mary’s were interspersed with the Good News of the Annunciation and Incarnation as related to us in the Bible, and, so there came to be formed the prayer we now know as the Angelus to be prayed morning, Noon, and evening.

Growing up, I remember the church bell calling us to pray this prayer with its own definite peels of three strikes and pause, three strikes and pause, three strikes and pause, and a final nine strikes. “There’s the Angelus,” we would say, and we would stop work and pray the following Angelus.

Jean-Francois Millet’s painting captures the scene beautifully:

And Now, during the month of May, Mary’s Month, why not try praying this devotion:

V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
 Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with Thee;
Blessed art thou among women,
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners,
Now and at the hour of our death. Amen

V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
R. Be it done unto me according to thy word.
 Hail Mary, etc.

V. And the Word was made Flesh.
R. And dwelt among us.
 Hail Mary, etc.

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

LET US PRAY
Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

Talking to a friend of mine last week, she said to me, “Get ready, it’s going to be a hot summer.” She, of course, was referring to the political temperature of Roe v. Wade.

I remember there was a bit of temperature rise way back in 2009. You remember that it was about this time of year. You don’t? Well, to refresh your memory, it happened when then President Obama visited Notre Dame University. Yes, just think about it: A Catholic University conferring an honorary degree on a President who supports what is known as the right to abortion. During his speech, then President Obama said this: “Let us work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortion.”

To this, I ask why? Why Mr. President should we reduce the number of women seeking abortion if abortion is right, is good and noble? The answer, of course, is that abortion is not right, is not good, is not noble, but rather is wrong and intrinsically evil. Again, I ask, has anyone the right to choose what is wrong? Of course not. In order for me to have a right to choose something that we call right, it must be right in the first place. In other words, I have only the right to choose what is right. Of course, I have the freedom to choose what is wrong and evil, but not the right. So, to frame the issues of abortion in the context of a woman’s right to choose is both unreasonable and dishonest. Both the Constitution and the laws of our country are to protect and promote what is right for the good and well-being of all. And when they don’t, we should be willing to amend and change them.

Just one other point. During his speech, President Obama offered us this invitation: “Let us agree to disagree.” This sounds like a fair invitation, but there are some issues under which this invitation must be rejected, and abortion is one of them because abortion is intrinsically evil.

Let us be mindful of the fact that had our great civil rights leaders, like the late Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. or the late Congressman Lewis, accepted the invitation of “let us agree to disagree,” then Mr. Obama would never have become President Obama. The heroic work of these leaders, their sacrifice against the injustice and evil of discrimination, has made our country greater. They fought and marched against what was wrong, and they won so much so that we, the people, had the privilege of calling you, Mr. Obama, President Obama. And so today, I invite you, former President, and all people of good will to join together in the fight against this present evil of abortion that is destroying our great country. On this issue, just as with the civil rights issues, there is no room for us to accept the invitation: “Let us agree to disagree.”

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

As Mother’s Day rolls around, here are some quips or quotes from the past that may be well worth thinking about:

“God could not be everywhere, and therefore He made Mothers.” Rudyard Kipling

“Mother knows best —until daughter becomes a teenager.” Anonymous

“Every Mother worries that some scheming female will capture her son, and that no scheming male will capture her daughter.” Anonymous

“The future destiny of the child is always the work of the Mother.” Napoleon

“All that I am, my Mother made me.” John Quincy Adams

“To the Mother of young children, there is a time and a place for everything, except rest.” Anonymous

“Life doesn’t come with a manual, it comes with a Mother.” Anonymous

“A Mother is she who can take the place of all others, but whose place no one else can take.” Cardinal Meymillod

We could go on and on offering the many sayings on motherhood; however, it should be worth noting in the words of Henry W. Longfellow, “Even He that died for us upon the cross, in the last hour, in the unutterable agony of death, was mindful of His Mother, as if to teach us that this holy love should be our last worldly thought, the last point of earth from which the soul should take flight for heaven.”

Having said all this, it surprised me to learn that many children prefer Father’s Day to Mother’s Day. Being curious one day, I asked the question why. “Because it’s cheaper,” came the answer.

In all of this, we should never forget that for us who follow Christ, Mary, the Blessed Virgin, is not only the Mother of God, but also the Mother of the Church. So, as Her children, we pray:

Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue

Lovely Lady dressed in blue ——-
Teach me how to pray!
God was just your little boy,
Tell me what to say!

Did you lift Him up, sometimes,
Gently on your knee?
Did you sing to Him the way
Mother does to me?

Did you hold His hand at night?
Did you ever try
Telling stories of the world?
O! And did He cry?

Do you really think He cares
If I tell Him things ——-
Little things that happen? And
Do the Angels’ wings

Make a noise? And can He hear
Me if I speak low?
Does He understand me now?
Tell me ——-for you know.

Lovely Lady dressed in blue ——-
Teach me how to pray!
God was just your little boy,
And you know the way.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

Throughout our lives, sooner or later, we are all going to be challenged with the mystery of pain and suffering. During this month of May, we turn to Mary the Mother of God, also known to us as Our Lady of Sorrows, and we honor her in a special way. She herself reminds us of the power of prayer and suffering, and, in light of this, I wish to offer you a true story as told by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. It is worth our attention.

Just at the turn of the century, there was a woman married in Paris, just a good ordinary Catholic girl, to an atheist doctor, Dr. Felix Leseur. He attempted to break down the faith of his wife and she reacted and began studying her faith. In l905, she was taken ill and tossed on a bed of constant pain until August 1914. When she was dying, she said to her husband, “Felix, when I am dead, you will become a Catholic and a Dominican priest.”

“Elisabeth, you know my sentiments. I’ve sworn hatred of God, I shall live in the hatred and I shall die in it.”

She repeated her words and passed away. She died in her husband’s arms at the early age of 47.

Rummaging through her papers, Felix found her will. She wrote: “In l905, I asked almighty God to send me sufficient sufferings to purchase your soul. On the day that I die, the price will have been paid. Greater love than this no woman has than she who lay down her life for her husband.”

Dr. Leseur, the atheist, dismissed her will as the fancies of a pious woman. He decided to write a book against Lourdes. He went down to Lourdes to write against Our Lady.

However, as he looked up into the face of the statue of Mary, he received the great gift of faith. So total, so complete was it, that he never had to go through the process of juxtaposition and say, “how will I answer this or that difficulty?”
He saw it all. At once.

The then reigning pontiff was Benedict XV. Then came World War I. Hearing of the conversion of Dr. Leseur, Pope Benedict XV sent for him. Dr. Leseur went in the company of Fr. Jon Vinnea, orator of Notre Dame. Dr. Leseur recounted his conversion and said that he wanted to become a Dominican priest. Holy Father said, “I forbid you. You must remain in the world and repair the harm which you have done.”

The Holy Father then talked to Fr. Vinnea and then again to Dr. Leseur and said: “I revoke my decision. Whatever Fr. Vinnea tells you to do, you may do.”

In the year 1924, during Lent, I, Fulton J. Sheen, made my retreat in the Dominican monastery in Belgium. Four times each day, and 45 minutes in length, I made my retreat under the spiritual guidance of Father Felix Leseur of the Order of Preachers, Catholic Dominican priest, who told me this story.

Note: The cause of Elisabeth Leseur’s canonization is proceeding in Rome. Fr. Leseur died a priest in 1950. You can read her inspiring diary printed by Sophia Institute Press under the title of The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

Now that we have completed our various Lenten disciplines, hopefully they have enabled us to come to a better understanding of ourselves. This experience of coming to a better understanding of ourselves is often referred to by the spiritual masters as growing interiorly. Seeing ourselves not only in terms of what we do, but also why we do it, entering into the depths of our hearts and souls.

Dr. Cisk, speaking at a parents meeting, tells the story of a young poor boy walking in a park one day. On this particular day, the boy saw a balloon vendor, and went over to investigate. Though he didn’t have a penny in his pocket, that did not stop him from reviewing the merchandise and picking out in his mind what was considered the best balloon. The blue one he thought to himself. Not having any money, he walked away imagining to himself what it would be like to have such a balloon. Dreaming to himself he suddenly noticed a well-dressed young boy playing with the blue balloon. The young boy obviously had money in his pocket. As he watched him play with the balloon, he heard some of the boy’s friends calling on him to join their game. The boy simply let go of the balloon and went off to play with his friends. The poor boy, somewhat heartbroken, watched the balloon soar higher and higher until it disappeared way out of sight. Returning to the vendor he inquired which of the balloons was the cheapest? The vendor knowing the proverb “If you have to ask how much is that yacht, then you can’t afford it” and pointed to a grey balloon and said, “that one,” and then added “because it’s the last one left it’s free.” Before fully accepting the balloon, the boy asked, “Mister, will this balloon go just as high in the sky as the pretty blue balloon if I let it go?” “Oh yes!” said the vendor. “It will go just as high, you see,” said the vendor, “it’s not what is on the outside of the balloon, its color or shape that determines how high it will go, but what is on the inside.”

And so it is with us, it is what is in our hearts and souls that enables us to rise with our Lord. How well St. Therese of Lisieux put it when she said, “Little things done with great love are more pleasing to the Lord than great things done with little love.”

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

The Sea of Galilee has been known by different names throughout its history, usually called after the dominant settlements on its shores. With the changing fate of the towns and settlements along its shores, so also came the change of names, for example, Sea of Kinneret, Sea of Tiberias, Lake of Gennesaret and so on.

Gennesaret was known to be a beautiful fertile plain, famous for its gardens and orchards. The Gospels inform us that Jesus spent some time evangelizing the people of that region. St. Luke tells us that it was there that he reminded Peter he would be a fisher of men. Lk 5:1-11

For me, one of the great stories of this region is Jesus healing the man who was possessed by evil spirits. All the synoptic Gospels tell this story (Mt 8:28-34, Mk 5:1-20, Lk 8:26-39). Jesus came to the region and was met by a man possessed by evil spirits. The man lived among the tombs and was unable to be restrained, period! Jesus challenges him and asks, “What is your name?” to which he replies, “Legion, because we are many.” I ask myself how many? I know that in the Roman Military, a legion was around six thousand soldiers. A legion of demons, if based on the Roman Military…that’s a lot of demons to be possessed by to say the least. The demons plead with Jesus to send them into a great herd of swine that were feeding on the hillside. So, I ask myself, how many pigs in a herd of swine? The answer depends on whether it’s a big herd or a small herd. In any event, a herd of pigs is anything from about 1,000 to 3,500, and so they entered the great herd of swine and the pigs rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. My dear people, that’s a lot of evil spirits to be dealing with. No wonder the poor man was raving among the tombs.

But the question Jesus put to the man in the beginning is the same question he puts to each of us, namely, “Who are you? Who am I?” I may not be possessed but still the question is not all that easy to answer. Even St. Paul wrestled with this question, “We know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold into slavery to sin. What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate…So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me…For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want, it is no longer I who do it but sin dwells in me. So, then I discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at hand… but I see in my members another principle at war with the law of my mind, taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ Our Lord.” Romans 7:14-25

Yes, as human beings we are both spirit and body, and there in begins the struggle remembering that our bodies are great crybabies. Yes, how well Edward Martin put it in his poem, “My Name is Legion.”

“Within my earthly temple there’s a crowd;

There’s one of us that’s humble & one of us that’s proud.

There’s one that’s broken-hearted for his sins, there’s one impenitent that sits & grins.

There’s one that loves his neighbor as himself & one that cares for naught but fame & self.

From much corrupting care I should be free, if I could once determine which is me!”

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

One of the great prayers of our church is the Confiteor (The I confess). In this prayer, we acknowledge before heaven and earth that we are sinners not only in need of God’s great mercy, but also in need of the prayers of the church here on earth and of the angels and saints in heaven. To pray this prayer sincerely, is to embark on the road of true holiness. As the early fathers of the church and many of the saints advised, “know thyself”.

To know oneself honestly is not an easy task. As the Confiteor reminds us of the importance of acknowledging that we are sinners, it equally reminds us that we are not sinners in isolation, but sinners in a relationship with a merciful God. The prayer is careful to see that we honestly focus on our own sinfulness and not judge ourselves, or see ourselves in comparison to others. In this prayer we stand before heaven and earth and acknowledge our sinfulness through our own fault, through our own grievous fault. In this prayer we do not blame others or society for our sins and short comings, and we do not boast of our accomplishments like the Pharisee who went up to the temple to pray. Lk18:10

Taking ownership of one’s sinfulness has been the road to freedom and holiness for many great people like St. Paul, St. Augustine, St. Mary of Egypt, St. Angela of Foligno, Blessed Bartolo Longo, St. Dismas, and countless more.

In short, let us learn from the following story told by Fr. Anthony Kadavil.

There is a story of how King Frederick II, an Eighteenth Century King of Prussia, was visiting a prison in Berlin. He was going from inmate to inmate, and every one of them was trying to prove how they had been unjustly imprisoned. They all proclaimed their innocence, except one. That one prisoner was sitting quietly in a corner, while all the rest protested their innocence. Seeing him sitting there oblivious to everything else that was going on, the King walked over to him and said, “Son, why are you in here?” He said, “Armed robbery, your Honor.” The King then gave an order to the guard and said, “Release this guilty man, I do not want this man corrupting all these other innocent people.”

Shakespeare put it this way, “This above all: to thine own self be true. And it must follow as night the day. Thou canst not be false to any man”.

And for what it’s worth, remember in all this, feelings have no IQ.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

Many books and articles have been written on the subject of prayer. How many of them are written by people who pray? I have no idea. For myself, I like to hear what the Saints and the Blessed say about prayer. I figure they must know what they are talking about. After all, they are in heaven so they must have done something right, like, for example, praying. After all, prayer in our lives is really important if we are going to get into Heaven. It is like one of those must answer questions that we used to have to answer in exams that we really did not like, to put it politely. The fourth section of the Catholic Catechism is devoted to the subject of prayer. It is an excellent expose of prayer and very highly recommended. It opens with the basic question, “What is Prayer?” and answers with a quotation from St. Therese of Lisieux, “Prayer is a surge of the heart, it is a simple look toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love embracing both trial and joy.”

In the morning offering we pray that we offer God all our prayers, thoughts, words and actions of the day. This reminds us that prayer is more than what we call formal prayer, like the Our Father, The Hail Mary and so on. Our whole day should be a prayer. This St. Paul reminds us of when he exhorts us, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing.” Thes: 16-17

The book of Ecclesiastes, chapter three, reminds us “there is an appointed time for everything and a time for every affair under the heavens.”

It is reported that St. Ignatius took that advice very seriously. One day it is reported that he and two of his confreres were walking in a garden discussing the end of the world. The question arose, “What would you do if you knew the world was going to end in thirty minutes?” One said, “I would go to the chapel and pray before the Blessed Sacrament.” Another said, “I would try and contact my loved ones.” but St. Ignatius said, “I would just continue our walk in the garden.” When asked why, he replied, “because that is what I am supposed to be doing, taking a walk. I would not want my God to come and find me doing something other than that which I am supposed to be doing.” Not bad advice!

Fr. John Hampsch C.M.F. states it very well when he tells the story of a soccer game in Brazil, the Corinthians verses Rio Preto. In the opening minutes of the game, the Corinthians scored the only goal of the game. It wasn’t even a great goal; you see the goalie for the Rio team wasn’t even in the goal. Rather he was off to the side still on one knee finishing his praying for victory. As Fr. Hampsch so aptly put it, there’s a time for prayer and a time for play, and obviously this was for the goalie a time to be in the goal and playing for victory and not on one knee praying for it. The book of Ecclesiastes is perfectly right when it says, “There is an appointed time for everything and a time for every affair under the heavens.”

May God give us the grace to recognize the importance of that statement that we may not be praying when we should be playing and not be so busy playing that we forget the God to whom we should be praying.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

Whenever we go into a bookshop we can feel fairly certain that there will be a section on self-help. The section usually covers a wide range of topics like business, health, sports, relationships and so on. While many of the self-help books address particular aspects of life, it is important for each of us not to sacrifice the whole balance of life for one particular part of life itself.

Many people have offered advice on how to do this with what I might call ‘pearls of wisdom’ or ‘tidbits of information’. The following pearls have many claimants and I have not the ability to say who is the real author other than to say it’s not me, but I find them worth sharing. Some of the claimants range from a CEO of Coca-Cola to Neva Thorp to Nancye Sims.

The title of the following is simply called Life or A Creed to Live By. In any event, here it is for what it’s worth.

Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them – work, family, health, friends, and spirit, and you’re keeping all of these in the air.

You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back.

But the other four balls: family, health, friends and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.

How?

Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.

Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.

Don’t take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them life is meaningless.

Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or in the future. By living one day at a time, you live ALL the days of your life.

Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

Don’t be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us to each other.

Don’t be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible to find. The quickest way to receive love is to give love, the fastest way to lose love is to hold to it tightly, and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

Don’t dismiss your dreams. To be without dreams is to be without hope; to be without hope is to be without purpose.

Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you’re going. Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way.

Don’t forget that a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.

Don’t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved. Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, and Today is a gift: that’s why we call it “The Present”!

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

No, he was not a relative of Arthur Guinness and neither had he any connections near or far to the Irish distilleries. True, green was his favorite color, but not necessarily in beer. However, there is no evidence that he had anything against such tongue lubricants, but tradition has it that he was somewhat motivated by a different kind of spirit. This truth, of course, might be difficult to believe as we watch our modern day parades in his honor, for this patriarch the Shamrock was more than a plant in a flower pot or a sprig worn to decorate one’s attire. For him, the Shamrock reflected back to him the mystery of God the Father who loved him, the Son who redeemed him, and the Holy Spirit whose temple he was; three persons, one God. As we celebrate and honor St. Patrick, we should never forget the reason why we honor him, namely the gift that he gave to the Irish people, a gift that brought them out of darkness into the light. That gift is our Catholic Faith having Christ at the center of our lives in the words of St. Patrick himself our life must be lived in the realty of:

I bind to myself today
God’s Power to pilot me,
God’s Might to uphold me,
God’s Wisdom to teach me,
God’s Eye to watch over me,
God’s Ear to hear me,
God’s Word to give me speech,
God’s Hand to guide me,
God’s Way to lie before me,
God’s Shield to shelter me,
God’s Host to secure me…
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ under me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in lying down, Christ in sitting, Christ in rising up.
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me…
Salvation is of the Lord
Salvation is of Christ.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

America has been blessed with many great Catholic prelates, among which, no doubt, was the late Cardinal Richard Cushing of Boston. He was the third of five children; his parents were Irish immigrants. In his early years he was torn between whether he should become a priest or a politician, even earning money for speaking on behalf of politicians. Those who knew him later in life believed he was both at one time. He thought of joining the Jesuits, but finally settled on the diocesan priesthood. After the sinking of the RMS Lusitania in 1915 he enlisted in the US Army, but due to health problems he was discharged after a few weeks. As Archbishop of Boston, he served from 1944-1970, being made a Cardinal in 1958 by the late Pope John XXIII. Cardinal Cushing was known to be of what we might call a high energy level, a man of vision and of action. The Catholic population was expanding and he answered the challenge by establishing some 80 new churches; welcoming more than 60 new religious orders of men and women to his archdiocese; establishing 6 hospitals; opening high schools, colleges and orphanages, while all the time honoring his commitment to the missions by the founding of the Missionary Society of St. James the Apostle for priestly service in Latin America.

He was a good friend of the Kennedy family and was known to be ecumenical before it became fashionable. One of his greatest works came out of the Second Vatican Council, “Nostra Aetate”, probably the greatest document of Judaism of the last and most likely this century. He also wrote a biography on the late Pope Pius XII and countless other articles on a variety of subjects, all the time fighting painful health ailments. Retiring in 1970, he died two months later. In all of this, Cardinal Cushing not only was a man of high energy, vision, and activity, but also a man of great humor as illustrated in this writing of his titled, “I’m Fine”.

I’m Fine

There’s nothing whatever the matter with me.
I’m just as healthy as I can be.
I have arthritis in both my knees
And when I talk, I talk with a wheeze.

My pulse is weak and my blood is thin
But I’m awfully well for the shape I’m in.
I think my liver is out of whack
And a terrible pain is in my back.

My hearing is poor, my sight is dim,
Most everything seems to be out of trim.
But I’m awfully well for the shape I’m in.

I have arch supports for both my feet,
Or I wouldn’t be able to go on the street.
Sleeplessness I have night after night,
And in the morning I’m just a sight.

My memory is failing, my head’s in a spin.
I’m peacefully living on aspirin
But I’m awfully well for the shape I’m in.

The moral is, as this tale we unfold,
That for you and me who are growing old,
It’s better to say “I’m fine” with a grin
Than to let them know the shape we’re in.

– Cardinal Cushing

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

Growing up in Ireland before there was television, storytelling was a wonderful form of entertainment, not only on the radio but also in the local pubs and rambling houses. One of the great story tellers on the radio when I was growing up was a man called Eamon Kelly, also known as the Seanchai. I remember how I looked forward to hearing his stories, and he had many.

I don’t know where I heard the following story, probably from a friend of mine (did I tell you I have a friend? Oh, I did, well excuse the diversion). Well as the story goes, there was this Catholic Monk and a non-believer.

(By the way, I don’t believe there is such a one as a non-believer. We all believe in something, be it power, fame, or fortune, but it usually comes down to some form of narcissism. And so by non-believer, I mean that this man did not believe in God.)

By way of coincidence, the monk and the non-believer would meet at times in the village and would have a chat. What they talked about I don’t know, but if they were in Ireland I suppose they talked about the weather. Everyone since as long as I remember talks about the weather in Ireland, although recently it may now be climate change. I haven’t been there for a while, but to get back to the story.

One day while they were chatting, the non-believer looked at the monk and remarked how amazed he was at the peace and serenity he observed in the monk’s life. At the same time, he acknowledged that his own life was quite full of anxiety. He then inquired of the monk what he did to achieve such serenity. “Well,” said the monk, “it’s not just one thing I do, there are many aspects to living my life, but one of the things I find helpful is every week I walk out of the village for several miles and then I rest and talk to God.” “Do you think that I could find the same experience if I walked out of the village and talked to God?” asked the non-believer. “I believe you could,” said the Monk.

The next morning the non-believer set out from the village until he stood before a mountain. There he looked up and cried out, “Lord God Almighty, if you exist tell me who you are. What kind of being are you? Speak to me that I may believe you. Who are you?” But there was no answer. Again and again he cried out uttering the same words, but there was no reply. Thinking that maybe God was gone for the day, he decided to leave and return again the next day. This he did repeating the same ritual for six weeks. Finally, he gave up, annoyed at his friend the monk.

But one day they again met in the village, and this time the non-believer explained to the monk that he was indulging himself in self-deception. To which the monk asked, “Did you go out of the village as I directed?” “Yes, I did,” said the non-believer, “and I stood before that mountain day after day and called out to your God, but there was no answer.” “What mountain?” inquired the monk. “There is no mountain out there, but please excuse me for interrupting, tell me what did you say to the Lord?” “I asked Him to tell me who He was and what kind of being He is.” “Well my friend,” said the monk, “when I go out, I don’t ask God who He is. There I tell God who I am; what kind of person I am. I tell Him that I recognize that I am a sinner and I ask His forgiveness. I tell Him that I know that holiness and goodness cannot exist apart from Him and I rely on His grace and mercy and before leaving, I thank Him for His many blessings.”

The next morning the non-believer set out beyond the village. There with head bowed he fell on his knees and said, “Lord, forgive my pride, my arrogance and brashness. Like my friend the monk, I too am a sinful man, please forgive me. I rely on your mercy, not on myself to help me to experience the serenity of the monk.” Lifting his head as he looked up, the mountain was gone, disappeared. As he walked back to the village a great calm and peace came over him, and then he realized that the mountain he saw was his own shadow. Yes, the shadow of his pride, his arrogance and his narcissism. And when such shadows of self no longer remained between himself and God, the mountain vanished and he began to experience the serenity and peace of God for which he longed.

And so, the moral of the story reminds us to ask ourselves the question, “what are the mountains in our lives that are preventing us from receiving and experiencing the graces and blessings that God is offering us at this time?”

The Serenity Prayer
By Reinhold Niebuhr

GOD, grant me the serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change,

Courage to change the
things I can, and the
wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardship as the
pathway to peace.

Taking, as He did, this
sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it.

Trusting that He will make
all things right if I
surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy
in this life, and supremely
happy with Him forever in
the next.

Amen

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

There is always a great temptation to live and plan our lives within the horizons of planet Earth. This is brought all the more into focus when we consider the many retirement plans that are proposed to people every day, IRA’s Roth IRA’s, 401(k)’s, 403(b)’s and Annuities, to mention a few.

Seldom do we hear people speak about retirement and departure plans from planet Earth. Yet the spiritual writers continually remind us that life is a journey of final departure toward God, or as St. Paul tells it, “We have not here a lasting city. Our Citizenship is in heaven.”

Along this journey we have many questions to life, happiness and God, but on this Wednesday, we are reminded where we came from and what we are to do while we are here on planet Earth.

“Remember you are dust, and to dust you will return”, but also remember the Lord will raise you up on the last day. In that event, let us make sure we are ready for that great day and follow the dictum of Ash Wednesday when it says to us, “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.”

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

Now that we are a month into the New Year, how golden looking are your New Year’s resolutions? Are they showing cracks or broken? Don’t worry if they are not as fine as they were when you first made them. Remember you are not alone. Other people have had the same experience and have written about them. Someone said that, “The only sure way to keep your New Year resolutions is to keep them in a safety deposit box.”

Someone else has written, “A man and his resolutions are soon parted, keeping in mind, that a good resolution is always stronger at its birth than at any subsequent period.” In any event, if you have broken your New Year’s resolution that seems beyond repair, remember you can always remake it next year. In the meantime, here is what we call some “Golden Rules” to live by that we should try while we wait for next year to come. I believe the author is Ann Landers, Chicago Tribune 1999.

Golden Rules 

If you open it, close it.
If you turn it on, turn it off.
If you unlock it, lock it up.
If you break it, admit it.
If you can’t fix it, call in someone who can.
If you borrow it, return it.
If you value it, take care of it.
If you make a mess, clean it up.
If you move it, put it back.
If it belongs to someone else and you want to use it, get permission.
If you don’t know how to operate it, leave it alone.
If it’s none of your business, don’t ask questions.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
If it will brighten someone’s day, say it.
If it will tarnish someone’s reputation, keep it to yourself.

Yes, I believe there is enough there to keep any one of us busy until next year!

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

Well, we are already one month into the New Year and I wonder how much things have changed for the better compared to the old 2021. As I was doing a little tidying up during the holiday and a little bit of filing, I came across a reflection which a good friend of mine (yes, I have a friend), sent to me some time ago. I believe it is worth reflecting on. It is simply titled, “I Asked God”.

I Asked God 
I asked God to take away my pride, and God said “NO”.
He said it was not for Him to take away, but for me to give up.

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole, and God said “NO”.
He said her spirit is whole, her body is only temporary.

I asked God to grant me patience, and God said “NO”.
He said that patience is a by-product of tribulation, it isn’t granted, it’s earned.

I asked God to give me happiness, and God said “NO”.
He said He gives blessings, happiness is up to me.

I asked God to spare me pain, and God said “NO”.
He said suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.

I asked God to make my spirit grow, and He said “NO”.
He said I must grow on my own, but He will prune me to make me fruitful.

I asked God to help me love others as much as He loves me,
And God said “Ah, finally you have the idea”!

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

I believe most of us would agree that life is full of challenges. These challenges of course come in a variety of ways and are of themselves a large variety. Having said that, we would have to say that the most common challenge to all of us from domestic to international is in the form of relationships, as being good or bad, but I believe that a more accurate way of seeing them is in terms of being functional or dysfunctional. Seeing them in this light does not take away from the fact of them being good or bad, but allows us to see them in a more fluid way with possibilities of change in various degrees to the betterment.

As we look at our country presently, we can see that one of the challenges confronting us is law enforcement. To say the least, it is very dysfunctional. For law enforcement to function properly, all five branches must work together humbly and honestly. These five branches are of course, the police department, the prosecutorial office, the judicial office, our legislators, and the community. True there are problems today in all five departments, but our most egregious problems come from our prosecutorial and judicial offices. Problems like reducing serious crimes, to misdemeanors, and a revolving door of releases for criminals with rap sheets. These actions diminish and belittle the work of the police department who puts themselves on the front line of danger. Presently the bias of the media is reflected in their reporting and in some of our elected officials when a police officer defends himself with deadly force, it is the police officer who is blamed for the shooting, but then a criminal uses deadly force and it’s the gun that is to blame.

Today as a community we have failed to give our police officers the necessary support and respect they deserve. Listen to the voice, “Defund the Police”, and recognize the consequence! Last month twenty-five officers were not only shot, but shot and killed around our country. But this is not the first time police have been given a bad rap. Years ago, an unknown author put it this way reminding us that we, our country, are the losers.

Somebody killed a policeman today
And a part of America died…
A piece of our country he swore to protect
Will be buried with him at his side.
The beat that he walked was a battlefield, too,
Just as if he had gone off to war;
Though the flag of our nation won’t fly at half-mast
To his name they will add a gold star.
The suspect that shot him will stand up in court
With counsel demanding his rights,
While a young widowed mother must work for her kids
And spend many long, lonely nights.
Yes, somebody killed a policeman today…
Maybe in your town or mine,
While we slept in comfort behind our locked doors
A cop put his life on the line.
Now his ghost walks the beat on a dark city street,
And he stands at each new rookie’s side;
He answered the call…of himself gave his all,
And a part of America died…

-Author Unknown

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

Today, soap is a rather common household product but it has a long history. It is believed to date back as far as 2800 BC in Ancient Babylon. In fact, it is said that a formula for making soap was written on a Sumerian clay tablet around 2500 BC. While there have been various formulas available, in the beginning, most formulas consisted of a mixture of fat or oil with some forms of ash from various woods. Across the years, various cultures and countries added their own ingredients and methods of processing for improvement. Today of course the soap industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry with the USA close to the top of the list. The basic purpose of soap still remains, namely to cleanse. Yes, we have added all sorts of extras like sweet smelling, moisturizing for smooth skin. Need I go on?

Now you may ask, why all this talk about soap? Well, I remember reading a story by the late John Hampsch CMF about a soap factory. The manager of the soap factory and the Catholic Priest were good friends. One day as they were walking downtown the manager said to the priest, “you know I wouldn’t like your job. It must be very frustrating.” “Why?” inquired the priest. “Well,” said the manager, “you see I have many of your parishioners working for me, along with people of other faiths and no faiths, and to tell the truth, I don’t see any difference in the lines of your people and those of no faiths. There’s a lot of cheating on all sides going on. The gospel you preach isn’t doing them much good is it?” The pastor made no reply until he passed a group of children making mud piles in a gutter, all covered in mud. Seizing the opportunity, the Pastor said, “I see your soap hasn’t done much good for those children in their life, it must be very frustrating for you?” “No!” said the manager, “you see the soap only works when it is applied.” “Exactly!” said the Pastor, “so it is with the Gospel I preach!”

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

Some time ago I remember hearing a story about a group of students who went to an old monastery for a retreat. The students were particularly attracted to the monastery because of a monk who lived there. His name had become very familiar to the local neighborhoods because of his wisdom and learning. When I heard his story, what appealed to me was the depth of the most simple questions the monk would ask. For example, addressing the students he simply asked, “How can you tell how the night has ended and the day has begun?”

There were various answers to the question. One student sort of begged the question and asked, “Could it be when you see an animal in the distance and you can tell whether it’s a sheep or a goat?” “No!” said the monk. “Well, could it be when you see a forest in the distance you can name the trees accurately?” inquired another student. “No!” answered the Monk.

Well the students said to the monk, “Tell us, when is it that night ends and day begins?” The monk looked at the students and responded, “it is said when you look on the face of any person and you see your brother or sister it is day. If you cannot do that, no matter what time it is, it is still night.”

We are not sure what this New Year will bring other than to say many of our citizens are going to be seeking elected office towards the end of this year. We the people are asked to choose our representatives, but who shall we choose? One who recognized a brother and sister not only in the child who is born but also in the child who is unborn. Will our choice, our representative, be one for whom it will still be night or one for whom the day has dawned?

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

When the Lord God was delivering His people from the slavery of Egypt, He instructed the people to mark the lintel (door frame) of their doors with the blood of a lamb as a mark of His providential protection. Of course, in some parts of our world, there is a modification of this practice using chalk or some other means of marking the lintel of the door. In marking of our door frames, we are asking God to bless and protect all those who live within our home and all those who visit. Should you wish to do this, simply mark the lintel inscribing 20 for the first part of the year, then a plus sign representing the cross of salvation and another plus sign separating the letters CMB (the initials of Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, the names of the three Magi or three kings). Finally add 22 for this year. The inscription CMB not only stands for the names of the Magi, but also stands for Christus Mansionem Benedicat, which means “Christ bless this home”. The inscription then for this year would be “20+C+M+B+22”. What a wonderful activity asking God‘s blessings on all our homes!

Bless this house, O Lord we pray,
Make it safe by night and day;
Bless these walls so firm and stout,
Keeping want and trouble out;
Bless the roof and chimneys tall,
Let thy peace lay over all;
Bless this door, that it may prove,
Ever open to joy and love.

Bless these windows shining bright,
Letting in God’s heav’nly light;
Bless the hearth a-blazing there,
With smoke ascending like a prayer;
Bless the folk who dwell within,
Keep them pure and free from sin;
Bless us all that we may be,
Fit, O Lord, to dwell with Thee;
Bless us all that one day we,
May dwell, O Lord, with Thee.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

One of the familiar Carols at this time of year is “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” The word Emmanuel of the title stretches back all the way to the Prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament, where it signifies God’s protective presence among his people. When we come to the New Testament, Matthew points out to us that Emmanuel is more than just the general protective presence of God. He shows us that the name Emmanuel refers specifically to the person of Jesus Christ, signifying God’s presence walking with us here on planet earth in the second person of the Blessed Trinity. As we journey into the New Year, it is important for us to remember we are not alone or orphaned on this journey. Jesus walks with us step by step, especially during difficult times. Sometimes we find this difficult to believe because as we grow older we often become aware of our shortcomings in our life and wonder why Jesus would want to walk with us and help us. Well, in light of that, let me offer you a little ditty by the late Fr. John H. Hampsch CFM, which he put together as he says in a moment of levity. But whatever about the levity, it offers an important lesson.

Peter thrice denied the Lord; Zacchaeus was a cheat;
And then there was the prostitute who wept at Jesus’ feet.

Simon was an anarchist, Matthew plundered taxes;
The “sons of thunder,” James and John, were angry battle- axes.

Paul, a rabid terrorist, and Dismas was a thief;
Magdalene was demon-filled, and Thomas lacked belief.

But there they are in heaven, smiling down upon us now;
Each wears a brilliant halo tilted on a battered brow.
So things for us are looking up, in this salvation business-

No matter what our “was-ness” was, what truly counts is “is-ness.”

First of all, this little ditty reminds us that our great heroes, the saints and martyrs, were not born saints but like us, sinners. They became saints and heroes through struggle, but especially by relying on the grace and power of Jesus. They came to realize the importance of not allowing their past sins and failures to determine the present and the future. Remem2er Paul, how much he began like us. He had some real problems. He called it a thorn in the flesh and pleaded with God to remove it. But God answered, “No, my grace is sufficient for you.” Paul was facing a mountain, as it was blocking his path, and asked God to remove the mountain. But God said, “No, start climbing and I will help you.” In this Paul came to recognize the wisdom of turning trustingly to the Lord in times of difficulty and recognized the power of the Lord working in his life. How is this Paul put it, yes he says, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2Cor. 12:9 

So, as we move forward into the New Year, let not the bad things of your past determine your good things of the present, remembering that God isn’t discouraged with us, but joining with St. Paul we can truthfully say, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Phil 4:13

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2022

Christmas for the most part is a festive time of year. However, the way we celebrate Christmas today with its many lights and colors is a rather new phenomenon. Just consider the fact that William Gilbert, a 17th century physician, was the first to use the term electricity. Olto Von Guericke, a German engineer, was the first to build an electric generator in 1663. Stephen Gray, an English astronomer in 1729, was the first to show the conductivity of electricity. And here, in the USA, Thomas Edison was able to produce a reliable long-lasting light bulb. I mention these facts only for you to imagine Christmas 2021 with no electricity period, and no electricity for the next sixteen hundred years to come. You get the message. Life was a little difficult back then and yet from that life of hard work, strife and sacrifice, there came forth one of the most popular and beautiful Christmas Carols, “Angels we have Heard on High”. The hymn is based on Luke 2:13-14. But unlike most of the carols whose authors are unknown to us, this carol seems to have come out of nowhere. We can neither trace its actual timeline or place. Most people today however believe that it came from France probably authored by a Catholic monk in one of the monasteries having knowledge of the bible, Latin and the gift of putting the wonderful story to verse.

It was first published in French in 1855, but was believed to have been sung in churches some fifty years before its publication. It is said there were various versions of the carol and when published in English some of these versions were reflected in the translations.

A primitive version speaks from the shepherd’s vantage point saying

Shepherds in the field abiding, / Tell us when the seraph bright
Greeted you with wondrous tiding, / What you saw and heard that night.
Gloria, in excelsis Deo! 

A later version had the title, “Harken All:  What Holy Singing”, and translated said 

Hearken, all! What holy singing / Now is sounding from the sky!
‘Tis a hymn with grandeur ringing, / Sung by voices clear and high.
Gloria, in excelsis Deo! 

In 1862 the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, North East England, gave us the version we have today 

Angels we have heard on high / Sweetly singing o’er the plains,
And the mountains in reply / Echoing their joyous strains,
Gloria, in excelsis Deo! 

Angels We Have Heard On High 

Hymns are usually authored by human beings, but in this case the chorus was composed by the angels in heaven. “In excelsis” the phrase means in the highest. From this we get our English words excel and excellent, meaning to rise or to ascend to the highest.

The carol, as you notice, emphasizes that the message is for ordinary folks and not just for the high and mighty. It expresses the special relationship and love between heaven and earth, between God and people.

Though the author is unknown and is long since forgotten his message today is as clear and as valid to our world as it was when he first penned the words, “Come adore on bended knee Christ the Lord the New Born King.”

Happy Christmas!
Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

At the distance of twenty centuries, the event that seemingly touches our lives most at this time of year is the journey of the simple Galilean tradesman and his wife to the little town of Bethlehem and the Son that was born there. It was a hectic time of year for the young couple. With the census going on, deadlines had to be met, people were short on time, and places to stay were in limited supply.

During this Christmas season, we too will find ourselves short on time and, despite our best efforts to meet our many schedules, we have already experienced that our commitment to some events have been no more than just to show our face, for there is just not enough time. In the light of this reality and with the hindsight of the first Bethlehem event to guide us, let us during this Christmas season make sure that we have both the room and the time in our hearts for what is important about the Christmas season – Jesus.

In 2021, the story of Bethlehem asks us to see all things with a new vision and insight. It asks us not to get so caught up with the things of our world that we forget the God from whom they all have come. Christmas is a time for us to join with the angels in singing both with our hearts and our lives,

“GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST HEAVEN AND PEACE TO PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL.”

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Many of us, through media and otherwise, have had the privilege of witnessing a saint at work in our modern world. We know her simply as Mother Teresa. As we listen to her talks which she offered, her writings which she shared, and the stories of those who worked with her, we gain a deep insight into ourselves (sometimes it may not be very pretty) and the spiritual life. Mother Teresa, of course, was noted for her outreach to the poorest of poor.

One day a poor woman carrying a small container came to Mother Teresa’s soup kitchen begging for rice for her children. Mother Teresa took the container and filled it with rice. After thanking Mother Teresa, the poor woman took out a second container and poured half of the rice into it. “Why did she do that?” Mother Teresa was asked. Mother Teresa explained that the second container was for another family who could not make the journey to the soup kitchen. “Why then, Mother, didn’t you fill both containers?” Mother Teresa explained, “Because I did not want to deprive her of the blessing of sharing.” ~ Connections Newsletter

What a very insightful answer, especially at this time of year when we are about to celebrate the Feast of Christmas. Yes, Christmas is that wonderful season when we celebrate our world’s greatest blessing – God the Father sending us His only Son Jesus to share our life and to save us from our sins. What a wonderful blessing and a wonderful example on how to live. Of course, sharing is part and parcel of the Christmas Season, but the question is, how do I see the sharing of my gifts not only in terms of family and friends, but also in the broader sense of church? At this time of year, churches across the globe speak about the importance of stewardship, but call it what one may, in the end it all comes down to the simple facet of sharing and how we see it. Do we see it as an obligation as something to be avoided or, in the words of St. Mother Teresa, as a blessing? We should not deprive ourselves of the blessing of sharing. It exemplifies the generosity of our hearts.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

The story is told of a young priest who was a bit like Mother Teresa trying to see Jesus in everyone. One day however he was sure he saw Jesus coming to the Rectory, and with that he ran inside and told the pastor that Jesus was walking up the driveway. “What should we do?” he asked, to which the old pastor said “Look busy.”

Ah yes, in celebrating Christmas we usually look to the past, the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Yes, everyone loves the baby Jesus but how about Jesus as an adult and how again if, as the young priest imagined, he was actually visiting your house today. What would you do?

Craig Starrett and Lois Blanchard wrote about this and the lyrics are worth reflecting on:

If Jesus came to your house, to spend a day or two.
If he came without warning, I wonder what you’d do.

Yes if Jesus came to your house, to spend a day or two.
If he came unexpected, just dropped in on you.
Ahh I know you’d give your nicest room, to such an honored guest.
And all the food you’d serve to him, would be your best.
And you would keep reassuring him, that you’re glad to have him there.
That serving him in your home, is joy beyond compare.
But when you saw him coming, would you meet him at the door,
With arms out stretched in welcome, to your heavenly visitor.
Or would you have to change your clothes, before you’d let him in.
Or hide some magazines, and put the bible where they had been.
Would you turn off the radio, and hope he hadn’t heard.
And wish you hadn’t uttered, that last loud hasty word.
Would you hide your worldly music, and put some hymn books out.
Could you just let Jesus walk right in, or would you rush about.
And I wonder, if the savior spent a day or two with you.
Would you go right on doing, the things you always do.
Would you go right on saying, the things you always say.
Would life for you continue, as it does from day to day.
Would your family conversations, keep up its normal pace.
And would you find it hard each meal to say a table grace.
Would you sing the songs you always sing,
And read the books you read.
And let him know the things on which your mind and spirit feed.
Would you take Jesus with you everywhere you planned to go.
Or maybe would you change your plans, for just a day or so.
Would you be glad for him to meet your very closest friends.
Or hope that they’d stay away, until his visit ends.
Would you be glad to have him stay forever on and on.
Or would you sigh with great relief, when he at last was gone.
It might be interesting to know the things that you would do,
If Jesus came in person, to spend some time with you.

If Jesus came to your house, I wonder what you’d do.

Ah yes, what if and what would you do? Of course, as Catholics we should never forget that He actually does come to us each time we come to Mass and receive the Eucharist.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

The season of Advent marks the beginning of the Church Year. The purpose of the Advent Season is to prepare us to celebrate the three comings of Christ. His first coming to us: His lowly and humble birth in the past in a stable in Bethlehem. His second coming to us: His presence to us in liturgical mysteries we celebrate in the present, particularly in the Eucharist. His third coming to us: His promised coming or returning to us in glory in the future at the end of time, as judge of all the nations. At this time, He will establish His Kingdom for all eternity. During the Advent Season we seek to desire that Kingdom and prepare ourselves to be judged on the virtue of love (Mt 25:31-46).

During this Advent Season, as during others, many commercial kingdoms will be vying for our attention. The noise decibels will be high but in the midst of this noise, Advent invites us to a quiet place, not to sleep, but to stay awake and alert to the presence of God around us and in our lives.

Quietness

Passing one day beside Niagara’s stream,
In the glad time of Nature’s wakening,
When winter yields spring and spring doth bring
Bright sunshine, fragrant flowers and singing birds,
I paused beside the river where its flow
Is almost disturbed – the rapids in the gorge-
And watched the waters as they passed me by.
There I beheld, under the cloudless sky,
In sight of flowers, in sound of warbling birds,
The broad, deep torrent, rushing on and on,
Tossed to and fro, revolving round and round,
With whirlpools, and with waves which dashed themselves,
Into white foam upon the blackened rocks,
“Till al the river seemed alive and mad,
A very hell of waters, near and far,
Abysmal depths of discord and of pain.
And as I looked, I saw just the opposite,
Right in the waters’ midst, upon the wave,
A block of wood, resting all calm and still,
Not floating down the stream, nor moving around,
As still and calm as if on crystal sea.
Astonished at the sight I looked again.
And then again with steady fixed gaze,
Till all my doubts were gone, for there the wood
Remained quiescent as I saw it first.
Then studying the strange sight I found its cause-
The block was held just at the central point
Of a great whirlpool’s course, where, rushing round,
The waters met and formed a place of calm,
As if there were no whirlpool, nor mad rush
Of frenzied waters leaping to the sea.
And there I learned that day a lesson new,
Beneath bright heav’n, beside the troubled stream,
How deeply calm one’s daily life may be,
In midst of the torrent-rush of cares,
The pressing, maddening tides of daily tasks,
Which dash and whirl till sense is almost gone,
If only one can learn the lesson blest,
To hide within the all infolding will,
God’s will for us, all perfect good and true;
For there, in midst of all, in spite of all,
We may find rest, abiding deep, complete,
And thus find quietness, for ever more!

~ Henry W. Frost

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Over the past eighteen months, our world has experienced much pain and sorrow due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Here in the USA, tens of thousands of families have grieved and suffered over the loss of loved ones with many more the loss of their business and livelihoods. No one can truly deny, that during such storms in life, it becomes very difficult to give thanks. 

Looking around us in the midst of such turmoil and chaos, we can easily ask ourselves the question, “what is there to be thankful for?” It was a time such as this, centuries ago amidst doubt and persecution, that St. Paul admonishes the early church to walk by faith and not by sight (2Cor 7). Reminding them, “Since, then, we have the same spirit of faith… we are not discouraged. For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory, beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen, but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal (2Cor 4: 13-18). Recognizing that there is still no denial that suffering and loss, pain and sorrow can indeed shake the foundations of our faith. 

I remember reading one of Eleanor Doan’s stories where she tells us how. 

During a harvest festival in India, and old widow arrived at her church with an extraordinarily large offering of rice – far more than the poor woman could be expected to afford. 

The itinerant pastor of the church did not know the widow well. But he did know that she was very poor and so he asked her if she was making the offering in gratitude for some unusual blessing. 

“Yes,” replied the woman. “My son was sick and I promised a large gift to God if he got well.” 

“And your son has recovered?” asked the pastor. 

The widow paused. “No,” she said. “He died last week. But I know that he is in God’s care; for that I am especially thankful.” 

And so, as we are about to celebrate the feast of Thanksgiving, allow me to take this opportunity to thank you for the faith you have shown over these difficult times. Thank you for joining us for Mass & Rosary on livestream. I know that Covid-19 is not yet over and that not everyone is comfortable joining us in person at church. I want you to know we respect your decision and want you to stay safe. You yourself, with your doctor, are in the best position to make the correct decision. 

I also thank all of you who have joined us in person for Mass and devotions. We will continually strive to keep our environment safe. And thanks to all of you for your prayers and the sacrifices you make on our behalf. Your financial support during this time is much appreciated. And finally, but not least, I say a big thanks to our staff here at All Saints who continue to do a wonderful job striving ever and ever to serve us better. 

And so, despite the storms that we are now weathering during this time of thanksgiving, I invite you to join us in thanking God for: 

The gift of life itself
The faith we share in common
The hope of each new day
The love which makes us one
The blessing of family and friends
The freedoms we take for granted
The mercy of a loving Father
The parish we call our own. 

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

It was what the Irish call a soft rain. It was at it all evening. I decided to sit on the front porch, listen to a little Irish music, smoke my pipe, and enjoy the ambience of it all. As I sat there peacefully, I began to reflect on the various parishes where I served as a priest.  Interesting enough, I was unable to recall the mission statement of anyone of them. I know they all had a mission statement. In fact, I remember reading some of them, but not recalling anyone of them, even the present one, here at All Saints, was just beyond me.  For my part, I do not believe I am unique in this case. 

But then, I began to wonder on how parishes were given their particular name, on the process or lack thereof, was it like some sort of political campaign? Did cancel culture play a part or some other kind of ideology? I remember hearing the story of this particular parish, which shall remain nameless, # in order to protect the guilty, soliciting various names from the parishioners. The names of several saints were put forward carrying with them various degrees of familiarity. But there was one saint, close to the pastor’s heart, of which he alone was familiar. In fact, the parishioners never even heard of him, but that was soon to change. As the time approached to vote, the pastor wrote a bio of the particular saints whose names he had received. Each was given a short paragraph, except his favorite saint, who received a two-and-a-half-page bio. Guess which saint topped the charts? You are right, the pastors, and so it is today (no there were no drop boxes). 

Again, I wondered how did All Saints Church get its name. I thought to myself, was it because there was a particular aura of holiness about its founding members? Maybe, because many tell me they are founding members, which is somewhat anew experience for me. As a former pastor of St. Theresa in Douglasville, St. Benedict in John’s Creek, and St. Andrews in Roswell, I don’t recall anyone mentioning to me that they were founding members. 

As I sat there smoking my pipe, listening to the music, enjoying the ambience of it all, I become more and more curious. I remember hearing of how in the early days they initially gathered in an office building, but how come the name All Saints. Was the office building occupied by various business entities and ethnics perhaps that became an influence? In any event, after much reflection and Holy inspiration, I believe this how it happened. 

They gathered as community
But eye to eye they couldn’t see
On one or two or even three
They could not rightly just agree 

(Somethings seemingly never change- Sorry, I digress, lets continue…) 

Someone said I have a plan
Let’s group them all that saintly clan
These who won and also ran
The rich the poor they’ll all be grand 

Like the people that I meet
All along Dunwoody streets
Saluting everyone I meet
Absent those who may be cheats 

Strength and courage he perceived
Each one striving to achieve
Like the Saints who aim to please
Let’s call it All saints if you please. 

One by one the chorus rang
All Saints was to be our brand
With the Lord going hand in hand
Down life’s road to the Promise Land
Yes, Mt Vernon Road to the Promise Land
Hopefully! 

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

“No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees, no fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds, November!”

So, concludes Thomas Hood’s poem entitled November. Happily, November is not so gloomy for most of us; for myself it is somewhat of a reality check.

Martin Heidegger, the German philosopher, said that thinking is thanksgiving. The late Bob Hope, with a less philosophical tone, put it this way when he sang “thanks for the memories”.

Remembering and thanksgiving are closely related. We observe this especially when we go to someone’s wake. There, we gather around our dear departed and through the stories we share, we remember and become grateful that this person touched our lives. We are thankful and richer that we came to know each other and during this month of November, we are called to both remembrance and thanksgiving.

Our Church invites us to remember our departed brothers and sisters and to pray for their eternal happiness. This invitation reminds us that our dear departed are very much alive and that they are linked to us in prayer. Prayer is the language of love that crosses even the oceans of death and is a constant reminder to us that, while our loved ones can move beyond our sight, they cannot move beyond our love. The Church sets aside the month of November as a time when we Catholics should remember with gratitude our dear departed by keeping them in our prayers.

Also, during this month of November, our Nation reminds us that we should be thankful for the many blessings we have received in this life, especially for this great country of the USA in which we live. In our celebration of Thanksgiving, it is important to remember that while we are one Nation, we are also under the providence of God (independent of the naysayers) and therefore we should be ever mindful of Him in all that we do.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Whenever we hear the words “Trick or Treat” we usually associate them with that time of year we call Halloween. The words take their name from children who celebrate Halloween by begging treats or playing pranks. There is nothing wrong with the children’s game of trick or treat, but it is foolish to limit these three words to children’s games.

During the time we were children, as far back as we can remember, we were constantly asked the question “What would you like to be when you grow up?” There was no limit to the answers given; they ranged from a firefighter to an astronaut. Those answers of course are fine for the children who see only the glamour of the office. But as we grow older and more mature, we ought to refine our choices. It’s fine for children to be blinded by the glamour of the world around them, but as adults, that luxury cannot be afforded to us.

Life places many major responsibilities upon our shoulders while the world, for its part, never ceases trying to keep us busy with its toys. In the midst of this sometimes chaos, it is vitally important for each of us to articulate and answer clearly the question, “What do I want to be when I grow up?”

Truly for each of us who claims to be a disciple of Christ, the only acceptable answer to that question is “I want to be a saint.” After all, that is what the feast of All Saints is all about. It reminds us of our true calling, of our true vocation, while the world with its play things continually invites us to make other choices in terms of “Trick or Treat.”

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

When we speak about perspective, we are usually talking about the way people see things. The term comes from the Latin root meaning “look through”. Perspective can often be referred to as a person’s point of view. For example, looking at the same situation does not mean we all have the same point of view.

The story is told that Prime Minister Winston Churchill was once asked, “Doesn’t it thrill you to know that every time you make a speech the hall is packed to overflowing?” “It’s quite flattering,” replied Sir Winston, “But whenever I feel that way, I always remember that instead of making a political speech, if I were being hanged, the crowd would be twice as big.” Good work Sir Winston, keeping pride in its place.

Speaking to a graduation class some years ago, Bill Gates reminded them, “Life is not fair,” to which he added “get used to it.” True, life is not always fair. Not all people are given due credit for their work. Various weeds grow into the decision making like favoritism, culturalism, nepotism, politicism, to mention but a few. So, what is my perspective on that?

Conway Twitty, the great country music singer tells us that he often was jealous of and somewhat resented other performers who were suddenly recognized while he remained in the shadows. Why doesn’t something good like that happen to me, he thought? Then one day something happened. A friend of his told him the following story of a U.S. missionary who had been in China for many years and a famous entertainer who had been there for two weeks, were traveling back to the United States on the same boat. When they docked in New York, the missionary saw a crowd of the entertainer’s fans waiting at the pier. “Lord, I don’t understand,” the missionary said. “I gave 42 years of my life to China, and he gave only two weeks, yet there are thousands welcoming him home and nobody here to welcome me.” And the Lord replied, “Son, you’re not home yet.”

I’ll never forget that story,” said Conway Twitty. “From then on, I never felt pangs of jealousy about some other guy’s success.” – Cross W. and Kosser, M., “The Conrad Twitty Story” (Doubleday)

William Barclay shares the following,

The Greeks had a story of a Spartan called Paedaretos. Three hundred men were to be chosen to govern Sparta and Paedaretos was one of the candidates. When the list of the successful was announced, his name was not on it. “I am sorry that you were not elected,” said one his friends. “The people ought to have known what a wise officer of state you would have made.” “I am glad,” said Paedaretos, “that in Sparta there are three hundred men better than I am.” Here was a man who became a legend because he prepared to give to others the first place and bears no ill will or jealousy toward them.

Of course, not all things work out the same way. For example, there was this lady, who shall remain nameless of course, who requested an artist to paint her portrait. At the seating, she told the artist to make sure and include the beautiful diamond earrings and necklace. “But you’re not wearing any diamonds.” “I know,” she said, “but I believe my husband is going to outlive me and will soon marry after my passing. I want his new wife to go frantic searching for the diamonds asking my husband where I put them and the more he denies that I ever had them, the less she’ll believe him.”

Well, I have shared with you some perspectives that people have on life, so now the question for each of us is, what is my perspective and does it make me a better person?

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

I believe that most people want to be successful. Parents especially want their children to be successful, and I do not ever remember anyone telling me they want to fail. But being successful of course has many dimensions. In the mind of most people success is often associated with how famous you are; your position on the corporate or political ladder; of course, how much money you have, and the neighborhood you live in, to mention but a few. Of course, in all of this, it is important for us to remember that life is larger than business, entertainment, politics, or the number of goodies you acquire. Not that these things are unimportant, but they fail to answer the most basic question, namely, “What is the purpose and meaning of life?”

Throughout history there have been various comments on success. James Thompson, a 19th century writer, states,

“It is success that colours all of life
Success makes fools admired
Makes villains honest and
All the proud virtue of this vaunting world
fawns on success and power however acquired”

Shakespeare writes: “Nothing can seem foul to those who win.”

Henry Ward Beecher, 19th century social reformer writes: “Not what men do worthily, but what they do successfully is what history makes haste to record.”

Nietzsche: “Success has always been a big liar.”

Einstein: “If A equals success then the formula is A Equals X plus Y plus Z with X being work, Y play and Z keeping your mouth shut.”

Keeping your mouth shut is probably good advice. I remember reading a story once and it tells of how some years ago, a testimonial dinner was given in honor of John B. Fulton, one of Arizona’s most famous citizens. Speaker after speaker rose to pay tribute to Fulton’s achievements as a banker, rancher, manufacturer and real estate man. All of them recalled how Fulton had arrived in Phoenix at age twenty, bare-footed, clothes in tatters and nothing but a pack on his back. After the ceremonies, former United States Senator Abraham Ribicoff approached Fulton and asked, “Sir, what did you have in the pack on your back?” Fulton took a puff of his cigar, blew some smoke in Ribicoff’s face and replied, “Two million dollars cash.” (Voicing Publications)

Ah yes, sometimes things are not always quite what they appear to be. You want to be successful? What exactly have you in mind?

I remember the story of how one day a reporter observing the work of Mother Teresa of Calcutta and the herculean task that lay before her. It reminded her that she couldn’t be successful, to which she replied, “I’m not trying to be successful, I’m trying to be faithful.”

What a beautiful definition of being successful, namely being faithful to the virtues, principles and work that God calls us too. Let me close with the following reflection.

“To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one’s self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived—this is to have succeeded.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emmerson

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

We have all asked ourselves that question or a similar question from time to time and I promise you, if you have not asked yourself that question, cheer up for one day you will. I was thinking about this as Tokyo prepared for the games of the XXXII Olympiad. What should they do? Host them or cancel them? Well they hosted them, and they are now behind us. Yes, it was a challenging time for all concerned in more ways than one, but fair credit to Tokyo for pulling it off. For myself, I was interested in the golf. It has not been a regular feature of the Olympic menu. Golf was first added to the games in 1900, the II Olympiad held in Paris. It was again played in the III Olympiad in 1904, hosted by St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Then came a long dry spell of 112 years when finally, it was again included in the XXXI Olympiad hosted by Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

I mention this because it was again in Paris, this time at the VIII Olympiad in 1924, that the sport of canoe racing was added to the Olympic games with the USA favored to bring home the gold. On team USA, the first canoeists to represent their country were two brothers, Bill and Bud Havens. For months and months, Bill and his brother Bud, day and night, trained on the Potomac River with the Washington canoe crew. Bill was undefeated in both one man single and double blade events and was also favored to bring home the gold. But as in all of life, there was the question, what should I do? You see, Bill’s wife was expecting their second child, Frank, sometime around the time of the competition, so what should he do? Go for the gold or remain with his wife who was urging him to go for the gold recognizing all his hard work and training for the chance to win the first gold for the US in canoeing?

Bill decided to stay with his wife and give up his place to John F. Larcombe. As Bill waited by his wife’s side, he learned that his younger brother Bud had won gold in three events. Four days later, Bill’s son Frank was born. Bill was very happy for his team, and though he recognized that he could have been home in time for the birth of Frank after the competition, he said he had no regrets the way things turned out. In his mind commitment to his wife was more important than chasing gold, even if it was the Olympics.

Yes, life has a way at times of reminding us that our dreams and our commitments do not always go hand in hand.  Moving along, like father like son, the family all became involved in canoeing and competition with Bill Sr. now coaching them. To tell the truth, following them is like riding a roll-a-coaster, but we finally came to 1952, the XV Olympiad in Helsinki, Finland. Unfortunately, now Bill Jr., a favorite for the gold, had to drop out because of an accident, but his brother Frank went on without him, bringing with him three paddles. During practice Frank broke one of them and stress fractured the other two. In desperation, he went to the Canadian coach, Doc Whithall whom he met earlier at the 1948 London games. Doc finally loaned him his own personal paddle. Bud Greenspan (Emmy award winning film maker) in his book titled “100 Greatest Moments in Olympic History” writes about Bill Havens Sr.’s decision in 1924 to give up his spot on the Olympic team to remain home to witness the birth of his son, Frank. “It would take almost three decades before he realized he had made the correct decision,” wrote Greenspan, “for in the summer of 1952, he received a telegram from Helsinki which read, ‘Dear Dad, thanks for waiting around for me to be born in 1924. I’m coming home with the gold medal you should have won!’ It was signed, ‘your loving son Frank.’” Frank had just won the gold in the 10,000 meters canoeing, even using a borrowed paddle, not only to win the gold, but he set a world record. When he tried to return it, Doc told him “You keep it. You earned it.”

Today that paddle is on display in the Canadian Canoe museum in Peterborough, Ontario with the story of how a Canadian Olympic coach, in the true spirit of Olympic comradery, helped an American canoeist fulfill his father’s dream and win a gold medal in the Olympics. Greenspan lists this story of Bill Havens Sr. and his son Frank as one the greatest moments in Olympic history, documented in his film, Havens Award. Winners at home and abroad recognize they pursued the highest level of sporting excellence with dignity, honor, and humility, setting the standard for future generations.

But in the end, it all comes down to answering correctly the simple question, “What should I do?”

~C. F. Havens Olympic History

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

We have all asked ourselves that question or a similar question from time to time and I promise you, if you have not asked yourself that question, cheer up for one day you will. I was thinking about this as Tokyo prepared for the games of the XXXII Olympiad. What should they do? Host them or cancel them? Well they hosted them, and they are now behind us. Yes, it was a challenging time for all concerned in more ways than one, but fair credit to Tokyo for pulling it off. For myself, I was interested in the golf. It has not been a regular feature of the Olympic menu. Golf was first added to the games in 1900, the II Olympiad held in Paris. It was again played in the III Olympiad in 1904, hosted by St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Then came a long dry spell of 112 years when finally, it was again included in the XXXI Olympiad hosted by Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

I mention this because it was again in Paris, this time at the VIII Olympiad in 1924, that the sport of canoe racing was added to the Olympic games with the USA favored to bring home the gold. On team USA, the first canoeists to represent their country were two brothers, Bill and Bud Havens. For months and months, Bill and his brother Bud, day and night, trained on the Potomac River with the Washington canoe crew. Bill was undefeated in both one man single and double blade events and was also favored to bring home the gold. But as in all of life, there was the question, what should I do? You see, Bill’s wife was expecting their second child, Frank, sometime around the time of the competition, so what should he do? Go for the gold or remain with his wife who was urging him to go for the gold recognizing all his hard work and training for the chance to win the first gold for the US in canoeing?

Bill decided to stay with his wife and give up his place to John F. Larcombe. As Bill waited by his wife’s side, he learned that his younger brother Bud had won gold in three events. Four days later, Bill’s son Frank was born. Bill was very happy for his team, and though he recognized that he could have been home in time for the birth of Frank after the competition, he said he had no regrets the way things turned out. In his mind commitment to his wife was more important than chasing gold, even if it was the Olympics.

Yes, life has a way at times of reminding us that our dreams and our commitments do not always go hand in hand.  Moving along, like father like son, the family all became involved in canoeing and competition with Bill Sr. now coaching them. To tell the truth, following them is like riding a roll-a-coaster, but we finally came to 1952, the XV Olympiad in Helsinki, Finland. Unfortunately, now Bill Jr., a favorite for the gold, had to drop out because of an accident, but his brother Frank went on without him, bringing with him three paddles. During practice Frank broke one of them and stress fractured the other two. In desperation, he went to the Canadian coach, Doc Whithall whom he met earlier at the 1948 London games. Doc finally loaned him his own personal paddle. Bud Greenspan (Emmy award winning film maker) in his book titled “100 Greatest Moments in Olympic History” writes about Bill Havens Sr.’s decision in 1924 to give up his spot on the Olympic team to remain home to witness the birth of his son, Frank. “It would take almost three decades before he realized he had made the correct decision,” wrote Greenspan, “for in the summer of 1952, he received a telegram from Helsinki which read, ‘Dear Dad, thanks for waiting around for me to be born in 1924. I’m coming home with the gold medal you should have won!’ It was signed, ‘your loving son Frank.’” Frank had just won the gold in the 10,000 meters canoeing, even using a borrowed paddle, not only to win the gold, but he set a world record. When he tried to return it, Doc told him “You keep it. You earned it.”

Today that paddle is on display in the Canadian Canoe museum in Peterborough, Ontario with the story of how a Canadian Olympic coach, in the true spirit of Olympic comradery, helped an American canoeist fulfill his father’s dream and win a gold medal in the Olympics. Greenspan lists this story of Bill Havens Sr. and his son Frank as one the greatest moments in Olympic history, documented in his film, Havens Award. Winners at home and abroad recognize they pursued the highest level of sporting excellence with dignity, honor, and humility, setting the standard for future generations.

But in the end, it all comes down to answering correctly the simple question, “What should I do?”

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

The month of October traditionally is known as the month of the Holy Rosary, at least amongst Catholics. One of the reasons for this is that many other Christian denominations see the Rosary as a Catholic prayer, basically because Catholics have made it part of their devotional practice. Of course, there are many things that Catholics do on a regular basis like for example shopping, but no one says shopping is a Catholic thing.

The Rosary in fact, is a multifaceted prayer through which we strive to enter into the mysteries of our faith. The prayers of the Rosary have their origin both in sacred scripture and tradition. For example, the Our Father is given to us by Jesus Himself. The first part of the Hail Mary is given to us in the gospel according to the evangelist St. Luke, and the second part of the Hail Mary was given to us by the church to combat the Nestorius heresy which endeavored to deny the Divinity of Jesus; with the final petition reminding us of the only two moments of our life that we are sure of, namely the present moment and the hours of our death. #NotTodayOrTomorrow

Of course, we always begin the Rosary with the sign of our salvation the Cross, in the name of the Most Blessed Trinity, and our profession of faith. But it is not only prayers that are presented to us in the Rosary but also the mysteries of our faith, twenty of them in all. In the Rosary then we are invited to enter into the mysteries of our faith as are presented to us both in the prayers we pray and the mysteries that govern each decade.

We know that the Rosary is closely linked to Mary and it’s no surprise why because she is the perfect example of one who really entered into the mystery of faith. As the bible simply puts it, “Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

The term sophomore comes from the Greek language and is often used in reference to a student in high school or college during his or her second year of studies. The term itself means wise fool. I often wonder why we should use such a term to describe students in their second year of studies. Is it because some of the wise pretend to be foolish while others who are foolish pretend to be wise?

Presently our world has been dealing with the virus Covid -19 for the last eighteen months or more, and looking at the way this pandemic has been handled, both on a national and international level, I find myself asking who are the wise and who are the fools? Sometimes I think our elected officials believe we are the fools. But I wish to advise them, not so fast. My own take on this, having listened for some time now to the multimillion dollar paid executives and our elected officials, both on a national and international level, all I can say is that, if there is any such thing as a verbal Irish stew then they definitely have both the ingredients and the recipe, but without the beef. They remind me of the story I read from Flor McCarthy, of a King and his court jester. The job of the jester was to make the King happy by writing nice poems about him, playing music, but most often playing the fool.

This particular jester was so good that when the time came for him to leave the service of the King and travel around the world, the King was very sad.  The King said to the jester, “You have made me laugh more than any other person in the world. You are the biggest fool I have ever met, in fact I think you are the biggest fool in the world. In appreciation for all the laughter you have brought me, I want you to have my personal walking staff. You are to keep it always and may only give it away to a fool bigger than yourself, if you ever find one, which I doubt.”  The jester thanked the King and went on his way and the years rolled by. One day the King became terminally ill, he thought of his former jester and sent for him.  When the jester arrived, and after the initial greeting, the King said to the jester, “I have called you here to say good bye. I am going on a very long journey from which I shall not return.” “Shall not return?” interjected the jester. “That’s right,” said the King. “Your majesty,” said the jester. “When you journeyed throughout your kingdom visiting your subjects and when you traveled abroad, your nobles and servants always went before you making the necessary preparations. May I ask you what preparations have you made for this long journey of yours?” The King melancholy replied, “Alas, I have made no preparations.”  The jester looked at the King and sadly said, “Your Majesty, years ago you gave me this personal walking staff and asked me to keep it until I found a fool bigger than myself.  Today I must hand this staff back to you because today, after what I have just heard, I have found a fool bigger than myself.”

In the midst of all this chatter and noise going on in the public square and we the people struggling with both death and bureaucracy, recognized a lot of fools in our elected officials, and they are far from wise.  But let us be wise and keep in mind we are all on a final journey and we will one day reach that journey with or without Covid -19. That being the case, let us not forget no neglect to make the necessary preparations for that journey.

Sophomore – “Wise Fool.” Ah yes! Being a fool may not be all that bad as long as we are a wise one, and there is no better way than being a true sophomore than by following the advice of Matthew in the gospel. “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”  Matthew 6:20-21

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

I believe it’s fairly accurate to say that we all enjoy a good story. There are thousands of great stories out there unknown to many of us. For those of us who are fortunate enough to hear these stories or at times even witness them, we know they can have a profound effect on the way we live. Others on hearing them are often filled with wonder and awe. Sometime ago, someone left me the following story titled, The “Wife” Advertisement, by Fr. T. Doyle from the Curate’s Diary, 3/10.

The “Wife” Advertisement
By Fr. T. Doyle

Back in 1920, a 43-year-old German policeman was getting concerned that he had not met the right woman to marry. In desperation, he placed the following advertisement in the newspapers.

“Middle-ranking civil servant, single, Catholic, 43, immaculate past, from the country, is looking for a good Catholic, pure girl who can cook well, tackle all household chores, with a talent for sewing and homemaking, with a view to marriage as soon as possible. Fortune desirable, but not a precondition.”

A woman named Maria Peintner answered the ad. She was 36 years old, a trained cook, and had been born “out of wedlock.”

While carrying her, her mother, whom it is suggested was also born “out of wedlock,” spent some time in a home for pregnant girls. The mother later married a baker named Rieger, with whom she had five more daughters.

Maria did not have a fortune, but she herself was a treasure, and they married four months later. In spite of their somewhat advanced years, they had three children: two boys and a girl. The youngest child received the same name as his father: Joseph Ratzinger, better known today as Pope Benedict XVI.

After his election, someone dug up the “wife-wanted” advertisement and showed it to the Pope, who, of course, smiled. They were the best of parents to their children.

The important thing is that he knew his parents really loved each other, and the children, very much. Pope Benedict often speaks about that love. In fact, his first encyclical is entitled, “God is Love,” and it describes marriage as the preeminent figure of God’s love for us.

Thus, know that, even being illegitimate, every child is a gift.

But really, no child is illegitimate!

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Most people, at least in the circles I move in, believe in prayer. Their difficulty however is finding the time to pray, and also may I add, it’s really not easy to pray. Yes, prayer is difficult, at least in the sense it’s not that attractive. Sure, at times we get a great experience when praying, but for the most part it’s a task-oriented necessity. After all it’s not like going to my favorite sports game, or watching my favorite TV program. It’s not near as much fun or entertaining as being on my cell phone. I could go on, but you get the point. To put it another way, I guess I could say that for many of us, God just seems far away. It’s not like I have Him on my Facebook page or Instagram, and yet they tell me He’s always there with me ready to listen.

Michele Dellapenta wrestled with this phenomenon and penned these beautiful lines:

So Far Away

The Lord seems far away at times, though I can’t reason why
He was right here, just yesterday, as I was passing by
I told Him in the morning that my time was really tight
But promised I would talk with Him, sometime, perhaps that night
Yet as the shadows cast their gloom ‘round evening colors deep
I barely whispered thanks to Him as I fell off to sleep

The Lord seems far away at times, the reasons: hard to say
He tried to reach me in my thoughts, but work pushed Him away
I promised Him at lunchtime I would read His Word and pray
Instead I worked right past my meal and through the rest of day
At dinnertime I bowed my head, to Him I gave a nod—
And wondered, as I watched TV, where’s time to spend with God?

If God seems far away at times, the reasons are all mine
He’s always there to hear my prayers, yet He must wait in line
There’s time each day to talk with Him, to read His word and pray
When it seems God’s not reachable, it’s ‘cause I walked away
He’s never changed His whereabouts, His steadfastness He’s proved
If God seems far away from me…it wasn’t God who moved.
~Michele Dellapenta

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Our first introduction to God in the bible is a God who works. There in the opening chapters of the book of Genesis, we have a God who works (Gen 1,2). And interesting enough, we the people are seen as collaborating in the work of God. Work therefore, is not some kind of punishment for sin, but rather an essential aspect of our human nature. It is through work, that we are able to express ourselves and develop the gifts and talents that God has given us.

While many people see their work in terms of the secular, like gaining the “almighty” dollar, power, prestige, popularity, and whatever else you may think of as trending. Our faith, sees work in terms of the eternal vision. This does not mean that we set aside the importance of making a living, but rather making a living is not the final or ultimate goal of our work. Making a living here on planet earth also includes, through our work, laying up treasures in Heaven. For it is there as St. Paul says, “We have our citizenship in heaven.” (Phil 3:20) The struggles we have in work, and you will agree there are struggles, and sometimes great difficulties, these struggles and difficulties, the bible reminds us, are the result of sin. (Gen 3:1-19)

In light of all this, various people across the years have commented on the reality we call work.

Men who lead double lives never do the work of two.
There’s only one thing worse than to live without working, and that is to work without living.
Doctors think people ought to do some work after retirement, while employers think some people ought to do work before.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy—to everyone but his employer.
When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him whose? ~Don Marquis
In the good old days when a man finished his day’s work, he needed rest; nowadays he needs exercise.

Finally, Helen Steiner Rice put it this way,

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

He was an American statesman, a diplomat, an architect, a lawyer, a philosopher and much more. Brian Cavanaugh T.O.R. tells us a wonderful story about this gentleman.

It was a bitter cold evening in northern Virginia many years ago. The old man’s beard was glazed by winter’s frost while he waited for a ride across the river. The wait seemed endless. His body became numb and stiff from the frigid north wind.

He heard the faint, steady rhythm of approaching hooves galloping along the frozen path. Anxiously, he watched as several horsemen rounded the bend. He let the first one pass by without an effort to get his attention. Then another passed by, and another. Finally, the last rider neared the spot where the old man sat like a snow statue. As this one drew near, the old man caught the rider’s eye and said, “Sir, would you mind giving an old man a ride to the other side? There doesn’t appear to be a passageway by foot.”

Reining his horse, the rider replied, “Sure thing. Hop aboard.” Seeing the old man was unable to lift his half-frozen body from the ground, the horseman dismounted and helped the old man onto the horse. The horseman took the old man not just across the river, but to his destination, which was just a few miles away.

As they neared the tiny but cozy cottage, the horseman’s curiosity caused him to inquire, “Sir, I noticed that you let several other riders pass by without making an effort to secure a ride. Then I came up and you immediately asked me for a ride. I’m curious why, on such a bitter winter night, you would wait and ask the last rider. What if I had refused and left you there?”

The old man lowered himself slowly down from the horse, looked the rider straight in the eyes, and replied, “I’ve been around these here parts for some time. I reckon I know people pretty good.” The old-timer continued, “I looked into the eyes of the other riders and immediately saw there was no concern for my situation. It would have been useless even to ask them for a ride. But when I looked into your eyes, kindness and compassion were evident. I knew, then and there, that your gentle spirit would welcome the opportunity to give me assistance in my time of need.”

Those heartwarming comments touched the horseman deeply. I’m most grateful for what you have said,” he told the old man. “May I never get too busy in my own affairs that I fail to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion.”

With that, Thomas Jefferson turned his horse around and made his way back to the White House.

Yes, he was also a Founding Father of this, our great country, known as the United States of America. He served as its third president from 1801 to 1809. Looking back, we can definitely say he handed on to us a country much better than he found. Hopefully we will never allow greed of any caliber or never get too busy to do the same for our children and grandchildren.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

The Pandemic seemingly wants to play hard ball, at least here in the USA, and somewhat in Europe. International travel is picking up which speaks well for tourism and for the Emerald Isle. One of the great attractions there, is what we call the Seisiun, which takes place in numerous pubs across the country. A seisiun is simply music making intermingled with the consumption of alcohol in the setting of a local pub. There you have a variety of instruments like the fiddle, the flute, the tin whistle, the accordion, the bajo, the bodhran, and the guitar, just to name a few. All performers are welcome and as a result, a seisiun could comprise from as little as two or three to well over twenty.

Before they begin their playing for the evening, there seems to be a warming up period. I call it tuning their instruments to each other like tightening and loosening the strings, or plucking at them, so that finally they would all be playing in perfect harmony. It’s a very enjoyable way to spend an evening and of course the alcohol doesn’t hurt. But it doesn’t happen automatically. They have to work at it, listen to each other, and play together as a team and not against each other in order to produce the beautiful harmonies.

All of this came to my mind when sometime ago I was reading a story about a farmer and a city man. Regretfully I don’t know the author nor indeed the title of the story, but I find the story relevant at this point. The gist of the story goes like this.

A farmer was invited to lunch by one of his city friends. As they were walking along the street to the restaurant the farmer stopped, and in the bustle and noise of the street asked his friend, “do you hear that?” “Hear what?” inquired his friend. “Hear the cricket.” Listening for a few more seconds, “I don’t hear any cricket,” said his friend, “you are joking of course?” “Not so,” said the farmer, “I’ll show you.” Walking past a few shop fronts, the farmer pointed to a corner at a doorway and sure enough there was the cricket. “How did you hear the cricket amidst all the noise of the street?” “We hear what’s important to us. I’m a farmer and nature is important to me. We tune our lives to what we believe is important. The sounds we hear, the voices we listen to are not determined by their actual loudness but by the inner decibels of our beliefs.” “I can’t believe that,” said his friend somewhat hesitantly after what he had witnessed. Continuing along the street to the restaurant the noise from the traffic was getting louder and louder when suddenly the farmer grabbed a handful of change from his pocket and scattered it on the street. Immediately everyone stopped and looked, “You see,” said the farmer, “they are all tuned to the sound and importance of money.”

And so, the question for us is to honestly answer what are the sounds and voices to which we are tuned into? There are many attractive sounds and voices out there like popularity, power, fame, fortune, hedonism, the like culture, and I could go on. On the other hand, there is truth, honesty, forgiveness, generosity, humility, gratitude and I could go on here too. But let us hear from the Lord Himself when he reminds us that the voices we listen to, or turn a deaf ear to, the choice is ours. He says, “He who has ears to hear let him hear.” (Mt. 13:9)

He goes on to quote Isaiah the prophet which says, “Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted, and I heal them.” (Mt 13:15)

Again, what are the sounds we are listening to? In short, it is the will of God that we should all live in harmony with each other. Are the voices and sounds we are listening to and our behaviors producing a beautiful life of harmony like my friends in the pub at the seisiun of music?

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Elizabeth called her the “mother of my Lord,” Lk 1:43. The Angel Gabriel called her “Full of Grace,” Lk 1:28. Mary herself said, “All generations will call me blessed,” Lk 1:48. Down across the centuries Mary the mother of Jesus has been given many titles. Titles that we pray in her litany like Tower of David, Mirror of justice, Cause of our joy. Not only have various people consecrated themselves to her, but also nations, and as we remember St. John Paul II, consecrating the whole world to her Immaculate Heart in 1984.

Why is it we may ask that we honor Mary so much? Some may answer, well she is the mother of Jesus, and that it true, but it does not tell the full story. As Jesus was saying these things a woman in the crowd called out and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts that nursed you.” He replied, “Rather blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it,” Lk 11:27-28. Again, St. Luke tells us in chapter 8:21, Jesus said to them in reply “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”

In short, Mary is one who not only hears the word of God, who not only admires the word of God, but one who puts the word of God into action in her life. There is no way we can truly appreciate Mary until we recognize that she is the one who hears the word of God and lives it out in her own life. Speaking to the Angel Gabriel she says, “Let it be done to me according to thy word,” Lk 1:38.

The important thing is not what we say with our lips, but rather what we do with our lives, or as the modern slogan goes, “talk is cheap.” It’s performance that counts. In the closing remarks of the sermon on the Mount, Jesus says “Whoever hears these words of mine and does not act on them shall be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rains fell and the floods came and the winds blew and buffeted the house and it collapsed and was completely destroyed. Whoever hears these words of mine and puts them into action will be like the wise man who built his house on rock and the rains fell and the floods came and the winds blew and buffeted the house but it did not collapse, it had been set solidly on rock,” Mt 7:24-27.

Yes, the difference between the wise and the foolish, between honor and dishonor, always lies at the point of performance; at the point of putting the word of Jesus into action or failing to do so. Admiration alone does not cut it. Mary is the prime example of both hearing the word and putting it into action, of hearing the word of God and keeping it so much so that God has honored her by assuming her both body and soul into heaven. As such, she is to us a great reminder of the good things that await us, also who hear the word of God and keep it.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Florence is well known for its many artists. Names that come to mind are, Michael Angelo, Da Vinci, Donatello, Plautilla Nelli, Raphael, Irene P. Duclos, Fra F. Lippi. We could go on and on with many more. But to continue in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and indeed before and after Florence thought of itself as the little guy on the block and as a David against Goliath. Most would agree that the story of David and Goliath is one of the more fascinating stories in the Bible. So convinced was Florence of this image that they in today’s language adopted David as their mascot and selected two of their finest artists, Donatello and Michael Angelo, to sculpt the young David. Of course, we should keep in mind that Donatello lived during the early period of the Renaissance and Michael Angelo during what we might call the height of the Renaissance.

To begin, let us acknowledge both of these are great artists. Using marble as the medium, Donatello carved his first image of David around 1408. Later on, he decided to carve a second image of David and ordered a perfect block of marble. However, when the marble arrived it was seen to be flawed and Donatello, viewing it with its flaws, changed his mind and decided to sculpt the image of David in bronze instead of marble as he had initially planned. He completed the work around 1440. Some fifty years later, after Donatello turned down the flawed block of marble, it was presented to Michael Angelo. On viewing the block of marble, Michael Angelo, despite its flaws, accepted it and began working on it, sculpting what we now know as the magnificent statue of David. His creation of David out of the flawed marble, stands as one of the most magnificent works of art of all time.

It is not my intention to discuss the pros and cons of Donatello and Michael Angelo’s David. They are both masterpieces in their own right. But I do want to focus on Michael Angelo’s David. Just as Michael Angelo took the flawed block of marble and with hammer, chisels and his other tools of the trade, sculpted a flawless David, so God takes our flawed humanity and through his only Son Jesus, and the gift of the Holy Spirit works on us daily to shape us into the perfect human being fashioned in the image of himself. Of course the marble did not rebel against the sharp blows and strokes of Michael Angelo’s hammer and chisels, but we as human beings, are inclined to rebel against the tools of the cross. Should we humble ourselves and allow God the loving Master craftsmanship to work on us, we will become in Matthew Kelly’s words, “The best version of ourselves.” But, just like the people who view Michael Angelo’s David in the Accademia Gallery of Florence, we ask the question “where are the flaws?” But they are nowhere to be seen, so too if we only humble ourselves under the yoke of Christ in the end through the grace of God, our many flaws and sins will be nowhere to be seen – “Abba Father.”

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

As we read through the gospels, one of the basic invitations offered to us by Jesus is “Follow me.” For example, in Matthew 4:19, He said to them, “follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Again, in Matthew 9:9, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post, He said to him, “Follow me.” In John 12:26 he says, “If anyone serves me he must follow me and where I am there will be my servant.” Also, in Mark 8:34 and Luke 9:23, He says, “If anyone would come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

As we look at that invitation of follow me, we might well ask ourselves what does it really mean? The gospels make clear that following Jesus is not going to be what we might call ‘a walk in the park’. They make clear, that we must be willing to deny ourselves, to seek first the kingdom of God, and not our own personal kingdoms. This of course, means putting God first in our lives, and recognizing Jesus as the light of the world, believing that if we follow him we will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life. Jn: 8-12.

Back to the question, what does it mean to follow Jesus? Well, in trying to answer that question I remember a story of Brian Cavanaugh T.O.R.

Brian tells the story of how one day a young man came to his spiritual director all excited to tell him of a dream he had the night before. “I dreamt that I fell into a deep pit and no matter how I tried I couldn’t get out,” he said. Fortunately, there seemed to be a lot of help, if one might call it that. For example:

A Confucius came by and said, “Let me give you some advice, my friend, if you get out of trouble, never get in it again.”

Next came a Buddhist and he said “if you can climb up to where I can reach you, I will help you.”

Following him, who comes along but a Christian scientist, who said to me, “you only think you’re in a pit.”

After him, there arrived a self-righteous person who told me “only bad people fall into pits.”

I know it’s hard to believe, but who comes next, yes, an IRS agent who asked me, “Are you paying taxes on this pit?”

Following him, an optimist reminded me that “things could be worse,” and a pessimist telling me that “things will get worse.”

But then at the point of real panic, Jesus comes along, and seeing my situation jumped into the pit with me. He had me climb on his shoulders and helped me out of the pit. This is exactly what Jesus does for us. He entered into our pit of sin, took our sins upon Himself, brought them to the cross, and freed us from their slavery. To follow Jesus calls us to enter into the pit of life, rather than commenting, and advising, and offering chatter from the sidelines. To follow him we are called to be in the game of life and not just spectators on the sidelines.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Shakespeare put it this way, “To be or not to be that is the question?” He is correct in this, but we should keep in mind that it is not the only question. Robert Frost wrote of how,

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood…
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

To every generation two roads are presented and each of us must choose which one we will travel down. Remember this is a decision on our part, our choice, and we shall be held accountable in light of our decision. Of course, these two roads are named the path of love and the path of hate. But what is love? It is simply good will towards one and all, and ill will towards none. And what is hate? It is simply ill will toward any one individual or toward many or all.

On face value, we immediately recognize that taking the path of love is difficult. It calls for great sacrifice, humility and generosity. The bible speaks poignantly on this issue. We all are familiar with the verse, “For God so loved the world that he gave us his only begotten Son,” Jn 3:16. But remember what that son says to us, “But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you…For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same…then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Lk 6:27-36

Again, the Bible teaches:

“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar.” 1 Jn 4:20

 “Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in darkness.” 1 Jn 2:9

 “If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift…and go first be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift.” Mt 5:23-24

Of course, our secular world has written quite a lot on these two paths of love and hate because they are part and parcel of our lives and we must decide which one to choose. Frederick Spanheim says, “They are true disciples of Christ, not who know most, but who love most.”

“It is the very essence of love, of nobleness, of greatness, to be willing to suffer for the good of others.” Spence

“Love is to the moral nature what the sun is to the earth.” Honore de Balzac

“We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.” Johann W. Von Goethe

“Hatred is the madness of the heart.” George Byron

“I shall never permit myself to stoop so low as to hate any man.” Booker T. Washington

“It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.” Andre Gide

Today our world is at this crossroads of hatred and love. As I mentioned, it is difficult to love, but we should remember it is very easy to hate. Any day we can rationalize countless excuses to hate, but the question is, should we? In this I offer the following reflection.

Someone’s always on a date
Someone’s always on our plate
Someone always is the bait
And that someone we call hate

It comes to us in haste
And it’s seldom ever late
Our neighbors it berates
As our lives disintegrate

If you’re wise don’t take the bait
For it’s always second rate
And you know the one who hates
Never wins at any rate

The winner always chooses love
As the Angels do above
And God is with them in their lives
As down loves lane they always stride

So show goodwill wherever you go
And let all people plainly know
Despite the names and hates that flow
That you stand firm for love to grow
~ Msgr. Hugh M. Marren

© 2021

Not again!  Ah yes, yes again!

To all who read my article last week titled, Mystery Understanding, I wish to ask were you left in mystery or understanding? Well I myself, was left in neither. I simply was left in a state of forgetfulness. This is a human trait that affects us all from time to time, especially when it comes to our car keys or cell phones. In other words, I simply forgot to give the full quote of Mr. Bryan, so to all of you who are still in mystery, here is the full quote with the original article.  Hopefully this will lead you to new light and full understanding.

Have a nice week!

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

“Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say ‘show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” Jn 14:9-10

Most of us would agree, I expect, that sometimes it is not easy to understand. Some things are difficult to understand and in fact, some things are beyond our understanding.

As Lemony Snicket put it, “They didn’t understand it, but like so many unfortunate events in life just because you don’t understand it, doesn’t mean it isn’t so.” Or as Albert Einstein so neatly put it, “Understanding is deeper than knowledge. There are many people who know you but there are few who understand you.” Again, he would say, “Any fool can know, the point is to understand.”

Fyodor Dostoevsky understood this reality when he wrote, “Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer, nothing is more difficult than to understand him.” And we should keep in mind the words of Madeleine L’Engle, “Just because we don’t understand doesn’t mean that the explanation doesn’t exist.”

And finally, having reflected on all of this, we should never forget the words of Upton Sinclair when he said, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” Ah yes, living in a life of understanding and mystery, how do we do it?

Many people of different cultures have offered us various help along the way. Omid Safi writes, “We live in an enchanted universe. The goal of the spiritual path is not always to seek after the extraordinary. It is to stand before the ordinary and see the extraordinary through it. It is then that we become extraordinary. It is to see God /the sacred…illuminating every blade of grass bringing every dust particle to dance in the light. I had an experience like this eating a sweet summertime watermelon…we are like watermelons. Each of us has a crusty external rind, a case that both protects and keeps others out. The closer you get to the middle that is to say-the closer you get to the heart – the sweeter we get.”

As I was reading this and as Omid described the watermelon having to be sliced open to get to the heart, I thought back to the account of the Lord’s passion of how the soldier pierced the side of Jesus and how the sweet flowing blood and water of mercy and grace poured forth from His most sacred heart. To Omid Safi’s point, the soldier standing there before the ordinary could truly exclaim, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

Yes, to see the ordinary and not take it for granted but like Isaac Newton to ask the question, “Why does the apple fall to the ground?” Now speaking of apples and watermelons, William J. Bryan has this to say on watermelons, “I have observed the power of the watermelon seed.  It has the power of drawing from the ground and through itself 200,000 times its weight. When you can tell me how it takes this material and out of it colors an outside surface beyond the imitation of art, and then forms inside of it a white rind and within that again a red heart, thickly inlaid with black seeds, each one which in turn is capable of drawing through itself 200,000 times its weight— when you can explain to me the mystery of a watermelon, you can ask me to explain the mystery of God.”

I’m sure you’ll agree that Mr. Bryan’s closing remark is definitely worth something to think about.

© 2021

It might well be said that here in the USA, on the Fourth of July, we celebrate the enduring wonder of a grand experiment in democracy. We call it independence. No other nation in history, past or present, has championed basic human rights like our nation. The road to championing these human rights has not been perfect, in fact, it has been full of pot holes, at times some major ones, may I say. But we have not given up. Repairs continue on a daily basis. Yes, we are blessed people who continue to enjoy great freedoms because of the generous sacrifices of so many. We of faith believe this freedom is always the touch of God on the human spirit. But what is independence? When we say we celebrate Independence Day what comes to our mind that gives rise to parades, music and fireworks?

Various people have often quipped about independence like John Burroughs when he writes:

“What distinguishes Independence Day from all other days is that both orators and artillerymen shoot blank cartridges.”

“The greatest of all human benefits that at least without which no other benefit can be truly enjoyed is independence.” Parke Godwin

“It is not the greatness of a man’s means that makes him independent as much as the smallness of his wants.” William Cobbett

And I’m not sure who made the following remark, “Almost all Politicians are married men which explains why a candidate rarely runs as an independent.”

Now, all of that being said, I wish to conclude with the following reflection by Donald Crawford:

In July, 1776, one of America’s most historic documents was signed in the city of Philadelphia: THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. It marked the birth of this nation which, under God, was destined for world leadership.

But what we often forget is that, in declaring independence from an earthly power, our forefathers made a forthright declaration of dependence upon Almighty God. The closing words of the DECLARATION solemnly declare:

“With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

It is important that we recall this very basic Declaration of Dependence, for in her prosperity and power, and in her unique position of world leadership, America today is forgetting the God of our fathers, the God who gave his nation its birth and its present greatness.

We need to be reminded of another warning that God gave to another great nation, Israel, on the occasion of her independence. This warning is found in the Bible and, although written over 3,000 years ago, it might easily refer to modern America today.

“for the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land…a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing…When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God…Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied…then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God…” (Deuteronomy 8:7-14).

History has made it abundantly clear that those who declare their independence from God by their lives and actions soon become slavishly dependent upon the circumstances and changes of life. On the other hand, those who have humbly declared their dependence upon God have been remarkably free and independent of concern for life’s uncertain circumstances.

Abraham Lincoln, in his 1863 proclamation of a day for national prayer, said,

“Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace—too proud to pray to the God that made us.”

So, let us pray that our beloved country will have a new birth of freedom; not a freedom from God—which always leads to ultimate moral slavery—but rather a freedom built upon God and His commandments, apart from which any nation will perish. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

Let us also pray that each one of us will experience a personal new birth of freedom, a freedom that results from complete trust in the death and resurrection of Christ for the forgiveness of personal sin (Acts 10:34-43). As citizens of the United States, let us also become citizens of heaven, able to say that we “have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Peter 1;23).

Then, like so many of the founding fathers of our beloved country, will we find in God our life, liberty, and true happiness.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Do you remember some time ago hearing and seeing on TV about Ever Given (you don’t remember? Oh, how short our memory). Well to jog our memories, it was one of the world’s largest cargo ships some 1,300 feet long and 1,100 feet high. It got stuck sideways in the Suez Canal blocking all sorts of traffic and shipping. It is said that it ran aground diagonally losing its ability to steer amid sudden high winds and dust storms. One week later, it was freed but it took some work. It was all-hands-on deck with up to eight tugboats, not to mention the dredgers, the cranes, the excavators, and of course several people giving all sorts of advice. But in the end what made the difference was not all the equipment, but what we might call the old faithful, namely the rising tide. There they waited for the tide to put their machinery into action.

Of course, long before modern harbors, a ship had to wait for flood tide before it could make port. The term for this situation in Latin was “Ob portu”, that is a ship standing off port waiting for the moment when it could ride the turn of the tide to harbor. This called for knowledge, patience, and vigilance. The captain and crew waited for the precise moment when the tide was right, for they knew that if they missed it they would have to wait some time for another tide to come in. The English word ‘opportunity’ is derived from this original meaning.

In his play, Julius Caesar, Shakespeare used this idea to write one of his most famous passages.

“There is a tide in the affairs of men which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune omitted all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat and we must take the current when it serves or lose our venture.”

For Shakespeare, God gives every one of us many Ob portu flood tides or opportunities to serve him; to dedicate our lives more fully to him; to grow and become more like him. But like the captain and his crew, we must be vigilant and awake to recognize the opportunities when they come, and not be found sleeping like the apostles in the garden of Gethsemane.

“Watch,” he tells us. “Stay awake and pray.” Yes, we can have all the high-tech equipment and machinery in the world, but in the end, wise people recognize that they cannot do it alone. It takes the hand of God working through nature, inviting in the opportunities given us to cooperate with Him in order to free the “Ever Given” in our lives.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Murphy, Flannagan, and O’Shea sat hopefully in a hospital waiting room. A nurse from the maternity ward entered the room and called for Mr. O’Shea. “Congratulations!” she said to him, “You are the father of twins.” “That’s a wonderful coincidence,” he said, “I’m a member of the Minnesota Twins Baseball Team!” At that time, another nurse entered also from the maternity ward and called for Mr. Flannagan. “Congratulations!” she said, “You are the proud father of triplets.” “Wow,” he said, “that’s amazing, I work for the 3M Company!” With that, Murphy jumped up and said, “I’m out of here, I work for Seven Up!”

Life can be like that. The actual occurrence sometimes does not match our expectations. Sometimes we get more and sometimes we get less than we expect. Sometimes fathers live up to our expectations, and sometimes they don’t. But remember, fathers are people too, and they, like all of us, experience both joy and disappointment.

On this Father’s Day, as people of faith and hope, let us keep them in our prayers and support them in becoming the Dad we all would like to have. Keeping in mind, that eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered the human mind the good things that God the Father has prepared for those who love Him.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

He was born in Ireland in 1904 and was given the name Kevin. He spent his formative years in Derry before relocating to Dublin. Feeling he had a Vocation to the diocesan priesthood, he entered Holy Cross College Clonliffe, the major seminary of the Dublin Archdiocese. Because of the repressive regulations of the seminary grated on him, he left and returned to the University College Dublin. There he immersed himself in his studies. He joined Literary and Historical Society along with the Musical and Scientific Society. He majored in math and physics and received a Rockefeller Traveling Scholarship. He enrolled in the University of Vienna and for three years did research on radium cosmic rays and atomic disintegration. Returning once again to the University College Dublin, he earned an MSC degree and was appointed lecturer in physics.

During this time, he began working with professor Nolan on the ionization of air at Glencree, and with professor Dowling on photo electric cells. To all observances it looked like that he had a bright future ahead of him in the field of science, but that was not to be.

He tells us that he began to experience a hunger for a deeper friendship with Christ. He wrote “I discovered that persons were more important than things. I found out that personal love of Christ mattered more than any service however great.”

In 1931 he joined the Cistercian Order, taking the name Eugene, and was fully professed in 1936. One year later he was ordained a priest. Very influenced by Francis Thompson’s poem, “The Hound of Heaven,” he dug deeply into the meaning of religion and found that what constituted the essence of Christianity is a God who loves signified in the life of Christ. He would speak of friendship with Christ being more significant than ideas about him. Yes, he tells us that ideas are important, but only if they lead one to love the Lord.

Finally, after years of prayer and meditation, he would put it all down in writing in a book titled “This Tremendous Lover.” This is the way he envisioned God and the way he wishes us to see Him. A God who loves us tremendously.

The question is, how do I see my God? The book was to have an immediate effect on thousands of people. Translated into several languages, it became an international best seller, including here in the USA. It was one of the great classics on the spiritual life and highly recommended. Today, we know the author as Dom Eugene Boylan. One year earlier, in 1944, he published “Difficulties in Mental Prayer,” another classic.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Don Harold was an American humorist and cartoonist who on the serious side, realized that one of the greatest achievements was to live one’s life without regrets. In 1935, he published a column under the title “I’d Pick More Daisies.” In the column he says he’d relax more; take more chances; climb more mountains, take fewer things seriously, and so on. Some years later, his column was put to poetry by someone called Nadine Stair. Whether such a person lived or not is often debated, but obviously someone did put the following lines together.

“If I had my life to live over,
I’d dare to make more mistakes next time.
I’d relax, I would limber up.
I would be sillier than I have been this trip.
I would take fewer things seriously.
I would take more chances.
I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers.
I would eat more ice cream and less beans.
I would perhaps have more actual troubles,
but I’d have fewer imaginary ones.

You see, I’m one of those people who lived sensibly
and sanely, hour after hour, day after day.
Oh, I’ve had my moments,
and if I had to do it over again,
I’d have more of them. In fact,
I’d try to have nothing else.
Just moments, one after another,
instead of living so many years ahead of each day.

I’ve been one of those persons who never goes anywhere
without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat
and a parachute.
If I had to do it again, I would travel lighter than I have.

If I had my life to live over,
I would start barefoot earlier in the spring
and stay that way later in the fall.
I would go to more dances.
I would ride more merry-go-rounds.
I would pick more daisies.”

~Nadine Stair

Of course, Don Harold was not the only one to motivate people along the road of no regrets. Someone also penned the following lines:

If There Were Ever A Time…

If there were ever a time to dare
To make a difference
To embark on something worth doing
It is now.
Not for any grand cause, necessarily-
But for something that tugs at your heart
Something that is your dream
You owe it to yourself
To make your days count.
Have fun. Dig deep. Stretch.

Dream big.
Know though
That things worth doing
Seldom come easy.
There will be times when you want to
Turn around
Pack it up and call it quits.
Those times tell you
That you are pushing yourself
And that you are not afraid to learn by trying.

Persist.
Because with an idea,
Determination and the right tools,
You can do great things.
Let your instincts, your intellect
And let your heart, guide you.

Trust.
Believe in the incredible power
Of the human mind
Of doing something that makes a difference
Of working hard
Of laughing and hoping
Of lasting friends
Of all the things that will cross your path.

Next year
The start of something new
Brings the hope of something great.
Anything is possible.
There is only one you
And you will pass this way but once.
Do it right.

~Author Unknown~

In closing this reflection, let me add the following quotes from the Halls of Wisdom.

“There are seven days in the week and someday isn’t one of them.”

“Life is like a piano. The white keys represent happiness and the black keys show sadness, but just as you go through life’s journey, remember that the black keys also make music.”

“And you will never influence the world by trying to copy it.”

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Memory is one of the wonderful gifts that God has given us. Any family who has experienced a loved one suffer from Dementia knows perfectly well the treasure of memory. But memory, like any gift, can be used wisely and productively or it can be wasted. So, the question always facing us is how do we use our memory? I do not at this time plan to go into how or how not to use our memory, but rather to remember and reflect on one of the greatest speeches of all time handed on to us by our ancestors, “The Gettysburg Address” given by Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863; the occasion being the dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives, that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate – we can not consecrate – we can not hallow – this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far, so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Throughout history, the Blessed Virgin Mary has been given many honorary titles. Many of these titles we pray at times in her Litany (The Litany of the Blessed Virgin). One of the titles given her is “Virgin Most Powerful.”

To put it mildly, this is an attribute that is much sought after today by nations, politicians, industrial magnets and all the way down along the line to the individual. The word ‘power’ conjures up a lot of ideas, for example, strength, ability, control, mastery, and authority. But, where does this power come from? Answers are often varied.

In dictatorships, it is seen to come from the biggest “gun”. In Republics, we say it comes from the people. And of course, we should not forget the money which can buy a lot of influence and corruption to boot. But these answers do not give us the origin of power, they merely point out those who wield power. So, to answer the question correctly, whether we agree with it or not, the answer is simply, all power comes from God and that power and God’s existence is not dependent on mine or your beliefs, period! Jesus standing before Pilate, the Roman Governor, reminded Pilate that he would have no power over him were it not given to him from above, Jn19:11. Again, Jesus reminds all of us when he says, “All authority has been given to me both in heaven and on earth,” Mt28:18. And if we want to know what kind of power this is, then ask yourself how many people have you come to know, or who you heard of, that rose from the dead?

We attribute to Mary this honorary title because of her ability and her willingness to integrate herself into this power, the power of God, and she has also shown us the way to do this. When Jesus gave us the prayer, “Our Father,” the first part of it is one of petition, as we pray, “hallowed be thy Name.” What does this mean? Mary tells us in her own prayer, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,” Lk1:46. In other words, our life, our work and play, our rest and prayer, should be an act of giving praise, thanks, and honor to God. Recognizing that he has and continues to do great things for us. And at all times, His name is only uttered reverently on our lips.

A second petition is “Thy Kingdome Come,” which really means, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” If we ever can accomplish the will of God being carried out here on earth, as it is in Heaven, then the Kingdom of God will have arrived. In the meantime, we bring it about little by little recognizing that my words are empty unless I am striving to do everything in my life to bring that Kingdom about. To do this, Mary reminds us that we must cultivate the virtue of humility. Listen to her words, “I am the maid servant of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word,” Lk1:30. A king reigns when his commands are recognized and obeyed by his subjects. If God is to reign in our hearts, then we must be His obedient subjects. Remember we are temples of the Holy Spirit. Whenever we allow sin to enter our lives we begin to lower the flag of the Holy Spirit over His temple and begin to raise the flag of Satan. When we pray, “thy kingdom come,” let us show our sincerity by handing over the keys of our heart and soul to God inviting him to take up his residence in us. This we do especially through the Sacrament of the Eucharist. We raise the flag of the Lord our God and ever mindful of his mercy as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever, Lk1:55.

And so, we give Mary the title, “Virgin Most Powerful,” because we recognize her as the perfect disciple; centering God totally in her life, and thus allowing the power of God to flow from her life. In short, we acknowledge that she fulfilled the will of God perfectly; loving Him with all her heart, all her soul, all her strength, and with all her mind. May we follow her example in glorifying God and building up his Kingdom here on earth rather than our own.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

We begin our lives in the womb surrounded by various sounds, and we are told that when we are dying the last faculty we lose is our hearing. Between life and death there is so much to hear. But for any of us to hear beneficially, we must use another faculty of our lives, and that is to listen. It is not always easy to listen, even though I believe, all living beings in our universe want to be heard.

Many people have written what I would call quips about listening, for example Kim Hubbard writes, “A good listener is usually thinking about something else.” And again “Look out for the fellow who lets you do all the talking.”

Audrey McLaughlin writes, “When you listen it’s amazing what you can learn. When you act on what you have learned, it’s amazing what you can change.” Finally, David Augsburger writes, “The golden rule of friendship is to listen to others as you would have them listen to you.”

In any event, the art of listening is important. Way back three thousand years ago, the prophets challenged the people of Israel with these words, “Hear O Israel the Lord Our God…” Jesus himself would exhort His people with the following words, “Let him who has ears to hear let him hear.” And of course we have heard or witnessed the following call, “Now hear ye, hear ye…”

But why do we want people to listen to us? Now I could go into a lot of reasons, but for me, all the reasons are summed up in a story I recall reading some time ago. It’s about a grandmother, a mother, and a little boy who went into a restaurant and sat down. A waitress came to take their order. After taking the order of the grandmother and mother, she turned to the little boy and asked him what he would like to order. Immediately the mother said, “Oh I’ll order for him.” But the waitress, politely ignoring the mother, asked the boy again what he would like to order. Checking the mother’s reaction, the boy said, “a hamburger.” “And how would you like your hamburger, with mustard, pickles and the works?” asked the waitress. Feeling full of amazement, the boy answered, “the works.” The waitress now left and went over to the short order window and hollered the grandmother’s order, the mother’s order and then in an extra loud voice hollered, “a hamburger with the works.” The little boy immediately turned to his mother in utter astonishment and said, “Mommy, she thinks I’m real!” ~ Modern Illustrated

Need I say more!

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

It is rather interesting to read the many comments that are written about mothers. The volume of writing alone shows how important mothers are to the well-being, not only to the family, the nation, but to our world at large, as Rudyard Kipling put it,

“God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.”

“Mothers are like glue. Even when you can’t see them, they’re still holding the family together.” ~ Susan Gale

“Only mothers can think of the future because they gave birth to it in their children.” ~ Maxim Grosky

“My mother was my role model before I even knew what the word was.” ~ Lisa Leslie

“My mother is a walking miracle.” ~ Leonardo Di Caprio

An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy. ~ Spanish Proverb

And then there is this:

“Every mother hopes her daughter will get a better man than she did, but is convinced her son will never find a wife as good as her father did.” ~ Martin Anderson Nexo

“In Mary’s house the mourners gather. Sorrow pierces them like a nail. Where’s Mary herself meanwhile? Gone to comfort Juda’s mother.” ~ Norma Faber

Mother Love

Long, long ago, so I have been told,
Two angels once met on streets paved with gold.
“By the stars on your crown,” said one to the other,
“I see that on earth you too were a mother.
And by the blue tinted halo that you wear,
you, too, have known sorrow and deepest despair.”

“Oh yes” she replied “I once had a son,
a sweet little lad, full of laughter and fun,
but, tell of your child”.  “Oh I knew I was blest,
from the moment I first held him close to my breast,
and my heart almost burst with the joy of that day.”
“Oh yes” said the other, “How well do I know.”

“But soon he had grown to a tall, handsome boy,
so stalwart and kind and it gave me such joy,
To have him just walk down the street by my side.”
“Oh yes” said the other “I felt the same pride.”
“How often I shielded and spared him from pain,
and when he, for others, was so cruelly slain,
When they crucified him and spat in his face,
how gladly would I have hung there in his place.”
A moment of silence, “Oh! Then you are she,
The Mother of Christ,” and she fell on one knee.
But the Blessed one raised her up and drawing her near,
kissed from the cheek of the woman a tear.
“Tell me the name of the son you loved so,
that I may share with you your grief and your woe.”
She lifted her eyes, looking straight at the other,
“He was Judas Iscariot, I am his mother.”
~ Pat Sexton

Happy Mother’s Day!

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

The late Malcolm Muggeridge credited Mother Teresa for his conversion to the Catholic faith. His was a long and inquiring journey, from atheism, in particular, to cynicism about religion in general. It was not that he did not know the teachings of the faith, but believing in them, now that was a different matter. Take, for example, the most basic aspect of our faith, love of God and love of neighbor.

For Muggeridge, the question was, is such love genuine? Indeed, is it love at all? After all, since all Catholics are striving to get to heaven and since leading a good life is an essential requirement towards getting there, all of this love business is nothing more than self-servicing. In fact, it might be argued that far from being love, all this goodie-goodie lifestyle could be considered quite selfish in the end.

In fairness to Muggeridge, one has to agree that his point is well taken. One has to allow for the possibility that the apparent leading of what we call a good life might well indeed be quite self-centered rather than God- centered. In fact, we see this type of “gospel” preached continually by evangelists over the media, inviting the public to donate and God will bless them for their donation many times over. The bottom line here is self, not God. So, we must agree that Muggeridge has a point.

However, when Muggeridge accompanied Mother Teresa to do a documentary on her work, she soon informed him that there are easier ways to get to heaven and to leading a good life than spending your time among the slums of the world and investing your life in the people you find there. Yes, there are easier ways to following Jesus than helping the slums of the world with their infirmities, giving them hope and easing both their physical and spiritual hungers and thirsts. Malcolm, there are easier ways of getting to heaven than that of working with the poorest of poor.

After following her and her Sisters of charity in their work and prayer, Muggeridge finally came to believe in the possibility that people who lead generous and upright lives doing good are not necessarily self-centered, but God-centered. He saw that it is possible to love God simply for the praise and honor and glory of God and not our own, and so he wrote the book and made the documentary titled, “Something Beautiful for God.”

In the book, Muggeridge mentions how Mother Teresa shared with him her insight into the true value and meaning of friendship. It’s worth reflecting on, on a regular basis. As we begin to implement it in our lives, we will find that our lives will become enriched by its practice.

When I was homeless, you opened your doors,
When I was naked, you gave me your coat,
When I was weary, you helped me find rest,
When I was anxious, you calmed all my fears,
When I was little, you taught me to read,
When I was lonely, you gave me your love,
When in a prison, you came to my cell,
When on a sick bed, you cared for my needs,
In a strange country, you make me at home,
Seeking employment, you found me a job,
Hurt in a battle, you bound up my wounds,
Searching for kindness, you held out your hand,
When I was a Negro, or Chinese, or White,
Mocked and insulted, you carried my cross,
When I was aged, you bothered to smile,
When I was restless, you listened and cared,
You saw me covered with spittle and blood,
You knew my features, though grimy with sweat,
When I was laughed at, you stood by my side,
When I was happy, you shared in my joy.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Visiting Chicago in the early seventies, my friend Jimmy invited me to a stroll downtown. Being my first time in the USA, the skyscrapers and large stores were very new to me, but most of all, I remember a large sculpture in what is called the Civic Plaza. Asking my friend Jimmy what it was, he informed me it was “The Picasso.” I asked him, “what is a Picasso?”, and he replied, “I don’t know, but he was the artist who designed it.” I asked, “did he not tell people what it was?” “No, he said its up to people themselves to interpret it.”

On the unveiling of the sculpture, newspaper columnist, Mike Royko, offered his interpretation. “Interesting design, I’m sure, but the fact is it has a long, stupid face and looks like some giant insect that is about to eat a smaller, weaker insect,” adding, “Picasso understood the soul of Chicago! Its eyes are like the eyes of every slum owner who made a buck off the small and weak.”

Of course, there are all kinds of stories as to the inspiration behind the sculpture. As for myself, I simply see it as an attention getter, since that was my own first experience of it. In all of this, there is no doubt that Picasso became one of the world’s greatest artists, whether one personally admires his work or not.

Interesting to note, like many artists before him, Picasso did not achieve instant recognition. Encouraged by the somewhat elder artist, Matisse, he gradually moved toward the abstract in his artistic renderings. But it is now even more worthy to note, that in his early career he used many of his drawings as kindling in his stove fire. Can you imagine how much those drawings would be worth today?

But this does not stop with the art world. How many parents fail to see the telltale signs of their children on drugs, or couples see their marriage falling apart, but fool themselves into believing that all is well. And so also in the spiritual sphere, life offers us many opportunities to grow in holiness, but like many other aspects of life, we let them slip through our fingers. Yes, our world is full of people who see what is going on but refuse to understand, or never quite understand what is happening in the present here and now. The ability or rather our willingness to recognize and understand and acknowledge the realities of our here and now, knowing at the same time, that we are not all knowing and all wise in a good place to charter our life without regrets when we look back.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Best selling author Matthew Kelly calls it, “Becoming the best version of yourself.” Former First Lady Melania Trump simply says, “Be Best.”

The question for us, of course, is why is it so difficult for us to become the best version of our self or simply “Be Best”? I’ve been pondering that question for some time. I’m not sure there is a single answer, but part of the solution, I believe, lies somewhere in the following.

Megan McKenna, internationally known author, theologian, and storyteller, in her book Parables, tells the story of a king whose greatest treasure was a most beautiful and perfect diamond that had been in his family for generations. To tell the truth, it was the only thing his kingdom was known or famous for. People came from far and wide to admire the perfect diamond. One day, however, despite the diamond being carefully guarded, a crack appeared. One by one the best jewelers of the kingdom examined the diamond and relayed the sad news to their king that it was beyond repair. The king was devastated.

One day an old man, who claimed to be a jeweler, asked to see the diamond and claimed he could fix it! The king, to say the least, was not in a believing mood, but what was he to do. Not willing to let go of the diamond, he had one of the rooms of the palace set up as a jeweler shop.

A week later, the old man appeared from the room and presented the diamond to the king. The king was totally astonished. The stone was utterly transformed and truly magnificent. It was even more beautiful and more perfect than before.

The jeweler had used the crack that ran through the middle of the stone as a stem and then with his tools, carved an intricate full-blown rose, leaves, and thorns into the diamond. It was truly exquisite. The king was over joyed, and wishing to compensate the jeweler for his work said, “you took something beautiful and perfect and improved upon it.” But the old man refused compensation and corrected the king saying, “I did not do that at all. What I did, was take something flawed and cracked at the heart and turn it into something beautiful.”

Like the diamond, through sin, we have become flawed and cracked. Our King, however, knows us, His subjects, and sends us His son, the perfect jeweler, to heal us and restore us to new life offering us a share in his own sublime and perfect divine life. But unlike the diamond, we can refuse to undergo the surgery of the Cross, the perfect tool of restoration. So often we are like people who want to be cured, provided there is no pain, so too we wish to be “The Best” provided we can have it without change, without leaving our comfort zone. And therein lies the challenge and also our solution.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Now that we have journeyed with Jesus through his passion and celebrated His resurrection, the question is what do we remember? You know memory plays an important role in the human condition.  What we choose to remember and what we choose to forget can often contribute to a person’s state of happiness. What we wish people to think of us here and now and how we wish to be remembered when we are gone from this life can and often does play a major influence in the way we live our lives.

A frequent question often posed by media to people who are considered rather famous in our world is, “How would you like to be remembered?” Of course to step back a little we must recognize that the media and our secular world have their own version of where the reality of greatness and importance lies. From its Super Star Models on the glamour magazines, the 007’s, Superman, Rambos, Oscars Hall of Fame, Dancing with the Stars to its latest Megan and Harry, and need we go on and say more. In the midst of all of the “importance” and “greatness” and media hype, it might be worth our while to reflect once again and for the sake of bringing a little balance in our lives, the words “For even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life in ransom for the many”. Mk 10:45, Mt 20:28

Ah yes, the importance of service as an essential ingredient toward happiness. In short, let it be less about a me, me, me world and once again let us reflect on what has come to be known to us as “One Solitary Life”.

One Solitary Life

He was born in a stable,
in an obscure village,
the child of a peasant woman.
He worked in a carpenter’s shop
until he was thirty.
From there he traveled
less than 200 miles.

He never wrote a book.
He never held office.
He never had a family or owned a home.
He did none of the things one
usually associates with greatness.

He became a nomadic preacher.
He was only thirty-three when the tide of
popular opinion tuned against him.
He was betrayed by a close friend,
and his other friends ran away.
He was turned over to his enemies
and went through the mockery of a trial.
He was unjustly condemned to death,
crucified on a cross between two thieves,
on a hill overlooking the town dump,
and, when dead, was laid in a borrowed grave,
through the pity of a friend.

Nineteen centuries have come and gone,
all the armies that ever marched,
all the navies that ever sailed,
all the parliaments that ever sat,
and all the kings that ever reigned
have not affected the life of man on this earth
as that One Solitary Life.

He is the central figure of the human race,
He is the Messiah, the Son of God,
JESUS CHRIST.

~Author Unknown

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Meanwhile, Mary stood weeping beside the tomb. Even as she wept, she stooped to peer inside, and there she saw two angels in dazzling robes. One was seated at the head and the other at the foot of the place where Jesus’s body had lain. “Woman,” they asked her, “why are you weeping?” She answered them, “Because the Lord has been taken away and I do not know where they have put him.” She had no sooner said this than she turned around and caught sight of Jesus standing there. But she did not know him. “Woman,” he asked her, why are you weeping? Who is it you are looking for?” She supposed he was the gardener, so she said, “Sir, if you are the one who carried him off, tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned to him and said in Hebrew, “RABBOUNI”, which means Teacher.  Jn. 20:11-17

I love this story of Mary Magdalene because it offers us so much for our own lives. First of all, it illustrates the great love Mary had for Jesus. She was on her way to the grave to perform for Him the last customary rites of respect. On reaching the burial place, she immediately noticed that the body of Jesus was missing. Grief-stricken, she suspected the worst, a grave robbery. So great was her grief that she did not only fail to notice the extraordinary appearance of the two figures in the tomb, but she also failed to recognize Jesus when He suddenly appeared at her side. She thought He was a gardener and pleaded with Him to show her where they had taken the body of Jesus. Jesus uttered but one word, her name, and she immediately recognized him for who He was.

Often in our hour of greatest need, we too fail to recognize Christ. We might say that Mary failed to recognize Christ for three reasons. First, Mary was looking for Christ in the wrong place; she was looking for Him among the dead. Too often we also look for Christ in the wrong place.

Second, Mary was looking for Christ in the wrong way. She had convinced herself that she had to find Christ. It never crossed her mind that Christ would actually find her. Mary failed to recognize Christ by her side because she thought the burden of discovery was hers alone. In our lives, let us be open to the fact that Christ somehow may discover us before we discover him. After all, remember the words of Jeremiah the Prophet, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” Jer 1:5

Finally, Mary was looking for an image of Christ in the past, rather than the reality of Christ in the present. Mary expected him to look and be a certain way, but Jesus often comes to us by shattering our preconceived ideas of how He will look and what He will be. His presence will often go unrecognized because of our preconceived notions and ideas. He is present both in the sunlight and in the shadows; in the expected and in the unexpected; in the familiar and the unfamiliar. In short, like to Mary Magdalene, he is present to us under what we may consider the worst of conditions – a grave robbery-, in what appeals to us and in what doesn’t appeal to us, and like to Mary Magdalen, he often utters just one word… YOUR NAME!

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Centuries ago when the people of God were going through a turbulent time, both of a natural and international making, the word of God came to them through the Psalmist saying “Be still and know that I am God” (Is 46:10). In our own present time of hope and uncertainty; of grief and pain; navigating the unexpected and facing future unknowns, it would be wise for us to take the words of the Psalmist, the advice of God to heart.

The word of the Lord instructs us to let go and acknowledge that God is finally in charge, not us. In inviting us to be still, He does not mean for us to do nothing, but rather first of all encourages us to recognize God’s presence with us and then work with him remembering that unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain.

Mark, the evangelist, tells us of an occasion when the twelve returned from their mission, Jesus said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile.” People were coming and going in great numbers… so they went off by themselves in the boat to a deserted place (Mk 6:31-32).

As we come closer to the Easter Season, we can be sure that the noise decibels will grow higher, but in the midst of this noise, God invites us to a quiet place, not to sleep, but to watch and pray, alert to the presence of God around us in our lives.

QUIETNESS

Passing one day beside Niagara’s stream,
In the glad time of Nature’s wakening,
When winter yields spring and spring doth bring
Bright sunshine, fragrant flowers and singing birds,
I paused beside the river where its flow
Is almost disturbed – the rapids in the gorge-
And watched the waters as they passed me by.
There I beheld, under the cloudless sky,
In sight of flowers, in sound of warbling birds,
The broad, deep torrent, rushing on and on,
Tossed to and fro, revolving round and round,
With whirlpools, and with waves which dashed themselves,
Into white foam upon the blackened rocks,
Till all the river seemed alive and mad,
A very hell of waters, near and far,
Abysmal depths of discord and of pain.
And as I looked, I saw just the opposite,
Right in the waters’ midst, upon the wave,
A block of wood, resting all calm and still,
Not floating down the stream, nor moving around,
As still and calm as if on crystal sea.
Astonished at the sight I looked again.
And then again with steady fixed gaze,
Till all my doubts were gone, for there the wood
Remained quiescent as I say it first.
Then studying the strange sight I found its cause; –
The block was held just at the central point
Of a great whirlpool’s course, where rushing round,
The waters met and formed a place of calm,
As if there were no whirlpool, nor mad rush
Of frenzied waters leaping to the sea.
And there I learned that day a lesson new,
Beneath bright heav’n, beside the troubled stream,
How deeply calm one’s daily life may be,
In midst of all the torrent-rush of cares,
The pressing, maddening tides of daily tasks,
Which dash and whirl till sense is almost gone,
If only one can learn the lesson blest,
To hide within the all in folding will,
God’s will for us, all perfect good and true;
For there, in midst of all, in spite of all,
We may find rest, abiding deep, complete,
And thus find quietness, for ever more!
~Henry W. Frost

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

He wanted them to know the truth about himself. To friends, critics, and to everyone in between, he wrote a single document devoid of all political correctness. Professor McNeill has said of him, “No man has ever left so strong and permanent impression of his personality on people, with the single and eminent exception of Moses.”

While this may be true, it is also true to say that our conception of this man today is somewhat hazy, if indeed not off the track, to say the least.

Without regard for personal prestige or academic learning, he sets forth his credentials beginning with “I, Patrick, a sinner, the most unlearned of men, the lowliest of all the faithful, utterly worthless in the eyes of many…I was taken captive. I was about sixteen years of age at the time and I did not know the true God. I was taken into captivity to Ireland…The Lord there made me aware of my unbelief that I might at last see my sins and turn wholeheartedly to the Lord my God… I cannot be silent then, nor indeed should I, about the great benefits and grace which the Lord saw fit to confer on me in the land of my captivity… I used to pray many times during the day. More and more my love of God and reverence for Him began to increase. My faith grew stronger and my zeal so intense that in the course of a single day I would say as many as a hundred prayers and almost as many at night…I would rise before the dawn to pray…I was full of enthusiasm…” Confessions of St. Patrick

Yes, there is more to our noble St. Patrick than dyeing the rivers green, painting the streets green and drinking green beer, not that there is anything wrong in all that celebration, but we should remember why it is we celebrate the life of this great man. We celebrate the life of St. Patrick because he fulfilled for the Irish people and those whom the Irish missionaries have touched, the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.
Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom, a light has shone.
You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing…
For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder,
And the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed…” (Is 9:1-3)

So, happily on this St. Patrick’s Day, when you raise your glass to toast and celebrate the Irish saint, you will also hopefully, have the generosity to embrace the truth of Jesus Christ which he gave to us, the truth that has led us out of the darkness of sin into the light and new life of grace, Jesus Christ.

Breast Plate of St. Patrick
I bind to myself today
God’s Power to pilot me,
God’s Might to uphold me,
God’s Wisdom to teach me,
God’s Eye to watch over me,
God’s Ear to hear me,
God’s Word to give me speech,
God’s Hand to guide me,
God’s Way to lie before me,
God’s Shield to shelter me,
God’s Host to secure me…
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ under me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in lying down, Christ in sitting,
Christ in rising up.
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ is every ear that hears me…
Salvation is of the Lord,
Salvation is of Christ;
May Your salvation, O Lord, be with us forever.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

“Everything changes and we change as well”, states the Roman poet Ovid. How true his words! I remember coming to Atlanta some forty plus years ago and one of the great movements of that time was prayer groups. To tell the truth, I did not know a lot about getting together for prayer groups, but coming from Ireland, I did know about getting together to play cards. There were a good many Irish priests in Atlanta at that time, but today I believe we are becoming an endangered species.

Back when I first came here we enjoyed playing cards at the different rectories, though sometimes we had to scramble to make sure we had enough players for the game. Ah yes, there were no cell phones then so if we were short we had to call the parish office. I remember one time our get together was at Holy Spirit and for some reason the late Msgr. Tom Kenny, from Corpus Christi Parish, failed to show up. The late Father Jerry Gill called out there only to be told that it was his day off and they could not find him. Learning that it was his day off, but also Msgr. Fennessy aware that the receptionist was very much into prayers groups, decided to call Corpus Christi himself. Having received the same answer of it being Msgr. Tom’s day off, Msgr. Fennessy responded, “Oh that’s a pity, you see we were to have a prayer group here this evening and Msgr. Tom was to lead it, so we will just have to cancel It”. “Oh no!” came the voice over the phone. “I’ll find him for you”, and thirty minutes later we were around the table for a little poker, Irish style. Ah yes, deuces wild, one-eyed Jacks and the Man with the Ax, together with the suicide King and follow the Queen.

Ah yes, how beautiful from that evening on, our little get together for a hand of poker was known as the prayer group. But it really was a prayer group, no joking! For as we played the cards we were reminded of the mysteries of our faith and life. You see:

The Ace reminds us that there is only one God.
The Two represents the two parts of the Bible, Old and New Testament.
The Three represents the Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Four stands for the Four Gospel writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
The Five is for the five wise virgins, there were ten virgins, but only five were glorified.
The Six is for the six days it took God to create the Heavens and the Earth.
The Seven is for the day God rested from this work of six days.
The Eight is for the eight people God saved from the flood, Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives.
The Nine is for the nine lepers of the ten who never thanked Jesus after he had cleansed them from their leprosy.
The Ten represents the Ten Commandments that God handed down to Moses on the tablets made of stone.
The Jack is a reminder of Satan, one of God’s first angels, and now cast out of heaven for his sly and wicked ways and is now the joker in eternal hell.
The Queen stands for the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The King stands for Jesus, for He is the King of kings.

There are 365 dots on the cards, one for each day of the year. There are 52 weeks in a year in which we offer prayer.
There are four suits, clubs, spades, hearts and diamonds, representing the four seasons of the year; each a visible sign of God’s splendor.
Each suit has 13 cards, the amount of weeks in each season.

By Mary Bacon

And should I go on? We have a lot of praying and reflecting going on at our little prayer group ever mindful of the one-eyed Jacks and the Man with the Ax.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

When we think of the late George Carlin, we view him as a comedian of the seventies and eighties. Not a comedian you would recommend to your children of course, as to put it mildly, he was of the “R” type and by the way that “R” does not stand for Republican. That being said, there is attributed to him, as one of his last writings, a reflection titled “Something to Ponder”. Some argue as to how could someone so “R” rated in his comedy acts, write such a reflection. I for my part, am not here to argue who wrote it, but I am delighted that someone did as it offers us all as the title states, “Something to Ponder”.

Something to Ponder by George Carlin

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things.

We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember to spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember, to say, ‘I love you’ to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

And always remember, life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by those moments that take our breath away.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Some weeks ago, I was watching the movie “Becket”. The setting is 12th century England with Peter O’Toole staring as King Henry II and Richard Burton as Thomas Becket. The movie is a real classic, but what caught my attention was King Henry asking one of his barons “Do you ever think?” “No sir”, he replied. “Gentlemen have better things to do”.

As an Irishman neighboring England in my early years, I can say that many of their elected officials still hold to that philosophy. Having voted that I have also come to know that such a virus is not limited to England. Where are the wise we may well ask? Montagne, 16th century philosopher of the French Renaissance, reminds us “We can be knowledgeable with other men’s knowledge, but we cannot be wise with other men’s wisdom”.

Wisdom we say, is the ability to know what is true and what is right coupled with just judgement. In other words, at the heart of wisdom, is the ability of discernment and of course there is no discernment without a correct thought process, thus the importance to think.

Ah yes, let me put it this way and ask ourselves….

T    Is it true?
H   Is it honest?
I     Is it important?
N   Is it necessary?
K   Is it kind?

If you cannot answer yes to all of these questions, then remember that some things are better off left unsaid. For as William James, a great American psychologist, put it, “The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook”.

Remember, “The disadvantage of becoming wise, is that you realize how foolish you have been.” – Evan Esar

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Lent, Lent a time to repent that is what they tell us. But what does it mean to repent? Often we take it to mean giving up things or taking on some form of discipline. But we must be careful to ask ourselves why take on some form of discipline? The outward form of discipline should point to an inward conversion in our lives and in our hearts. In short, our disciplines should help deepen our relationships of good will towards God and our neighbors. Listen to what God says through His prophet Isaiah to the people who ask.

3    “Why do we fast, and you do not see it?
Afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?”
Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,
and drive all your laborers.
4   Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting,
striking with wicked claw.
Would that today you might fast
so as to make your voice heard on high!
5   Is this the manner of fasting I wish,
of keeping a day of penance.  That a man bow his head like a reed,
and lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Do you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?
6   This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
7   Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.”
8    Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard
9  Then you shall call, and LORD will answer,

Is: 58:3-9

Again through the Prophet Hosea God Speaks “For it is love that I desire not sacrifice and knowledge of God rather than holocausts” Hosea 6:6

Also Jesus tells us in Matthew 9:13, “Go and learn the meaning of the words I desire mercy not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners”.

Yes, our disciplines are calling us to a change of heart. They cannot just stand on their own. Their outward observance must reflect an inward reality in our hearts and souls.

Some years ago I heard or read of the following story. At this time, I am unable to remember where, but it may help us in our Lenten discipline. It’s the story of a young man named Joshua who wanted to be a Rabbi.

After some years he presented himself to his teacher and said that, in his opinion, he felt he was qualified to be ordained a Rabbi. “What exactly are your qualifications?”, asked his teacher. Joshua replied, “I have so disciplined my body that I can sleep on a hard floor three nights a week. I have tempered my appetite that I abstain from meat and eat only salads and I have reproved myself to be whipped three times a week.”

The teacher looked at Joshua for a moment and pointing towards a green pasture said, “See yonder the grey donkey? He sleeps on a hard ground seven days a week; he also abstains from meat and eats only grass and I can assure he is whipped by his master at least three times a day and not just a week. So Joshua, up to now, you may qualify to be an ass but not a Rabbi”.

So the question is, “What do my disciplines qualify me to be?”

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

In a few short weeks, we will begin to see the renewal of life all around us with the coming of Spring and, hopefully, positive results from the Covid-19 vaccine. On the spiritual level, the Season of Lent calls each of us to renewal within our lives. I came across the following lines some time ago. I do not know who penned them, but I believe that they speak right to the point of our relationship with God and the need for renewal so as to better our relationship with Him.

We cleaned our little church today –
Wiped all the dust and dirt away.
We straightened papers, washed the floors;
Wiped off the lamp and painted doors.

We brushed the dirt stains from the books.
And whisked the cobwebs from the nooks.
We polished windows so we’d see
The newly greening shrub and tree.
The menfolk, too, raked up the yard –
They laughed and said it wasn’t hard,
And, oh, it felt so very good
To have the place look as it should.

We said, “How wonderful ‘twould be
If we cleaned out what we cannot see –
Such things as grudges, hates and lies,
And musty thoughts much worse than flies.

Putting God at the center of our lives can be so hard because it can mean giving up that place ourselves. I know that I don’t like to give up my seat to anyone at least for the most part. Giving up one’s seat calls for a few things. First of all, it calls us to recognize that each of us is the administrator of our life. Secondly, it invites us, as administrators, to examine the way we are investing our lives. In other words, the way we use our time, the way we employ our talents and the way we spend our treasure. We must make sure, of course, that we are willing to get rid of “musty thoughts much worse than flies”. It’s rather amazing how many of the teachings of Jesus, speak to the way we invest our lives. We have the parable of the sower; of the talent; the bridegroom; the debtors, just to mention a few.

As we come to observe the new life blooming all around us this Spring, hopefully it will be a reminder to strengthen our efforts for making our lives more God-centered than self-centered. We do this not because it is easy, but because we know it is right. How was it that the poet put it?  Ah yes…

“How wonderful ‘twould be
If we cleaned out what we cannot see –
Such things as grudges, hates and lies,
And musty thoughts much worse than flies”

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Almost fourteen years ago the nation sadly heard of the passing of Tim Russert. Most people came to know him through the medium of television, especially his Sunday morning program of “Meet the Press”, but also through the publication of his two books “Big Russ and Me” and “The Wisdom of Our Fathers”. As the tributes began, it was a comfort to hear both his friends and competitors all acknowledge the virtuous qualities of his life which included the love of his Catholic faith, his family and his country.

In an age when many young people blame their lack of virtuous living on their parents, it was refreshing to hear Tim’s clarion voice recognizing the dedication and sacrifices of those who have gone before us. I have always found there to be something noble and honorable about the person who recognizes that we do not live in a perfect world. Especially one who is able to acknowledge the love and dedication of a father and mother, however imperfect we may think them to be.

Both competitors and friends acknowledged that Tim was always fair and respectful. His enthusiasm for the truth meant never engaging in the “gotcha” game. In an age of politics and political correctness, Tim demonstrated his ability to rise above pettiness and helped us to realize that both country and family are ill-served by those who stoop to such behavior.

Tim was open-minded and projected the utmost respect for those he interviewed. The meticulous exactitude with which he prepared for the interview would reveal to his audience a person who not only understood America, but who probably stood in awe of his country. This awe and pride was revealed in his frequent exclamation, “What a Country”.

Upon listening to Tim, we were reminded that by far the lion’s share of our lives is heritage. Most of the good things that we enjoy are not the fruit of our own labor. They came to us through the goodness of God and by the creative efforts of countless men and women, most of whom we do not even know.

Some years ago, Gold Label Publications penned the following inviting us to retrace our steps of any given day. On this day, you were probably awakened by an alarm clock invented by a Swiss mechanic. You crawled out from between sheets made of cotton grown by a southern farmer. You stood in a bathroom on a tile floor processed first by the Romans. You washed your face in a porcelain bowl developed first in China. You dried yourself on a Turkish towel. You put on a suit made by a Jewish craftsman in New York and a pair of shoes taken from the hide of a Texas steer. You ate breakfast out of dishes that originated in England. Your cereal came from a Kansas wheat field and your coffee from a Brazilian plantation. You go to work in a vehicle manufactured in Detroit or overseas. You might then walk into a building built by hundreds of hands you’ve never seen. That night you read from a Bible that came to us out of Jewish heritage and piety.

If you think about it, the privilege of being here in this country was brought about at a tremendous price paid by a lot of people most of whom, as I mentioned before, we do not even know.

Tim had it right, “What a Country”. Of course not everyone today would readily agree with Tim. For unknown reasons, there seems to be a climate today in which some of America’s sons and daughters take pride in playing the Pharisee who went up to the temple to pray (Lk18:10). I thank God that I am not like them. They go demeaning this great country and blaming it for all of the world’s problems. Look, I am not so naïve as to say that America’s record has been spotless, that it has always made the correct calls and decisions. There have been plenty of mistakes and poor decisions and there will be more to come, rest assured.

In the world of sports, a level playing field is established with rules and regulations known to and binding upon all competitors. When anyone violates a particular rule, there are umpires and referees to penalize the offending player or team. Despite all of this, there is not a coach or manager today who can claim that he or she has always made the correct calls and right decisions.

In the world arena, where the goal is to secure the right to life, liberty, and happiness, there is no level playing field. Corruption, greed, hatred and prejudice influence many of the officials. Not to mention the terrorists who play by no rules at all. In such an arena as this, it is not easy to always make the correct calls. We should be proud of any courageous American who, knowing the risk and cost of error, is nevertheless willing to forge ahead and ignore the critics. We must realize that the greatest mistakes that any country can make are not those made in the arena battling against evil, but, rather, choosing to remain on the sidelines doing nothing other than criticizing the efforts of those who are trying to make our world a better place. Like the man in the Gospel, they are afraid; they lack fortitude; they only think of self, and so they bury their God-given talent and do nothing (Mt25:25).

Having come to America over 40 years ago, I have come to appreciate what has made this country such a great nation. Yes, politicians, legislators, and judges have their place, but the greatness of America lies in the goodness of the hearts and souls of its “ordinary” people. It is their generosity, both at home and abroad, and their willingness to invest blood, sweat, tears, and treasure that makes not only their own country great, but inspires countless others abroad.

America, wrongly I may add, is criticized today more than genuinely thanked for her sacrifices and generosity. As citizens, we are frequently reminded of both, especially as we celebrate the federal holidays such as Independence Day, Rev. Martin Luther King Day, Thanksgiving Day, Veterans Day and others. I, for one, proudly raise my voice and say: “God Bless America!” Those words echo in my heart with the same reverence and awe as Tim Russert’s words “What a Country”.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

In 1993, Mel Gibson both starred in and directed an American Drama film titled “The Man Without a Face”.  Some believe that the film represented Mel Gibson’s own life. While I think that is somewhat of a stretch, the movie title is intriguing and has quite a history.

In 1928, a silent American Adventure series by the same title was released. Again in 1935, a British drama film with the same title was released that starred Carol Coombe and Cyrl Chosack. In 2012, Riverhead Books published Masha Gessen’s book on the unlikely rise of Vladimir Putin, titled “The Man Without a Face”. Our 1993 film with Mel Gibson, however, is based on Isabelle Holland’s novel of the same name.

In the story, Chuck, a somewhat troubled youth, wants to leave home to join a prestigious military academy and follow in the footsteps of his late father. Unfortunately, his present grades make that impossible. Having flunked the entrance exam once while also having to deal with a dysfunctional family, he could not see much light at the end of the tunnel.

The other main character, McLeod, was once a brilliant teacher and a man of great complexity, but is now a recluse in a big house. His career cut short by a terrible automobile accident that left half his body and face burned and completely disfigured. Because he stays to himself, rumors circulate about him that he killed his wife or, no, it was a young boy he killed. Or that he’s an ex-con.

Ah yes, a troubled youth in a troubled home, in a troubled school in a troubled and dysfunctional society. How does he achieve his goals? Unable to decipher between fact and fiction about McLeod, Chuck decides to overcome the fear that the rumors had generated within him and asks the teacher to tutor him. After a less than smooth beginning, McLeod and Chuck eventually were off to the races and winning. Then came the neighborhood gossip mega-phone. Police were called to investigate. Rightly, Mel Gibson would not go down the path of the Hollywood court room. The one featuring flesh and abuse as well as guilt and innocence. Instead, he chose a story path of virtue, of trust and guidance, and was sure to leave sufficient room in the film for a good student to resolve problems and difficulties on his own.

In the end, the story was not just a one-way street, but rather a mutual education. McLeod was again able to experience the grace of teaching and overcome his self-imposed solitude. Chuck experiences, for the first time in his life, true friendship and gains confidence in his own abilities. After mastering a practice exam, Chuck becomes ecstatic. He then tells McLeod that the most important thing he had learned in his summer studying with him was, “I look at you now and I don’t see your scars anymore”.

“But the Lord said to Samuel: “Do not look on his appearance or on the light of his stature…. For the Lord sees not as a man sees! Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart”. 1 Samuel 16:7

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Some years ago, I was watching a documentary on Fort Knox. The documentary spoke of both past and present military trading and the gold that is secured there. It told the story of why in the 1930’s Congress authorized the construction of such a vault and theorized on today’s elaborate security that surrounds the building to protect what is called America’s greatest treasure.

It was that phrase “America’s greatest treasure” that caught my attention. It is certainly true that Fort Knox houses billions of dollars in gold bars and other priceless artifacts of home and abroad. Despite all of that, America’s greatest treasure is its people and not what is secured at Fort Knox. Now, I do not believe that the documentary meant any harm in its statement, but it nevertheless reveals a lack of clarity which is becoming much more obvious as we witness today’s society becoming more and more secular in its thinking and outlook.

I think we can agree that the line between what is lawful and what is right is becoming increasingly blurred. Just because something is legal and lawful does not make it right. It is not within the power of law to make something morally right or morally wrong. All it can do is make something lawful or unlawful. It also has the ability to sanction something that is already right, but never has the power to change wrong into right. It may take something that is “wrong” and deem it lawful, but it’s still wrong. We have only to reflect on our past. Slave ownership was lawful, but we can all agree it was wrong. And it was never right! Slavery was and is wrong, period. It is wrong today and it was wrong in the past no matter what the law said.

In our time, one of the major issues is abortion. Abortion is wrong, period! No law has the power to change that fact. As in the case of slavery, the law can, and still does, ignore the facts and call abortion lawful. We must keep in mind that being legal does not make it right. It simply permits what is wrong to continue. In this case, a horrendous crime against humanity, which is the killing of our unborn children. They are definitely a greater treasure than anything at Fort Knox.

Today, we live in a dangerous world. At any time, our country is under threat by enemies from within and without. We must recognize that we are also threatened by an ever-encroaching secularism that preys upon the values that have made this country great. This is a time which calls for clear thinking and clear vision and to not allow ourselves to be framed by the questions of secularism in the public square.

Fr. Brian Cavanaugh makes this point in one of his many stories:

Logic and Thinking

A philosophy professor at the university was trying to explain to the class what a course in logic could do for a person’s thinking. “Suppose,” he said, “That two people came out of a chimney.  One is clean and one is dirty. Which one takes a bath?” asked the professor.

“The dirty one, naturally,” answered a student.

The professor pointed out, “Remember, the clean person sees the dirty one and notices how dirty he is and vice versa. Now, which one takes a bath?”

“I get it now,” answered another student. “The clean chimney sweep sees the dirty one and concludes that he’s dirty, too – so takes a bath. Am I correct?”

“Wrong. Absolutely wrong,” said the professor. “Logic teaches you that if two workers go into a chimney, how could one come out clean and another one dirty?”

Logic also teaches that anyone who is affiliated in anyway with promoting, abetting or supporting abortion comes off with the taking of innocent human life and that is one filthy chimney.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Tutsugen Doko (1630-1682) was a Japanese Zen Master, a religion that somewhat is a broad form of Buddhism. Print versions of the sutras (or the oral teachings of their religion) were only available in Chinese. Tetsugen decided to make them available in Japanese. Seven thousand copies of the books were to be printed using wooden blocks. A very heavy undertaking to say the least.

Like all major undertakings, one must first acquire the needed funding. Tetsugen began to travel and solicit donations large and small for this great work he was to undertake. He showed gratitude for whatever help he received. After ten long years he at last had enough money to begin the work. But then, as often happens in life, a crisis appeared. The Uji River overflowed causing widespread damage and, in some cases, famine. Tetsugen took the monies he had collected and used them to alleviate the hunger and homelessness of the community. He then needed to begin his fundraising work all over again.

Year by year, he again collected the necessary funds and was just about to start the printing process when an epidemic spread across the country. I know that I do not need to explain what that experience is like as we are presently living with a prime example of it called Covid-19. What was Tetsugen to do? Surely not again? Yes again! Once again, Tetsugen used the funds to alleviate the sufferings and illnesses of his people. And now, for the third time he started all over again to raise money. His wishes were at last fulfilled some 20 plus years after he first began. The printing blocks which produced those first edition books of the teachings can be seen today in Obaku Monastery in Kyoto, Japan.

As to be expected, many students visit the monastery. As they witness the printing blocks they are reminded that Tetsugen made three sets of teachings. The first two are invisible sets and they far surpass the last set, which can be seen in the monastery.

It’s rather amazing that the example and life of Tetsugen has far surpassed and speaks more loudly than the work to which he so earnestly dedicated himself to. Were he alive today and in the flesh, he would surely be surprised to realize that, 400 years later, word of his deeds continues to be shared. St. James the Evangelist had it right when he instructed us almost 2,000 years ago “Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves…”. James 1:22-25

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

By the time you read this we will have welcomed in the New Year 2021 and rang out the old year. I have a strong feeling that there will not be many who will be shedding tears for the passing of 2020. In any event, it is now behind us and it would be inaccurate for us simply to recall the difficult days it brought us. There were some happy moments. I personally know, for example, that for some it was the year that they sealed their hearts in love. I was also privileged to celebrate the Sacraments of Baptism and First Communion with many families. I hope it has taught all of us never to take our dear ones for granted, but, rather, to keep them close and visit them often. Ah yes, the coming of a New Year often fills our hearts with such hope. It’s a beautiful thing. Of course, unless it’s going to be completely unique we must recognize that there will be many challenges on the journey into this new year, but hopefully not as severe as the year gone by. Let me close with the following reflection from Helen Steiner Rice which we might find helpful to us along the way:

“Climb ‘Til Your Dream Comes True”
Often your tasks will be many,
And more than you think you can do…
Often the road will be rugged
And the hills insurmountable, too…
But always remember, the hills ahead
Are never as steep as they seem,
And with Faith in your heart start upward
And climb ‘til you reach your dream,
For nothing in life that is worthy
Is ever too hard to achieve
If you have the courage to try it
And you have the Faith to believe…
For Faith is a force that is greater
Than knowledge or power or skill
And many defeats turn to triumph
If you trust in God’s wisdom and will…
For Faith is a mover of mountains,
There’s nothing that God Cannot do,
So start out today with Faith in your heart
And “climb ’til your dream comes true”!

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2021

Many of us will soon be making New Year Resolutions, only to find them quickly broken and somewhat forgotten. What were the ones we made just this last New Year’s? Well, with 2021 upon us, here is a little poem by Lori J. Batcheller. I like it for the New Year and I hope you do too.

Make your own rainbow
And spread your own smile
You alone have the power
To make life worthwhile.

Stretch out your arms
To someone in need;
Lend them your shoulder
Help them plant a seed.

Each day act in kindness
To those whom you meet.
They too may be searching
Their souls may be beat.

Find your own purpose
Though it may seem small;
Look for a future
In which you’ll stand tall.

Life passes too quickly
To waste any day;
Make each moment special
You do know the way.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

Isaac Watts was born in England in July of 1674. His father, also named Isaac, was in prison at the time, not for any criminal behavior, but for simply exercising his God given right of free speech. He was seen as a nonconformist and found guilty of teaching ideas not approved by the Church of England. Oh, could we Irish tell you stories on that subject in regards to England, but I digress.

Apparently, the young Isaac inherited the free-thinking gene of his father, and was not content with the status quo. He began to question most everything. His attitude could be summed up as “why should we accept things the way they are when perhaps they could be better?”. This attitude carried into the church music of his time. To Isaac, the music lacked both joy and inspiration. When he complained to his father about it, his father responded, “Don’t complain to me about it! If it annoys you that much, then do something about it.” This is all that the young Isaac needed to hear. He took the psalms and rendered them in a new genre in light of the gospel.

He proceeded to write hundreds of hymns, many of which we still know such as “This is the Day the Lord has made”, “When I survey the Wondrous Cross”, and so forth. This of course did not go down so well in his own day to say the least. After all, who wants a new rendition of the psalms in song or otherwise. For his efforts, he earned, from his loving Christians mind you, such titles and honors as “Heretic” and “Tool of the Devil.” But the young Isaac was simply not to be deterred.

Gradually, he began to not only be accepted but would later inspire other great hymnists like Charles Wesley and John Newton. And his best had yet to come!

Studying Psalm 98 verse 4, “Shout with joy to the Lord all the earth”, or “Make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth”, the young Isaac was to pen one of his most beloved hymns. Nevertheless, it would take the world another 192 years to really appreciate it. All this was made possible by a young man by the name of Lowell Mason, born in New Jersey in 1792, 44 years after Isaac’s death. Like Isaac, he was interested in church music and was somewhat of a nonconformist. Unable to see a way of supporting himself with music, he instead became a banker and moved to Savannah, Georgia.

New folk music was what we would call today the “hip” music of the time. Lowell, though he was a banker, kept a strong interest in music. Staying mostly along the classical lines, he studied Handel’s composition in particular. He sent a book of his music and arrangements to a Boston publisher only to have it rejected. He was told it wasn’t the new folk music they were looking for. But all was not lost. In 1827, the Handel and Hayden Society of Massachusetts had an order for 50 thousand copies of his song book.

Yes, Lowell now had his publisher. Moving to Boston he immersed himself in his music and the promotion of a music curriculum in schools. Like Isaac, he would write hundreds of hymns like, “Nearer My God to Thee”.

In 1836, Lowell composed a new melody inspired by two songs from Handel’s Messiah, “Lift up Your Head”, and “Comfort Ye”. He titled it Antioch after the city from which St. Paul set out on his first missionary journey. But now for the words to go with the melody. In 1839, three years after composing the melody and paging through a song book entitled Modern Psalmist, Lowell came across the words penned by Isaac Watts some 192 years before. They were a perfect match. This time, in 1911, along with Elise Stevenson, the British-born American Soprano, the people were ready to hear one of todays most beloved Christmas Carols, “Joy to The World”.

Happy and joyful Christmas to all!
Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

Many of us tend to see Christmas through a distorted lens. Pictures depicting the serenity of the Holy Family can often disturb what we might call our own “less than perfect” holidays. The ones where plans often don’t go the way we imagined or fall so easily into place. Of course, on that First Christmas, things didn’t really go so well for the Holy Family either. There was the young virgin fearful of the angel’s message. The village gossipers when they learned Mary was with child. And the couple, far from family and friends, having to settle for a cave and a few barnyard animals to give a red-carpet welcome to the Savior of the world. It could only have been their faith in God’s love, despite their present conditions and circumstances, which made the First Christmas happy and serene for them.

In these times of uncertainty, may you too come to experience a great faith in God’s love and find joy and peace this Christmas and throughout the New Year.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

There is no time of the year that calls for as much preparation as Christmas. The shopping for cards and presents; the decorating and cooking; the long lines and all the rush, rush, rush. And for what I ask?

You know there is a story told of a fabulously wealthy king. He lived in a magnificent palace situated in beautiful surroundings. It had beautiful gardens, flowers, shrubs, walkways, you name it, it was all there. And yet, in spite of all his wealth and opulence, the king had a very simple heart and a deep desire to find and discover God in his life. He read many books; he consulted very wise men; he prayed in the gold-covered palace chapel, but it was all to no avail. He just could not figure it out.

One night while lying on his soft satin bed, pondering why he was having so much trouble finding God, he suddenly heard a terrible racket on the roof of his palace. He went to his balcony and shouted, “Who’s up there? What’s going on?” A voice he recognized to be that of a hermit who lived in the forest nearly shouted back, “It’s me, the hermit. I’m looking for my goat. She’s lost and I’m trying to find her.” Angered by such a ridiculous response, the king shouted back, “How can you be so stupid as to think you’ll find your goat on the roof of my palace?” To which the hermit replied, “Well your highness, how can you be so stupid to think that you’ll find God while dressed in silk pajamas, lying in a soft satin bed made of gold?” These words jarred the king so much that he, in the true sense of the words, rose from his bed of comfort, and stepped out of his bubble into the real world. Naturally, he found a world of suffering and pain in great need of redemption. He then took upon himself the cross as Jesus invites his followers to do. The story says that he indeed did find the God for which he so longed and became a great saint.

During this Season of Advent, let us make sure the distractions of the world around us do not side track us from the One whose birth we celebrate during the Christmas Season.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

At a distance of two thousand years plus, the event that seemingly touches our lives most at this time of year is the journey of a simple Galilean tradesman and his wife, Mary, to the little town of Bethlehem, and the Son who was born to them there. It was a hectic time of year for the young couple. With the census going on, deadlines had to be met and people were short on time. There was no rapid transit system in place. There were no phones, emails, or computers. Added to that, the number of places to stay were in short supply. Not even a Holiday Inn Express was around at that time. Imagine that! And we think we have it bad at this time of year.

Despite our best efforts to meet the pressures of our many obligations, we have already experienced that our commitment to some events has been not much more than simply showing our face (even if it is masked). We will likely justify this by saying we just don’t have the time. With the hindsight of that Bethlehem event as a guide, let us during this Christmas season make sure that we do not repeat the mistakes of that first Christmas. Let us make sure that we have both the room and the time in our hearts and in our homes for what is most important about the Christmas Season—Jesus.

In this year of 2020, the story of Bethlehem asks us to see all things with new vision and insight. It invites us not to get so caught up with the birthday/Christmas celebrations that we forget the God whose birth we are celebrating, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Advent is a time when we prepare ourselves to join with the angels at Christmas in singing both with our hearts and our lives “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to people of good will.”

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

There’s a story of a teacher who asked her students, “Which is more important, the sun or the moon?” One of the students, a little girl named Mary, answered “the moon”. When asked to explain her answer, she said, “The moon gives us light at night when we really need it, while the sun gives us light during the day when we really don’t need it.”

Reflecting on Mary’s reasoning, I began to think how close her answer was to our own at times. You see, Mary took the daylight for granted, forgetting that it came from the sun. In a similar way, it’s so easy for us to take life for granted, forgetting that it comes from God.

One of the common pitfalls of our lives is taking things for granted. It deprives us of a sense of gratitude and generates a false sense of self. That is why Thanksgiving Day is such an important holiday. It calls us back to a true sense of ourselves and our life. It reminds us that taking things for granted is not the way to live.

I’m sure you would agree that the last nine months have not been easy. COVID-19 has inflicted much pain and suffering across our nation and the world. Yet the dedication, resilience, and commitment of so many to the betterment of those near and far is admirable.

For my part, I want you to know that your commitment to All Saints over these difficult months has not gone unnoticed. I certainly do not take you for granted, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the support you show the Parish.

On November 29^th, we will begin the New Liturgical Year, the season of Advent. During this time, let us be sure to prepare ourselves to receive and celebrate the greatest gift given to the human race, namely Jesus Himself; God become flesh. Despite the present or future difficulties, let us not forget to give thanks to God remembering that He is good. Like Paul, we walk by Faith not by sight.

Thank you once again!
Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

Whenever people wish to start or promote a business they look for the most talented people they can find. Of course, one of the difficulties with this approach is that we tend to assume we have the correct parameters for recognizing just the right talent.

I was thinking about this in terms of the Word of God. When speaking to Isaiah, He says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways my ways says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”  Is 55:8-9

Come to think of it, it’s true. The most important business ever to be undertaken in our world was and is the business of salvation. So, let us look briefly at some of the talent the Lord recruited for this most important work.

Noah was a drunk
Abraham was a little old
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Samson had long hair and was a womanizer
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were somewhat young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Job went bankrupt
John the Baptist…not too sure about his dress code and diet
Peter denied Christ when the chips were down
The disciples fell asleep while praying
Martha worried about everything
The Samaritan woman divorced five times and cohabited with another
Zacchaeus was too small
Paul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer problem
AND Lazarus, a dead man came to life

What I’m trying to say, is that the next time you think that God couldn’t possibly use you to make a difference in this world, think again. No more excuses! Remember that you are not the message, but instead are merely the messenger. In that, keep in mind the following: You may have a problem with yourself, but God has no problem with you. Just look at the people he has worked with up to now and I’m sure you will easily see a place for yourself on his dream team and play a real good game. So, no more excuses, but rather, sign me up Lord!

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

At the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month of 1918, the world celebrated the end of World War I. President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation declaring the day to be called Armistice Day in the United States, and for it to be celebrated on the 11th of November. Later, in 1938, it officially became a national holiday, and, in 1954, the name was changed to Veteran’s Day in honor of all those who have served in the U.S. military.

Today it does not seem to be a major celebration and exactly why I do not know. Maybe it’s because we take our Veterans for granted believing they will always be there. Whatever the reason, I believe on this Veteran’s Day, it would be good for us to try and answer these two questions: Who are our Veterans and what is it that they ask of us? As for myself, I would answer by saying that Veterans are people who are committed to a mission and to a cause greater than themselves.

When Jesus walked the roads throughout his own country of Galilee, Samaria, and Judea, the land was under the foreign power of the Roman Empire. The people that lived there had undergone persecution after persecution and now many of them were struggling to make ends meet. Jesus offered them hope and healed many of their various afflictions.

The leaders at this time, particularly the Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees, instead of joining with Jesus to help the people instead tried to discredit him. Likely because he did not fit into their schemes and instead exposed their corruption. One example was when he cleansed the temple. He would not be intimidated by them and their silly questions of healing on the Sabbath and rendering tax to Caesar.

Probably the most ludicrous of all is the story of the seven brothers who all married the same woman. As each brother died, leaving her a widow, the question was whose wife would she be in Heaven? Now, I ask you, can you imagine a soldier on the front lines asking such a question? In the words of a famous commentator, these were proper pin heads to be wondering about marriage in Heaven rather than being concerned about conditions on the ground.

And it didn’t end there. They continually tried to entrap Jesus until finally, at the Hill of Calvary, while he hung on the cross, they taunted Him with the words: “Come down from the cross and save yourself.” But Jesus was committed to a mission not just to save Himself, but to save the world.

And so too, our Veterans, who have looked beyond the preservation of self:

to a greater mission,

to the cause of Freedom,

to the cause of love of country,

to the cause of constitutional government,

to the cause of his comrades

All with the courage and generosity of self-sacrifice.

And so, the Veteran might ask what mission and cause are you and I committed to? For what purpose do we dedicate our energies, our time, our talent, our finances? These are important questions to consider. For what mission? For what cause are you and I committed to?

Dying beside Jesus on that cross were two thieves. One of them, knowing Jesus to be an innocent man, repented of his wrong doing and asked Jesus to remember him. In reply, Jesus changed the course of that man’s life forever and for the better.

The Veteran is one who strives to change the world for the better. The world we live in today would be very different, and certainly for the worse, if it were not for the dedication and commitment of the Veteran. Yes, we still live in an often greedy, corrupt, and twisted society, but who knows what powers of evil might rule if it were not for our Veterans. How different might our Nation’s history be?

It is our Veterans who keep the Xi Jinpings, the Putins and the jihadis of the world from our shores despite the tragedy of war.  As General Marshall said, “War is Hell”. Nevertheless, sometimes they are necessary to bring forth a better future and the Veteran is the one who is committed to marching right through that hell so that you and I and millions like us will have that better future. And so, the Veteran now turns to us and asks us, what are we willing to do? What are we doing right now for a better future?

The Gospels tell us that, on the cross, Jesus breathed His last with the words, “it is finished Father into your hands I commend my spirit.”

Jesus did not turn back at the point of death. He gave it His all “for the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life in the ransom of many.”

The Veteran also does not turn back and many have willingly paid the ultimate price. They have given it all for they belong to that band of people who come to serve and not to be served. They left family and friends, and set aside their personal plans. Many later suffered loss of sight, forfeited limbs, became radically disabled, and even paid the ultimate price of not coming home at all. They did this for you and me and for that which we all cherish. The Veteran’s question to us is, what price are we paying to maintain our physical and spiritual freedoms? We can, at the very least, commit to a cause and to the mission of changing the future for the better, while not turning back from the fight.

How true the words….

“It’s the soldier not the reporter who gives you freedom of the press.

It’s the soldier not the poet who gives you freedom of speech.

It’s the soldier not the campus organizer who allows you to demonstrate.

It’s the soldier who salutes the flag, serves the flag, whose coffin is draped with the flag that allows the protester to burn the flag!”

And so, we pray for America’s finest men and women, the young and the old, the brave and the willing who left family and friends to defend our freedoms. We pray Lord hold them in your loving hands and protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need and let them know that we are forever indebted to them for their courage they have shown, for the generosity they have exemplified, and the sacrifices they have endured in hope of a better world for a better future.

May God bless our Veterans!
Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

There can be little doubt that the world we live in today is very different from ancient times. Having said that, it can be quite fascinating to hear and read stories of times gone by and learn from them for our own well-being.

I remember hearing a story once about a king who married four wives. Yes, we have heard of the six wives of Henry VIII and the six wives of Herod the Great, but this king apparently had only four wives. Speaking about them in reverse order, it is said that he loved his fourth wife the most, adorning her with the most beautiful robes and treating her to the finest delicacies. In short, nothing but the best for her.

The story also says that he loved his third wife and was very proud of her. He was always bringing her on trips and showing her off to the neighboring kingdoms. And yet, he always feared that one day she may leave him for another.

His second wife was described as confident, kind, and understanding. She was always there to support him and help him get through those difficult times that often come with being a king.

As for his first wife, she was his loyal partner. She strived tirelessly to maintain his wealth, his health, and his kingdom. The problem was, that the king did not really love her. Even though she loved him deeply, he, for the most part, paid her little attention.

As the story has it, one day the king fell ill and was told by his doctors that he had only a short time left to live. This saddened him greatly, of course, and he began to reflect upon his luxurious lifestyle, his kingdom, and his four wives. He thought to himself: “Even though I am dying, I shall not be alone. I will still be happy.”

Calling for his fourth wife, he reminded her how he had loved her the most of all and had given her the first and best of everything. “But now that I am dying, will you follow me and keep me company?” “No way,” she replied and walked out of his life. Her answer was like a dagger plunged straight into his heart.

Calling for his third wife, he said to her, “You know I have loved you all my life and we have had great times at home here and abroad. Now that I am dying will you follow me and keep me company?” “You must be joking,” she replied. “Life is too good. When you die, I’m going to remarry.” Upon hearing her answer, his heart sank at her cold and cruel words.

To his second wife he said, “I have always turned to you for help and you have always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?” Looking at him she said, “I’m sorry I cannot help you out this time. At most, I can walk with you to the grave.” Her answer devastated the weakening king.

It was then that a voice called out, “I will go with you. I will follow you every step of the way no matter where you go.” The king looked up and standing by his side was his first wife. She was disheveled, neglected, and malnourished. Greatly grieved, the king said, “I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance.”

I share this story today so that all of us can be reminded that we still have a chance. You see, in all truth, we all have four wives (or husbands) in our lives.

Our fourth wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish on it, making it look and feel good, it is going to leave us when we die.

Our third wife is all of our possessions, our social status, and our wealth. When we die, they will quickly leave us to remarry others.

Our second wife is our family and friends. No matter how many times they have been there for us, the furthest they can go with us is right up to the grave. It is there that they must turn back.

Our first wife is, of course, none other than our soul. Yes, often neglected in our pursuit of wealth, power, pleasure, and all the many accolades the world has to offer. However, our soul will not only follow us, but will go before us to the throne of God to await our bodily resurrection. So, let us make sure that we are not neglectful of it. That instead we nourish it well for that hard journey, as it hopes to continue happily with us throughout eternity.

As the saying goes, do not give into this world either to its bribes or its tortures. Just remember that even as the world pushes you and sometimes crushes you bringing you to your knees, you are in a perfect position to pray.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

I remember hearing a story once about a man named Murphy. He was walking through a graveyard and noticed a tombstone with the following inscription:

“Remember this as you pass by

As you are now, so once was I.

As I am now, one day you’ll be

Prepare for death and follow me.”

Murphy looked intuitively at the inscription and reflected upon it for some time. Then he pulled a marker from his pocket and wrote the following under the inscription:

“To follow you I’m not content

Until I know which way you went.”

During the month of November, Catholics are called to remember in our prayers those who have gone before us. We are asked to remember not only our loved and dear ones who have gone before us, but also those who are forgotten and have no one to pray for them. On the 2^nd of November each year, we celebrate the Feast of All Souls and begin this great remembrance of prayer. Prayer is the language of love that crosses the oceans of death. It is the language that reminds us that just because some of our dear ones have passed beyond our vision, it does not mean they have passed beyond our love. With our prayers, we assist our dear departed on their journey towards Heaven.

I remember when I was growing up, we would often talk about the Souls in Purgatory and how we can help them on their journey toward Heaven by our prayers and sacrifices. Today people think Purgatory is old hat, and that it doesn’t exist. In fact, some think that there is no such reality as Hell. For those who do believe in Hell, many think that there is no way they themselves could end up there.

I also recall reading the results of a poll taken shortly after Mother Teresa died. The first question simply asked: “Do you think Mother Teresa will go to Heaven?” Of those who answered, only 55%, or so, said yes. I was shocked at the low percentage. I thought to myself that I was glad they were not going to be my judge. However, the poll revealed even more. The second question asked: “Do you think you will go to Heaven?” Of those who answered, 87% said yes. Now, you do the math for me, because I just can’t figure it out. Not even with the help of logarithms. Of course, in my work as a priest, I hear a great many eulogies. All of them speak of the departed as if they are not only in Heaven, but they are up there bossing God, the angels and every other one around.

The month of November calls us back from this sort of foolishness. It reminds us that God is loving and merciful, but, at the same time, responsible. We know that in our own lives we fail daily in our attempts to live up to the great virtue of love, and that we often place ourselves at the center of activity rather than God. Those who have gone before us encountered the same daily struggles. They were not perfect, but they were certainly what we call good people. In order for them to enter the perfection of Heaven, they need our love both in our prayers and sacrifices. Let us not disappoint them.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

One of the most popular Psalms is Psalm 23. In this psalm, the psalmist not only knows about the Lord, but he actually knows the Lord expresses his relationship and confidence in his Lord. It’s comforting to pause and reflect on some of the thoughts he shares with us in his prayer:

“The Lord is my shepherd

I shall not want…

He leads me beside calm waters…

He guides me along the right path…

Even when I walk through a dark valley

I fear no evil for you are at my side

with your rod and your staff you give me courage.”

I was thinking about this when I heard a story about a seafaring captain. After his retirement, he did not wish to put himself completely out to pasture, as the saying goes. So, he got a part time job skippering a boat that took tourists to various islands off the mainland. On one particular occasion, his passengers for the day were, for the most part, young college students. The captain, as was his usual routine before setting out on these excursions, spent a little time in prayer for a safe voyage.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the waters calm. The students soon noticed the old captain at prayer and began to giggle amongst themselves at him. Once out at sea and sailing toward the islands, a sudden storm blew up. The experience must’ve been somewhat like the apostles on the Sea of Galilee. The students became terrified as the boat began to pitch violently in the rough waves. Some of them approached the captain and asked him to join them in prayer. His reply was: “I say my prayers when things are calm. When it’s rough, I attend to my ship.” The captain was right. From the literature of the Bible we learn the following wisdom:

“There is an appointed time for everything,

and a time for every affair under the heavens.

A time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant and a time to uproot the plant.

A time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time…… Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Yes, there is a lesson here for all of us. If we will not seek God in the calm moments of our lives, I doubt that we will hear him when those sudden storms hit. In storms, as those students learned, we are more likely to find ourselves in panic mode. In such a mode, the possibility of hearing God’s gentle voice above the howling winds is very unlikely.

On the other hand, if we have learned to know him in the quiet moments of our lives we will be less likely to find any reason to panic in the stormy moments. Like the psalmist, we will come to recognize that, even though we walk in the valley of darkness, He is there at our side with his crook and staff to give us courage.

We should pray as if everything depends on God, and work to captain our ships as if everything depends on us.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

Courage is a most wonderful virtue. It is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and is essential to our living life to its fullest. It is a gift for which we should frequently pray for. It is the virtue which enables us to conquer our fears. A common misnomer is the belief that courageous people have no fears. To the contrary, their fears are as real as our own. What distinguishes them from us is that they do not allow their fears to conquer them, but, rather, it is they who become the conquerors.

Courage always involves risks. These risks might be to the physical self, one’s credibility, or even one’s reputation or social standing. Courageous people always look towards the best outcome, but they also understand that, despite their best action, the outcome is not necessarily guaranteed. And yet still they act. G.K. Chesterson stated it well when he wrote:

“Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die.”

Recognizing the truth of Chesterson’s words, we also must acknowledge the fact that “A great deal of talent is lost in this world for want of a little courage,” Sydney Smith

I recall reading a story once where an 18-year-old boy, while working in a forest, suddenly heard the screams of a woman. As he arrived at the scene she pleaded to him “Please sir, make them release me. My boy is drowning, and they will not let me go to save him!” One of those holding her yelled “It would be madness, she will jump into the river and drown herself!” Throwing off his coat, the young man scanned the rocks and the currents. Spotting the boy in the water, he plunged into the rapids. As everyone watched, the young, would-be rescuer struggled against the rapids and rocks. Twice he disappeared from sight but, like Old Glory, he was still there. He began nearing the falls part of the river where the rush of the waters was so dangerous that even those with their canoes wisely kept their safe distance.

And yet, into the middle of “madness” he pressed on. He was at last able to grab the boy and lift him high above the water with a strong right arm. Just at that moment of triumph, those standing and watching on the bank cried in horror as they witnessed both the rescuer and the child go over the falls and vanish into churning waters below. Following what seemed like a lifetime, one of the watchers cried out, “There they are. They are safe!”

Soon, the youth, quite exhausted from the ordeal, and the child, were safely on the dry bank. “God will give you a reward,” said the grateful mother. “He will do great things for you in return for what you have done and the blessing of thousands besides mine shall be yours.”

We would rightly call this action courage. While others stood and stared, he leaped into certain danger all because another human being needed desperate help.

Plutarch puts it so well when he states, “Courage consists not in hazarding without fear, but being resolutely minded in a just cause.”

By the way, the woman’s prediction about the blessings of thousands being his, eventually proved correct. Today all of us know that young boy by the name of George Washington, the First President of the United States of America. ~Nuggets of Gold

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

Yes, it is still seven weeks before Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S.A.

Looking around the country today, there may seem, for many, little to celebrate. Presently we have Covid-19 causing pain and sorrow to hundreds of thousands of lives. In the West we have forest fires, burning homes and towns causing death and destruction. In several of our larger cities we have instances of riots, fires and looting. Here in the Southeast we have hurricanes barreling up the coast causing their own waves of destruction and flooding with possibly more to come. And now about a month away, as you might have heard, is the election. With our current divided atmosphere, the results, independent of what they are, I am sure are certain to cause even more pain and heartache. And so, we might ask ourselves, what have we to celebrate?

First of all, we should keep in mind that Thanksgiving is more than just turkey dinner with all of our favorite sides and desserts. How easy it is to feel grateful in fair weather times. Our vision is limited by a variety of horizons and despite the present pain and suffering, we should not lose our faith or our hope. Faith and hope do not protect us from nor make us immune to life’s heartbreak and physical sufferings, but they instead give us the strength to persevere through them.

What comes to my mind at this time is the ten Boom family that shielded Jews from the Nazis by hiding them in their home. That is until an informant turned them in. Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie were arrested and sent to the notorious and atrocious Ravensbruck concentration camp. There they were moved to a shelter completely infested with fleas. Corrie became depressed, but Betsie recalled one of St. Paul’s writings “Be thankful in all circumstances.” And so, they knelt down and thanked God for their new shelter, fleas and all.

Amazingly, what then followed was the surprise of very little supervision. So much so, that they were able to form what we would call today a little prayer group with other prisoners. It was only later that Corrie learned why the guards offered so little supervision and that they were allowed to enjoy so much freedom. The guards referred to the shelter as the flea bag and were themselves afraid of being infected by the fleas. Tragically, Corrie’s sister Betsie died in that camp as a result of the harsh conditions contributing to deteriorating health. Fifteen days after Betsie’s death, and due to a miraculous clerical error, Corrie ten Boom was released. She traveled around the world telling her story and the story of other Ravensbruck prisoners. Her most famous publication is “The Hiding Place.”

As we get closer to Thanksgiving Day, this true-life story serves to remind us that there will be times in our life when we must dig deep into our faith and then still be able to give thanks to God. Whenever we find ourselves living with the “fleas” of life, we must know that only God can see beyond our limited horizons. I close with these pearls of wisdom from Corrie ten Boom.

“You can never learn that Christ is all you need until Christ is all you have.”

“Don’t bother to give God instructions just report to duty.”

“Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?”

“If you look at the world you’ll be distressed, if you look within you’ll be depressed. But if you look at Christ you’ll be at rest.”

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

For Catholics, October is traditionally known as the month of the Holy Rosary. During this month, we honor and venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary by celebrating the mysteries of our faith in a special way by praying and reflecting on the mysteries of the Rosary.

When Mother Teresa, now St. Mother Teresa, visited the United Nations, she was approached by one of the diplomats who asked her how he should pray. The diplomat then informed her that he was not a Catholic. Mother Teresa held both of his hands in hers, spread out four of his fingers and his thumb on one hand and said “When you pray think of the many blessings you have received. Then at the end of each day, count out on each finger the words of Jesus spoken to you, “You did this for Me.” The diplomat left admiring his hand as if it were a trophy and saying to himself, “You did this for me.” Mother Teresa made real, for that diplomat, that Jesus lives and dwells in every human life.

For the past 48 years, the first Sunday of October has been proclaimed “Respect Life Sunday” by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. We live in an age where there is a strong temptation to take life for granted. One in which the unborn are constantly threatened by abortion. Let us celebrate our faith by recognizing that Jesus was born into the world in order that both the born and unborn might have life and have it to the fullest. Let us keep in mind that Jesus was no less the Son of God while being carried in His mother’s womb than He was while walking the roads of Palestine. In light of this truth, let us celebrate life with our Blessed Mother Mary during this month of October. And as we are praying the rosary, let us pray that all people will be open to accepting the unborn into our world.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

Over the next several weeks among the most frequent statements we shall repeatedly hear from our elected officials and candidates is: “I promise you!” In this way, they shall join in the long line of history of their predecessors. Now, generally speaking, we often look forward with hope to what a promise might bring. For example, a new job or promotion, new inventions, new medical breakthroughs. However, when it comes to our elected officials making us promises, we the people would be wise to keep a few things in mind.

First of all, we should keep in mind that a government that is powerful enough to give us everything is also powerful enough to take everything we have away from us. Here in the United States of America, we are not a kingdom or a dictatorship, but a Republic. This is a form of democracy which accords proportional representation in our elections and the separation of powers in our governance. Let us keep it this way and become alert to the dangers that might come along with each “I promise.”

Second, we the people, should take care to recognize that genuine political change and reform is unlikely to come about with the passage of even more laws and regulations, but only with a genuine change in human hearts. When Jesus addressed the politics of His time, He spoke to the human heart rather than to the point of legalism. He sought not the triumph of nations, but the conversion of the individual. He recognized that if we are to change the world we must first change ourselves. For the kingdom of earth, no less than the Kingdom of God, must begin within our own hearts and in our own homes.

Our founding documents serve to remind us that we are all created (not just born) equal. That we are endowed by our Creator (not by our Government), with certain unalienable rights among which are: “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Keeping that in mind, and whatever other virtues and values we wish for America in the coming election, let us pray that they are already established in our own lives and in our homes and if not, let us now start putting them there.

God Bless the USA!
Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

How long has it been? At least 17 years, and how little seems to have changed. Whatever am I talking about you might be asking? You mean to say you have forgotten? Perhaps that is the reason that so little change has occurred in that stretch of time. I am talking about the Reverend Joe Wright. Remember him? He was invited to give the invocation at the opening session of the Kansas State Senate. Of course, everyone was expecting to hear the typical jargon, but were they ever in for a surprise.

You see, Rev. Wright was not your usual run-of-the-mill minister that might keep one comfortable on the misguided path of self-righteousness. Truth is power, and so, with humility and honesty he offered the following prayer:

“Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good,’ but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We confess that:

We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it Pluralism.
We have exploited the poor and called it the Lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of speech.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of Your Will and to openly ask these things in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.”

The response to Rev. Wright was resounding and immediate. Imagine if a number of our own legislators here in Georgia were to walk out in protest during a prayer. It would be our business to make sure such legislators stay out. Within six weeks of that rather pointed invocation, Rev. Wright logged more than five thousand phone calls with only 47 responding negatively. He heard from people in countries around the world, including Africa, India, and Korea requesting copies of the prayer.

With God’s help may this prayer once again sweep across our nation and move us into action so that we can be truly known as “One Nation under God.”

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

The telephone rang in the rectory. The parish secretary answered the call. A man’s voice demanded to speak to the pastor. “I’m sorry, but he isn’t in,” the secretary responded. “Oh, I suppose he’s out spreading gossip as usual,” said the man. To which the secretary replied, “No, this is his day off.”

Isn’t it rather peculiar that we celebrate work by taking the day off and not working? When God had finished creating the earth and the heavens he said, “Let us make man in our image and likeness.” And he made them male and female. God shaped humankind in the likeness of himself and charged the human race with the task of transforming the earth. What emerges from Scripture is the picture of humankind not as homo sapiens but homo artifex – the worker. Work is not just something we do, it is the centerpiece of our spiritual life. In work, we become co-creators with God in renewing the face of the earth. In work, we thank God for the talents and abilities he has given us by using those gifts wisely. On this Labor Day, let us come to recognize that work is, in fact, a vocation to which God has called us. Did I mention this before? Well, it is worth mentioning again, as I introduce my reflection on Labor Day.

Of course, some of the most difficult work lies within ourselves. I can recall hearing a story some time ago about a successful business man. Mind you, don’t ask me to recall his name. He was in the construction business but due to an alcohol addiction he eventually lost both his business and his family. On one of his more sober days, while walking along the sidewalk, he spotted a bent, rusty nail. He paused a moment then stooped down and picked it up. Why, I don’t know. Maybe it was the construction worker in him. Examining the nail, he could hear himself saying, “that nail looks like me. I, too, am bent, rusty, and good for nothing but to be thrown away.” Yet he found himself putting it in his pocket.

When he got back to his place he found himself again studying the nail. Before long, and with hammer in hand, he was pounding the nail in the attempt to straighten it. Once he deemed it straight enough, he began removing the rust with sandpaper. Once satisfied with that effort he placed the old nail alongside a new nail to compare the two. He could hardly tell the difference. This led him to think to himself that perhaps his own life could be straightened out, sanded, and somehow made new again. He knew it would not be easy, of course. “It’s going to take a lot of hammering, not to mention all the sanding that is to follow,” he thought. “But what have I to lose in trying? I can only gain.”

To make a long story short, the man is back in business and, more importantly, back with his family. As we hear his story we can recognize three stages. First, in the old nail he was able to clearly see himself. Though he felt bent and useless, he also saw an opportunity to be useful. Second, just as the rusty nail was renewed, the performing of that seemingly small work ignited the hope that, with greater effort, similar transformation could happen to his own bent and rusted life. Third, by picking up the nail and then hammering and sanding it to a new life, he was able to spark the courage to examine his own life, and, with the right tools, straighten and sand it to a full recovery and renewed life.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

Paul Sebastian penned his first poem at the age of 22 and it was published in a local Catholic newspaper. Since then, he has written some 315 poems one of which, “The Seeds of a Happy Life” includes the following lines:

Plant a thought seed
Water it with faith daily
To grow a thought habit
That captures you emotionally
Giving birth to an attitude
Bearing into a character
Resolute to build the aptitude
Revealed in your success behavior

Success is a habit
Built from habitude
That’s how winners do it
Achieving success altitudes

As I reflect upon those beautiful sentiments I pause to consider just how much extra courage and dedication it must take in order for some people to make them a realty in their lives.

She was born prematurely in Saint Bethlehem, Tennessee. Shortly afterwards she caught pneumonia. Next, she came down with scarlet fever and, as if that were not enough, she also contracted polio. It was this last illness that was the cruelest. She was left badly disabled and had to wear a brace on her left leg. At the age of five she hobbled about on that metal brace while her friends ran joyfully about and skipped rope. At the young age of eleven she enlisted the help of her younger sister to keep watch while she practiced walking without the braces. You see, she did not want her parents to catch her attempting such a dangerous endeavor. This continued for a whole year until finally her conscience got the better of her and she told her doctor of her secret. The doctor was absolutely dumbfounded yet agreed for her to continue as long as it was only for short walks and for short periods at a time.

Now, her idea, to put it mildly, was not exactly what the doctor ordered. But to her secret routine the girl also included another exercise, namely prayer, and kept at it until she finally was able to throw her braces away for good. It was at that point she began to think that it’s not enough to simply walk, she needed to run. And so, run she did. In fact, she ran and ran and continued to run up until 1956 when, at the age of 16, she qualified for the Melbourne Olympics in Australia. It was there where she won a bronze medal in the women’s 4 x 100-meter relay. Four years later in 1960, at the Olympics in Rome, she became the first woman in American history to win three gold medals in track and field along with two bronze medals. In 1960 she was acclaimed near and far to be the fastest woman in the world.

Today we all know this special lady as Wilma Glodean Rudolph and, she is a living example of the power of prayer and human perseverance. There can be no doubt that she is a tribute to the power of the human spirit, reminding us all in dramatic fashion that no matter our disabilities, we should always dream. Dream high and through prayer and perseverance we should never allow the naysayers or any internal or external obstacles to crush our noble dreams.

Dear Lord.
Teach me to be generous
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to ask reward,
Save that of knowing I am doing your Holy will.
~St. Ignatius

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

With the spread of Covid-19 over the last six months, I believe we have all come to a new and better appreciation of our healthcare workers. This is especially true in regard to our nurses. This is not to belittle the doctors or the other personnel in the healthcare system, but I believe both doctors and hospitals would agree that without our nurses our whole healthcare system would utterly collapse.

Nurses have always worked tirelessly and, for the most part, gone largely unnoticed until times of crisis such as we find ourselves in today. It certainly can’t be the money that inspires their dedication. A nurse’s average wage here in Georgia is less than thirty dollars an hour. I’m sure you would agree with me that’s a small wage for the risk and sacrifices they presently are making. Of course, many of us are only aware of their risks today because of the very real risk that Covid-19 poses to us all. Hopefully, once this pandemic comes to an end, we will not go back to overlooking the diligent work of our nurses. We must never forget the more than six hundred that have thus far given their lives in trying to keep us safe and returned to health.

In closing let me finish with this reflection by A.H. Lawre, which I happened to come across recently.

To be a nurse is to walk with God
Along the path that our Master trod,
To soothe the aching of human pain,
To faithfully serve for little gain.
To lovingly do the kindly deed-
A cup of water to one in need.
A tender hand on the fevered brow,
A word of cheer in the living now,
To reach the soul through the body’s woe-
Ah, this is the way that Jesus would go.
O white-capped nurses, with heart so true,
The Great Physician is working through you.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

Growing up in the Northwest of Ireland (Holy Land to Natives), I clearly recall that whenever visitors from the USA were planning to come to visit us during the summer, we would have a great house cleaning and tidying before their arrival. I can still hear my mother’s voice greeting and welcoming the visitors with these words: “Excuse the house it’s an awful mess.”

“What mess?”, I would think to myself, “You should have seen the house a month ago.”

I mention this because it brings back memories of when I was asked to bless a familiar home here in Atlanta shortly after I was ordained a priest. I was amazed how orderly and perfect everything was. The house was really beautiful. Everything was spotless and neat, so much so that I wondered what could any blessing add to this home. Nevertheless, I got out my book of blessings, stole and holy water. I began making my way to the various rooms and closets, through the hallways upstairs and down stairs. As I was about to finish, I noticed a closed door which I was sure I had not opened. Putting my hand to open the door, I heard a voice say: “Don’t worry about that Father. It’s just the basement. It doesn’t need a blessing.” I said nothing in reply, but on my way home to the rectory I came to realize how the home was looking so spic and span. You see, all the junk was in the basement. Come to think of it, of all the places in the house that needed the blessing most, the basement was surely it.

The late Sheldon Kopp in his book titled “Blues Ain’t Nothing but a good Soul Feeling Bad” tells the struggle of a young man trying to come to terms with the darker hidden parts of himself that he couldn’t accept.

One dark night he had a dream. In the dream he had to walk slowly. Suddenly feeling like a fool, he asked himself, “What am I doing out here without a flashlight?” But, he figured he was not alone. He felt there was something tracking him. An animal for sure. Perhaps a dog? No, a wolf! “What will I do? I’ll kill it,” he thought to himself, “But how? With my bare hands. But that’s ridiculous. No, my only hope of survival is to make friends with the wolf.”

On waking he came to understand that the wolf represented his secret darker self. It was there that he found the answer to his internal struggle. That instead of trying to hide and overpower the terrors of his hidden self, he must come to take ownership of them and make friends with them in order to love the rest of himself.

Just as in many homes, there is also a basement in all of our lives into which our own hidden junk is thrown. Do not go down that perilous journey of denial of this truth. Rather, take ownership of it. Pray for God’s choicest blessings and healings for those parts of our lives. If God, who is so good that He can accept all those untidy parts of our lives that we hide from others, can live with the contents of our own basements, then perhaps we can, as well. If we take this step, we can at least embark on that journey and pilgrimage to the rewards of a better self.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

I remember a friend of mine telling me the story of his family’s small wooden sailboat. It was a three-seater that his father had built. They would use it every summer and then would store it in the garage for the winter. Gradually, there came a time when the sailboat had not been in the water for three years or more. Coming home from college, my friend took the boat out into the yard. “You could see the daylight through the joints where the wood had dried,” he said. “We stuffed the cracks with oakum and put water to sit in the boat for seven days before the wood swelled and it became watertight.” It was once again ready for the rigors of the lake.

I thought to myself that if the boat had been left in the garage for even just a few more years, it not only would have gotten worse, but dry rot would have probably set in and ruined it. A boat is built to be put in the water, not in a garage. It is meant to be used, otherwise it will surely deteriorate.

Our lives, not surprisingly, are quite similar. They are given to us to be lived, not to be stored or packed away in some closet or attic. There’s an old prayer that says “Lord let me wear out, but not rust out.” Life is a matter of using opportunities. If we are reluctant to use our time and energies on things eternal and worthwhile, there may well come a time when we want to use them and can’t. A boat stored in the garage may be safe, but that’s not what boats are meant for.

Breathe on me, Breath of God

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love the things you love,
And do what you would do.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Until my heart is pure,
Until with you I have one will,
To live and to endure.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
My soul with grace refine,
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with your fire divine.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
So shall I never die,
But live with Thee the perfect life
In your eternity.

– Edwin Hatch (1835-1889)

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

Samuel T. Coleridge (1772-1834) was a poet, literary critic, philosopher, theologian educator, and co-founder of the Romantic Movement (along with fellow poet William Wordsworth) to mention just a few of his lasting accomplishments. Most of us were probably first introduced to him through his poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” We remember the lines…

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink…

Coleridge coined quite a few phrases including “suspension of disbelief”. He also kept a garden, and was particularly fond of roses. On one occasion, he was visited by one of his many admirers. Naturally, it was not surprising that during their conversation, the topic of education was raised. His admiring guest expressed the belief that children should be given free rein to think and act as they wished and thus learn to make their own decisions from an early age. This, the guest believed, was the only way they could grow to reach their fullest potential.

Upon hearing this, it is said that Coleridge then invited his guest to come view his rose garden. When the guest looked around at the rose garden he exclaimed, “This is nothing but a yard full of weeds.” “Well it used to be full of roses,” said Coleridge, “But this year I thought I would follow your philosophy and let the garden make its own decisions and grow as it willed without my tending to it. This is the result.”

In the coming weeks I believe we will have embarked upon a time of what Coleridge might well call the “suspension of disbelief.” Will we open the schools for learning? Will we close the schools? Will we have gloom, doom, and Zoom? In the midst of all the noise there is a lot of crackling of how much the children are behind in math, science, reading, and the secular arts, but not a sound can be heard about virtuous living. Parents, in the midst of all this chatter, be careful not to neglect the religious education of your children. Religious instruction is the means by which you as parents cultivate the lives of your children with care so that they may grow as beautiful flowers.

It is important for you to remember that as parents, you are not the only ones seeking to cultivate your children’s lives. Out in the secular square, there is a lot of weed cultivation taking place. In light of that, we must all be attentive to the children entrusted to us as to what we will allow to grow in our own garden and what will be weeded out. The importance of guidance through example is the best way to cultivate your children’s life or should I say the only way to ensure that your child will grow to full potential while exemplifying the beautiful virtues of life rather than the weeds of secularism.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

Most of us are familiar with words of Robert Burns in his poem titled, To A Mouse. “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Well these words, I suppose, have taken on a whole new depth of meaning over these last few months due to Covid-19. Yes, the virus “tornado” continues to sweep the plans of our world high up in the air. From business, to sports, and our own personal lives.  And we won’t even mention politics.

One of the questions for us personally, is what happens whenever our own plans are interrupted? How are we to deal with such situations?

I remember reading a story years ago by Karen Barber (Daily Guide Posts, 1999). Apparently, Karen had an important business trip upcoming, not to mention a dinner party she had to attend. Time was of the essence and there was little time to spare. You have been there I am sure. And just then, wouldn’t you know it, she was called upon to do her parental duty and help out at the first-grade field day. Why couldn’t it just rain she thought. While the day itself was bright and sunny, a lot of clouds seemed to hang over her. She was assigned to watch over the children in one of the obstacle races. She thought it was a rather difficult assignment until she received her second assignment. Yes, the grass is always greener on the other side until we begin to own it. She just couldn’t get around to believing that her time there with the children was a worthwhile investment.

At last, the final whistle was blown to Karen’s great relief. Dashing into the gymnasium, she put the sports equipment away, grabbed her belongings and hurried for the exit. She could still make the party she thought to herself. Rushing down the gangway a huge sign caught her eye, “If you had fun today you won!” Karen didn’t compete in any of those field day obstacle races, but, unknown to herself, she was actually running in that great obstacle race called real life. And in real life she did not have much fun that day. Her heart was not with the children. Her mind was on a party somewhere else. Failing to live fully in the moment in the gift of time that God had given her, she lost that day, but she did not lose everything. The sign that caught her eye called her back to reality so much so that she shared her story in the hope that we will not make the same mistake. Time is a precious gift and should not be taken for granted but rather should be lived fully moment by moment.

Surely despite the hurricanes and tornados that often beset our plans, our challenge is always to find something each day in our life to enjoy. To do so, is to be a winner. Even for people like myself who are in the Winter Season of life. I am reminded of the words “Don’t complain about growing old. Many are denied the privilege.”

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

In Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1933 inaugural address, he reminded America that there was “nothing to fear but fear itself”. We might remember that pearl of wisdom during what I might call these Covid-19 times. At present, the air waves and print media are full of what I mostly describe as chatter on what we should do. Should we open? Should we close? Should we wear masks? Should we not wear masks? Is it science? Is it politics? I could go on and on, but you get the message. In the end it really comes down to what you or I should personally be doing. The answer is fairly simple. Be responsible and realistic and make sure that our behavior is not driven by fear.

Being realistic means knowing that, try as we might, we cannot eliminate all risk. Life is peppered with risk. While we should always try and be careful so as to remove as much risk as reasonably possible, that does not mean that we should allow ourselves to become paralyzed by our fears. Life is always inviting us to reach for new horizons and to see things not only as they are, but as they could be. We must not only have the dedication but also the courage to accept risks and challenges as they present themselves to us.

Author Mark Link offers us the following story. A fifteen-year-old boy and his father were once driving past a small airport when, quite suddenly, a low flying airplane spun out of control and crashed upon the runway. The boy shouted to his father to stop the car. They raced out and minutes later the young boy was pulling the pilot out of the plane. The pilot, a student flyer, had just been out practicing his take offs and landings and was only twenty years old. He died right there in the boy’s arms. The young boy was devastated for he knew the pilot and they were friends.

It just so happens that this young boy was working part-time and was spending every penny he earned on flying lessons. How would this tragedy that befell his friend, one that happened right before his eyes, affect the boy’s decisions going forward? Would he continue taking lessons having witnessed the risks firsthand? His parents made up their minds that they would not interfere with whatever he decided.

Two days after the tragedy the boy’s mother brought some cookies to her son’s room. On the dresser she noticed an open notebook. It was one he had kept from childhood. Across the top of the page in capital letters he had written “THE CHARACTERS OF JESUS”. Listed below that was the following: “Jesus was sinless, humble, unselfish, championed the poor, was close to God”. His mother saw clearly that her son’s faith was helping to guide his decision and so she asked him, “What have you decided about flying?” The boy replied, “Mom, I hope you and Dad will understand, but with God’s help, I will continue to fly.”

Today we know that young teenager as Neil Armstrong. Fifty-one years ago this month (July 20, 1969), he became the first human being to walk on the moon. Very few who watched that historic event knew that the man walking on the moon had, as a teenager, drawn his courage and strength from Jesus. “I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” Ps. 34:4

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

Greek Philosopher, Socrates (470-399BC), often credited as being the first moral philosopher of what we might call the western tradition, is one of the most interesting personalities of all time. Like Jesus, he left us no manuscript written by his own hand. What we know of him is from his students, in particular Plato, and his contemporaries.

According to Plato, Socrates was, at times, somewhat of a “gadfly” #StirUpTrouble. One of Socrates’ friends and followers, Chaerephon, asked the Oracle at Delphi if there was anyone wiser than Socrates? Her answer was no, which Socrates did not believe. In order to prove his point, he proceeded to contact the wisest people of his time and petitioned them through a variety of questioning with the purpose of refuting the Oracle’s conclusion. In the end, Socrates realized that, while each man thought he knew a great deal and therefore thought himself wise, they actually knew very little and thereby, could not be considered wise at all.

Socrates declared the meaning of the Oracle’s answer as follows: there were many so called wisemen who thought themselves wise, but really were not. By contrast, Socrates was certain he was not wise which, paradoxically, made him the wiser of them all. He was the only one who recognized his own ignorance. Needless to say, this did not make him popular among the elite of his time.

From his trial (a sham to say the least), we get his famous dictum, “The unexamined life is not worth living,” as described in Plato’s Apology. What a wonderful statement. The early fathers of the church insisted that the road and journey in spirituality must be grounded with the words “know thyself.” Of course, in our own Catholic Faith, we readily acknowledge this through our practice of examination of conscience in the Sacrament of Confession.

During this period of shelter in place, it might be a good time to do a little examination. Going through some articles and papers, I came across the following from an unknown author. I’m sure some of you have seen it before, but it might be a practiced place to begin in response to Socrates dictum, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

Teacher and author Marsha Sinetar, in her book titled, “To Build the Life You Want”, tells us of a very wealthy king with a son whom he adored. The son was perfect in every imaginable way except that he was severely hunched back. The king offered a huge reward to the one who could heal his son. Though there were many takers, none proved to be successful until one day a famous guru heard about the problem. This guru, while making it clear she did not want to collect the reward, claimed that she had the answer. All the king had to do was construct a sculpture in the center of the courtyard. The sculpture would be an exact replica of his son with one exception: Its back was to be straight and beautiful in appearance and then the king would trust God for the healing.

Soon a beautiful marble sculpture was indeed fashioned and placed in the center of the courtyard just as the guru had directed. Almost daily the boy played in that courtyard. He began to admire the work of art until slowly it dawned on him how much the statue resembled him. Gradually he began to identify himself with it so much that, bit by bit, his own back began to straighten. This went on until the day the young boy’s back was totally healed. Body obeyed belief.

We must agree that was a beautiful, positive and encouraging story. But it’s not the only story I’m going to tell. Another story tells of the time a small boy came home from school with a paper for his mother. He said to her, “Mom my teacher gave me this paper and only you are to read it. What does it say?” Her eyes welled up with tears as she read the letter aloud to her child. “Your son is a genius. This school is too small for him and doesn’t have good enough teachers to train him. Please teach him yourself.”

Many years later after the boy’s mother had died, that young boy (now a grown man) was going through a closet and came across the letter that the old teacher had written to his mother so many years ago. With a certain sense of nostalgia, he was able to read the letter for himself. However, the message actually written for his mother’s eyes was “Your son is mentally deficient. We won’t let him come to school anymore.” Naturally the man became very emotional. Today we know that man as Thomas Edison. Picking up his diary he wrote, “I, Thomas Edison, was a mentally deficient child whose mother turned him into the genius of the century.”

Obviously, the mother of Thomas Edison was a wonderful mirror reflecting to her son the brilliance that she saw, but that lay hidden from those whose good will for him left something to be desired. The question for us today of course, is how do our family, friends, and others we meet see themselves reflected in the mirror of our own lives? We should all hope that we may always reflect for them the very best version of themselves possible.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

“The greatest of all human benefits, that, at least, without which no other benefit can be truly enjoyed, is independence.” Parke Godwin (1816-1904). “The moral progression of a people can scarcely begin till they are independent.” James Martineau (1805-1900).

One of the good things about celebrating Independence Day is that it not only gives us an opportunity to reflect on our beginnings as a nation, but also to evaluate our shared journey over these last two hundred and forty plus years. It is also an opportunity to discern, honestly, where we stand today.

Let me begin by asking a simple question, can you count how many times you have heard one of our elected officials speak about the “American dream”? Not only for our children and grandchildren, but for every other one you may care to think of? Why am I asking this, you might ask in return? The answer is, that America has its roots in a dream. Most of the early settlers arriving on these shores held some version of the American dream. Among these dreams were the right to be free, the right to think for themselves, the right to make their own decisions, and, without fear or threat, to be able to speak their own mind. Many were fleeing various kinds of tyrants and tyranny and no longer were they willing to tolerate such conditions. However, as a nation, we must be honest that the journey towards that beautiful dream continues to leave much to be desired.

Right here on our very own soil was fought the American Civil War. One of the bloodiest wars in all of history. Isn’t it strange, or, rather, very difficult for us to believe how intelligent human beings could deny other human beings the very freedoms they sought so much for themselves and even behave like the tyrants from which they and their ancestors fled from in the first place! To forcibly deny generations of human beings the free pursuit of their own dreams for themselves and their families.

The American dream is not “freedom for some and not for others”. That was the tyranny our first settlers were fleeing from. The dream is beautifully expressed in the motto on our coins “E Pluribus Unum”, “Out of many, one”.

In 1507 Martin Waldsee-Muller, a German professor teaching in a French college, edited a map of the world. Reading up on the discovery of the New World, he said, “Much of it was explored by Amerigo Vespucci. I do not see what hinders us from calling it Amerigo – or America.” And so, it came to be that this continent was named by a German professor working in a French college for an Italian navigator who was, at the time, in service to the King of Portugal. My fellow immigrants, the American dream is about unity.

Not only is it a dream about unity, but it’s also a dream about…destiny. As the preamble to the Declaration of Independence states so well, “…unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” In this, we are thus reminded of our responsibility today. What has been given to us must be protected by us and should any political body attempt to trample on these rights, the opening paragraphs of the Declaration make it clear that we not only have the right, but the responsibility to dissolve our affiliation with such parties. It all started out, we might say, with a rather simple dream, the right for me to be me and you to be you.

Finally, let me close with this quotation from one of our great presidents, Abraham Lincoln.

“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel that necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.” ~Abraham Lincoln

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

Some years ago, I was invited to speak at a men’s conference. Come to think of it, they never invited me back. I wonder why? I chose for my talk the following quotation from St. James’s letter in the Bible.

“Be doers of the Word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror. He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looks like. But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:22-25)

Now I cannot exactly remember everything I said at that conference but I’m sure it was something along the lines of, “talk is cheap and actions speak louder than words.” Or I may have even quoted the lyrics to the song Show Me from the movie “My Fair Lady.” No, I didn’t sing them.

They go like this:

Don’t talk of stars burning above
If you’re in love, show me!

Tell me no dreams filled with desire
If you’re on fire, show me…

Sing me no song, read me no rhyme
Don’t waste my time, show me

Don’t talk of June, Don’t talk of fall!
Don’t talk at all! Show me!

In any event you get the message. The importance of that message is made even more clear in the following excerpt from the Development of Christian Doctrine.

Here, James likens the Word of God to that of a mirror. When I look in a mirror, I see what I need to do to look my best. For example, I may see I want a haircut, or my roots done, or my face washed, or a shave, or my tie straightened and so on. But of course, seeing this in the mirror doesn’t get the job done. The mirror does not give me a haircut or shave me. I must do that, I must take action. So too, when we read or study the Bible, the Bible like the mirror shows us our faults and failings, our sins of selfishness, unkindness, greed, envy and impatience. The Bible shows us what we need to correct in our lives, not just to look our best, but to be our best. But, like the mirror, the Bible does not make us less envious, less jealous, less hot-tempered, we must take action ourselves; in other words, we must “be doers of the Word.” We must change. As Cardinal Newman put it, “In a higher world it is otherwise, but here below to live is to change and to be perfect is to have changed often.”

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

While Father’s Day is among the holidays of our culture, it is not exactly a high holy day of the Church. Nevertheless this particular holiday gives us reason to pause, to pray, and to reflect on our fathers whom we honor.

It should be noted that the credit for Father’s Day goes to Mrs. John Bruce Dodd (Sonora Smart Dodd) of Spokane, Washington. It was Mother’s Day in 1909 and Mrs. Dodd was sitting in a church listening to a sermon. Her thoughts rolled back not only to her mother, but also to her father William Jackson Smart. He had accomplished the amazing task of being both mother and father to her and her brothers after his wife had died at an early age. Mrs. Dodd could not help but think back upon the sacrifices of her father on their eastern Washington farm.

Her idea of Father’s Day was approved by her church and was even publicized by the local YMCA. In 1910, the Mayor of Spokane issued a Father’s Day Proclamation and Governor M.E. Hay set the date for an observance throughout the state. Mrs. Dodd’s suggestions for observing the day included wearing a red rose to indicate a living father and white rose for a deceased father.

In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge recommended it as a national holiday. However, it was not until the Presidency of Lyndon Johnson, in the 1960’s, that Father’s Day was made a day of national observance to be celebrated on the 3^rd Sunday of June.

The holiday was further recognized as a federal holiday in 1972 during the Presidency of Richard Nixon. Despite the years that had passed, Mrs. Dodd was still alive to see it. Today we recognize this as a day that honors all men who have acted as a true father figure in our lives.

Much has been written on and about fathers. Both what they are and of what they ought to be. On this Father’s Day I wish to offer you some of the notations and writings that have caught my eye:

Small boy’s definition of Father’s Day: “It’s just like Mother’s Day, only you don’t spend as much on the present.”  Toronto Star

“An expectant father suddenly stops giving his friends advice on how to raise their children.”

“The old-fashioned father, who was eager to put his shoulder to the wheel, now has a son who can’t wait to put his hands on it.”

The following is taken from a composition on people, written by a little girl: “People are composed of girls and boys and men and women. Boys are no good, until they are grown up and married. My mother is a woman, which is a grown-up girl with children. My father is so nice I think he must have been a girl when he was a boy.”

Finally, Merrill C. Tenney offers us the following:

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

Today we are experiencing a lot of change. Of course, come to think of it, there is nothing new about change. It’s happening all around us all of the time.  The Greek philosopher Heraclitus, born more than five hundred years before Christ noted: “No one steps into the same river twice, for other waters are ever flowing on to you and you are not the same man…. change alone is unchanging.”

I believe we can agree that change is part and parcel of the human experience. In the last fifty years we have witnessed amazing technological changes. Our TV’s, as one example, have gone from heavy pieces of furniture to thin Plasma, LED, and 4K’s hanging on the wall. Not to mention laptops, iPhones, iPads, Blackberries, blueberries, strawberries… they are all here. And yet, as quickly as we all must hurry to adapt to the latest and greatest of mankind’s marvels, along comes the next. Keep up with these changes or risk falling further and further behind.

When Pope Benedict XVI visited our country in 2008, he said “The Church must change.” Since the Church is not immune from the present struggles, let us look at that call of Pope Benedict XVI for change.

First of all, I feel confident that he was not referring to our present lock down. When we look up the meaning of the word “church” it is defined as the people of God assembled here on earth as the Body of Christ. That means you and me!

Now speaking for myself, I agree there is a lot of changing I need to do in my own life. Oh, yes, I could have first suggested a few changes for those around me. But at the moment, I’m so busy working on myself and taking the beam out of my own eye, I’m not sure I see clearly the speck in my neighbor’s eye. After all, I would not like to blind him.

Someone suggested to me that the cry is not for the Church to change per se but rather what they mean is that the teaching of the Church must change. For example, its teaching on abortion, same sex marriage, pre-marital sex and so on. But of course, the Church could not do that, even if it wanted to. This is because the teaching of the Church is the teaching of Jesus. It is not owned by the Church, but rather entrusted to the Church, by Jesus, to be both its safeguard and teacher.

In other words, the Church is simply the ambassador of Christ’s teaching. It has no power to change the teaching. This teaching is the ‘Word of the Lord’. The Gospel of the Lord. And in this role, the Church points beyond itself to the Lord Jesus.

“Then Jesus approached them (the eleven) and said, ‘All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you always until the end of the age.'” (Mt 28:18-20)

All that I have commanded, not some.

You see, in short, the reason Jesus came into our world was to impart change unlike had ever been experienced before or since. To change us from our sinful ways. It is we who need to change, not the Gospel. This can be difficult to accept when so much changes so quickly around us.

As someone so aptly once put it, “The Gospel is there to trim our lifestyle not our lifestyle to trim the Gospel. Should we do this, then one day the Lord who has given us the Gospel will introduce us to the cohort of heaven with these words, ’Well done good and faithful servant enter into the joy of the Lord.’”

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

A few weeks ago, reading from the gospel of John, I came across this statement of Jesus to his apostles, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Very good advice I would say at anytime but especially in these times when anxiety and fear still impact our country.

First of all, looking at that statement of Jesus, he seems to indicate that we are in control, it’s our choice whether we allow our hearts to be troubled or not. Keep in mind that he made that statement to his apostles just after he told them that one of them would betray him, all of them would desert him and that he was going to be put to death.

Today we speak of troubled times or we say that something is very troubling. Seldom do we advise people not to let their hearts be troubled. We say instead, “Don’t worry “or as the Australians say, “No worry.” I remember reading a story once of a woman who had been a widow for several years. She was being interviewed by a reporter because not only had she reared six children of her own, but she also adopted twelve children. In spite of her hectic life, she was always noticed for her calm demeanor and sense of humor. When the reporter asked her how she managed she replied that she was in a partnership. What kind of partnership the reporter asked? Her reply was that many years before she had said “Lord I’ll do the work and you can do the worrying” and she hadn’t had a worry ever since.

This is exactly what Jesus invited his disciples to do when He said to them, “Have faith in God and faith in me.” Jn 14: 1.  Remember Psalm 23 and King David praying “Even though I walk through a dark valley I fear no harm for you are with me, at my side. With your rod and your staff, you give me courage…only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life.”

Did you know that the word worry comes from the old English term wyrgan which originally meant to strangle? This is the danger of worry. It begins to strangle our life and is the reason why Jesus tells us to have faith. St. Teresa of Avila put it this way…

“Let nothing disturb you
Let nothing frighten you
All things are passing
God never changes
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing
God alone suffices.”

We can ask ourselves the question what has worry ever changed? Mildred Allen Jeffery offers us her story in a poem titled, Green Pastures:

Green Pastures
Last night I started counting sheep
When I had gone to bed,
For I had worries large and small
Which drove sleep from my head.
The sheep had many little lambs
And these I counted too,
Thus through the flock I went until
The Shepherd came in view.
And then I thought, “Why spend the time
In simply counting sheep
When I can walk with Him and pray
For folk who cannot sleep?
I walked with Him awhile, and then
He smiled, and said to me –
“Look back, where are your worries now?”
But not one could I see!
Mildred Allen Jeffery

I know this may sound a bit too simple, but take it from one who should know, from one who had a first-hand experience of more trouble than any of us could imagine. His conclusion from all of that was, “We know that all things work together for the good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.” This does not mean that we understand it all anymore than the disciples did who were with Jesus in that upper room, but the invitation to you and me is all the same, “Don’t worry have faith in God and faith in me.”  Jn14:1

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the Resurrection of the body and life…

Some years ago, there was much talk among scholars as to the actual physical rising of Jesus from the dead. Some of them came to see it more in terms of a faith event on the part of the early followers of Jesus, rather than based on a physical event.

Among some circles, the talk continues today. In the midst of this, I am reminded of the novelist John Updike and his poem “Seven Stanzas at Easter” in which he writes:

Make no mistake: if he rose at all
It was as His body…

It was not as His Spirit in the mouths and fuddled eyes of the
Eleven apostles;
It was as His flesh; ours.

Let us not mock God with metaphor,
Analogy, sidestepping, transcendence,
Making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the faded
Credulity of earlier ages:
Let us walk through the door.
The stone is rolled back, not papier-mâché,
Not a stone in a story,
But the vast rock of materiality that in the slow grinding of
Time will eclipse for each of us
The wide light of day… 

Let us not seek to make it less monstrous,
For our own convenience, our own sense of beauty,
Lest, awakened in one unthinkable hour, we are embarrassed
By the miracle,
And crushed by remonstrance.

“Let us not mock God” in trying to propose Christ’s Passion death and Resurrection as some kind of parable. We are not allowed to side step the Resurrection. The fact is, it happened, or it did not and if you don’t believe it happened then produce the evidence and not assumptions to substitute your lack of belief. You owe that much to yourself. This is no time for spiritual imagining just as Thomas had no time for such. “Come Thomas put your hand into my side and place your finger into the nail marks.” Jn: 20:27

“…Jesus stood among them…He said to them why are you frightened and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet see that it is I myself. Touch me and see me for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have…they gave him a piece of broiled fish and he took it and ate it in their presence.” Lk: 24:36-45

Updike’s poem forces us to come to terms with our belief and challenges us to walk through the door and answer a simple question “Am I embarrassed by this miracle or not?” If our answer is some version of yes, are we then perhaps feeling a little too sophisticated and arrogant to accept what we cannot fully understand or comprehend?

For St. Paul, the answer we give to the Resurrection is a game changer. He states “If Christ has not been raised then our preaching is vain and your faith also vain.” 1 Cor: 15:14 (Those words are from the man who at first was not only a nonbeliever but one who led the first onslaught against believers in Jerusalem. He later became such a strong believer that he described himself as “I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me.” Gal: 2:20)

Of course, the struggle to believe in the Resurrection can be seen exemplified in Mary standing and weeping before the empty tomb as she wonders where is Jesus? In our own lives sooner or later we too will stand with our cross of sorrows and burdens weeping before our own “empty tomb” and wondering where God is in all of this. Hopefully, like Mary, we will hear Him call our name and come to know that He is still with us. Just as He underwent before us, enduring sufferings, humiliations, and death, and triumphed over them with the help of the Holy Spirit. He invites us to do the same. He invites us to rise above our comfort zones and join Him in his victory over life’s burdens and death. The Christ of Calvary now risen from the dead lives and walks with us and among us. He invites us to integrate into our lives the gospel He lived and preached, a gospel so eloquently expressed in the life and prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. A prayer that continually reminds us of our responsibility of being a co-worker with Jesus in making our world a better place for ourselves, our families and all those both near to us and afar. 

Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

On May 5,1868, Major General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic (an organization made up of Union Veterans) set aside May 30^th as Decoration Day to commemorate fallen soldiers by adorning their graves with flowers. General Logan’s order declared: “We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”

That year, 5,000 gathered at Arlington National Cemetery to attend commemoration ceremonies presided over by General and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant. This was the nation’s first major tribute to those who fell in the Civil War, and small American flags were placed on each grave (a tradition that continues today).

Of course, the decoration of graves with our flag goes back before General Logan’s official order. As to who was actually the first to start this tradition is much in dispute, but the important thing is that someone did start it. Yes, the flag and the importance of remembering those who have given so much to protect and defend it.

Memory is a powerful gift. Without it, everyone would be a stranger to us. We would not know who we are, who we are called to be, or our indebtedness to past generations. In this we should always keep in mind that we have the power to decide the role that memory plays in our lives. It can be used destructively or creatively. When Moses addressed his people for the last time, he was aware of this power. He said to his people “Be careful not to forget the Lord, your God…who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery; who guided you through the vast and terrible desert with its saraph serpents and scorpions, its parched and waterless ground.”  Deut. 8:11-20.

What do we remember? We know that the quality of our living today is rooted in our yesterdays. While we cannot change the past, we can control its influence upon us. We can do this by taking care to remember the great sacrifices of those who have gone before us. Men and women who were not only protecting the freedoms we enjoy today, but also the flag which we honor and the God under which we live. On this Memorial Day, let us remember with gratitude and prayer those who have gone before us.

A Memorial Day Prayer

Helen Steiner Rice
They served and fought and died
so that we might be safe and free,
Grant them, O Lord, eternal peace
and give them the victory!
And in these days of unrest,
filled with grave uncertainty,
Let’s not forget the price they paid
to keep our country free…
And so, on Memorial Day,
we offer up a prayer-
May the people of all nations
be invited in Thy care,
And grant us understanding
and teach us how to live
So we may lose our selfish pride
and learn to love and give,
And keep us in ever mindful
of the fighting men who sleep
In Arlington and foreign lands
so we may ever keep
The light of freedom burning
in their honour through the years
And hear their cry for peace on Earth
Resounding in our ears
Forgive us our transgressions
and, God, be with us yet
Lest in our pride and arrogance
we heedlessly forget.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

In the year 2009, the government released the official photograph of Air Force One flying over Lady Liberty. The taking of the photograph, at the time, caused quite a panic among some New Yorkers as the low flying air craft, understandably, brought back the horrific memories of 9/11.

The previous official photograph of Air Force One, I believe, was that of it flying over Mt. Rushmore. It is understandable why those responsible would like a photograph of Air Force One flying over America’s most recognizable statue. However, to avoid all the panic, I would have suggested that they direct their photo-op toward another gracious Lady, namely, Our Lady of the Rockies. You never heard of her, well you have now. Yes, there she stands, this gracious Lady arms wide open beckoning the sons and daughters of America to come to her and meet her Son the Savior of our world. She stands on a ridge atop of the continental divide, 8,510 feet above sea level, overlooking Butte, Montana.

She is the United States largest Madonna soaring some ninety feet into the air. She is dedicated to our Blessed Mother, and was erected to honor women everywhere, especially mothers.

The idea was the brainchild of a mineworker by the name of Bob O’Bill. However, the work itself (completed in 1985) was the work of many people of all denominations, both national and international, who pooled their talents and resources to make it happen. Today she stands as a reminder to people of what can be accomplished when people put their differences aside and work together in generosity and love, for the betterment of one and all. This did not happen overnight. There were the difficult times of disagreements and misunderstandings. Sacrifice and pain was part and parcel of the journey, and yet today she stands reminding us of what can happen when the goal of one becomes the goal of many.

During this month of May, Our Lady of the Rockies, while she may like a photo-op with Air Force One, would probably much prefer that the sons and daughters of this great country return to the ways of her Son. With their minds and hearts renewed in seeking first the Kingdom of God rather than the trappings of the world.

Presently, there is much talk about health, safety, and the world’s economy together with the various bankruptcies that may happen. Of course, all of us should work arduously to protect our families against these present dangers. Let us also not forget to be vigilant against becoming spiritually bankrupt.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

It’s quite amazing all the material that is written about mothers that recognizes their major influence in the lives of so many people. Before I share some of this material it is important for us to acknowledge that Mother’s Day 2020 is going to be quite different for so many.

First of all, numerous families continue to shelter in place. Added to this, many mothers and grandmothers are on the front lines of service helping to alleviate the pain and suffering caused by the Coronavirus. As a result, the get togethers among these families on Mother’s Day will be practically nonexistent.

Of course, added to this, many children are not at school, and you have mothers worrying about how all of this is going to affect their children. Still other mothers worry of how they’re going to make ends meet on account of sudden furloughs and unemployment. Today we hear a lot about “data”. It’s from the data of history and writing we know that mothers often experience a lot of stress in times like these. Not because they worry about themselves so much, but because they worry about those around them and that means you and me. It is, however, this great empathy and concern of theirs that has made such a difference for the good in the lives of so many.

Thomas Edison writes:
“My mother cast over me an influence which has lasted all my life…
If it had not been for her appreciation and faith in me at a critical
time in my experience, I should never likely have become an inventor…
The memory of her will always be a blessing to me.”

Benjamin West:
As a young boy he sketched an outline of his little sister as she
lay in her cradle. His mother recognized his talent and with a mother’s pride,
kissed her little boy. “That kiss”, said the famous artist, “made me a painter.”

De Witt Talmage:
Put it this way, “Mother…was the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries.”

Reporter:
A reporter once asked the learned theologian Karl Barth, “Sir you have written many volumes about God. Can you tell me how you know that it’s all true?” Without missing a beat Karl replied, “My mother told me!”

Family conversation at the table:
The father is sitting across the table from his son John, and asks John, “Why do you hate me?” John replies, “I don’t hate you, I love you Dad!” Mother says, “Don’t contradict your father.”

Letter from a son:

Dear Mom,

Whenever I hear about some youngster having problems with his parent…and the fault invariably laid at the parents’ door… I can’t help but count the blessings of my own childhood. I was lucky. I had you. There were times I know when I was a problem to you…but I can’t remember ever feeling that the reverse was true.

Your sense of humor touched everything. Your nickname “the Flea” summed it up: You were tiny and always busy. And so, you remained by any name…Agnes, Mrs. Julien Hyer, Mom, …and the title so many people used for you: great lady. Little wonder that now, when someone says to me, “You’re just like your mother,” the compliment fills me with pride.

The older I get, the closer I feel to you; the more I understand and appreciate what you were to me; the more grateful I am that you and Pop didn’t let us…Aggie, Jean and me…rule the roost.

You were “square” enough to have rules and to enforce them; you clung to traditions and taught us to honor and cherish them. You disciplined us only to prepare us for the challenges ahead. You gave us a strong foundation upon which to build our lives.

You were single-minded in the way you reared us. Simply put, your family was everything… and you built your life around us.

Your idea of “Liberation” seemed to be the freedom to spend 24 hours a day on your “job”. And I don’t believe I ever heard you complain. Your beautiful face radiated smiles…the reflection of a generous soul. Some might call a good disposition a gift, but I believe it was your own generosity toward others that was at the core of that rare and wonderful quality you had.

I remember…

Sunday morning church services and how you stressed the importance of faith in a loving God.

Your pride in our accomplishments, and your compassion when we failed. Your goodness, kindness, dignity. The ability you had to see beauty and wonder in everything, and to make us see it too. Your reassuring presence…ready to help, to forgive to share, to understand.

I cherish two little cards on which you wrote some thoughts:

One reads:
There is no right way to do a wrong thing.

The other:
“The time to be happy is now
The place to be happy is here,
The way to be happy is to make others happy.
And make your own heaven right here.”

You did this, Mom, for all of us.
– Your’s Marty

A MOTHER’S DAY PRAYER

“OUR FATHER in HEAVEN
whose love is divine,
Thanks for the love
of a Mother like mine—
And in Thy great mercy
look down from Above
And grant this dear Mother
the GIFT of YOUR LOVE—
And all through the year,
whatever betide her,
Assure her each day
that You are beside her—
And, Father in Heaven,
show me the way
To lighten her tasks
and brighten her day,
And bless her dear heart
with the insight to see
That her love means more
than the world to me.”

Have a blessed Mother’s Day,
Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

Fr. Robert McNamara tells the story of a young boy who lived in a city where his father worked for a meat packer. One day his father took him on a tour showing him the whole process of the industry. What amazed the young boy, was how the different types of livestock faced their impending death. In particular, he noticed that only the sheep stood there, meek and silent, offering no resistance to their slayers.

Later on, this young boy grew up to become a priest. As a priest, he recalled that during Holy Week the image of those sheep offering up no resistance to their slayers, had become vivid in his mind. He would often share this boyhood experience with his parishioners in his sermons. Reflecting upon that experience, it occurred to him how appropriate it was for John the Baptist to refer to Jesus, who was crucified and died on the cross on Good Friday, as the Lamb of God. How accurately Isaiah the prophet put it when he wrote:

“Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth;
Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent
and opened not his mouth.”  Isaiah: 53:7

During Holy Week, we just marked and observed this tragic occurrence of which St. Paul writes:

“Who though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found in human appearance, he humbled himself becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.”  Phil: 2:6-8

But why, we ask, and to what purpose? The answer is: to save us from our sins.

In the words of John the Baptist, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”  John 1:29

Life and purpose are intrinsically intertwined if we are to experience what Jesus calls the fullness of life. Each of us is very important in the eyes of God. To each of us, He has given a mission with a purpose and full of meaning. He invites each of us to discover His purpose for us on this, our journey together. I believe Helen Steiner Rice put it beautifully in the following poem:

PRAYERS CAN’T BE ANSWERED UNLESS THEY ARE PRAYED

Life without a purpose is barren indeed.
There can’t be a harvest unless you plant seed.
There can’t be attainment unless there’s a goal,
And man’s but a robot unless there’s a soul.
If we send no ships out, no ships will come in,
And unless there’s a contest, nobody can win.
For games can’t be won unless they are played,
And prayers can’t be answered unless they are prayed.
So whatever is wrong with your life today,
You’ll find a solution if you kneel down and pray.
Not just for pleasure, enjoyment and health,
Not just for honors and prestige and wealth.
But pray for a purpose to make life worth living,
And pray for the joy of unselfish giving.
For great is your gladness and rich your reward.
When you make your life’s purpose the choice of the Lord.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

Growing up on a small farm in the North West of Ireland, and quite some time before the tractor and its accessories became a common sight, the horse was the choice animal for heavy work.

Interesting even today, with all the fancy and powerful machinery that have come to replace the horse in the workplace, we still measure their power by horsepower. Horsepower was invented so that we would have a standard measure of how much work a horse could do. After some set-up with weights, measures, ropes and pulleys, it was figured out that the work power of one horse was equal to that of seven men. Years later, James Watt would use a similar horsepower to measure the work power of the steam engine and the rest is history; other than that, we seem to have a nostalgia for horses in that we name some of our cars after them like the Mustang, the Hunter, and I’m sure you can think of a few more.

I mention all this in that some work on a farm like ploughing and harvesting required at least two horses working together. The important word is together. Not all horses agreed to work together. They would pull against each other, so you had to make sure the horses were paired correctly. In such cases, these horses became known as a team, so much so, that when a neighbor was ploughing for seeding, we would often inquire what team they were using as some teams were stronger than others. The word team is very important because it implies individuals working together. As the saying goes “one for all and all for one.” In sports like baseball, football, soccer, and basketball, individuals must work together and cooperate with each other if they are going to succeed. They refer to themselves as teammates. Even in golf, which for the most part is an individual game, yet with the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup we can feel the team spirit as individuals from the same country temporarily come together as one.

During this Corona Pandemic, we witness just how important it is to work together. As Americans, we are proud of the great self-sacrifice, that so many are making, at great risk to themselves and their families, while working together to defeat this virus.

In all of this I ask myself the question: How come ordinary Americans can work so well and generously together while our elected officials in Congress cannot? Do they not realize that they are elected to work as a team? Not for themselves but the good of our country? To tell the truth, I fail to see much horsepower or much power of any sort happening there at the moment. In fact, they remind me of the following limerick I came across one time and it goes like this:

“We’re Acting Like Human Fools!”
“Two tough old mules said, ‘Get this dope,
We’re tied together with a piece of rope’.
Said one to the other, ‘You come MY way,
While I take a nibble of that new-mown hay’.
‘I won’t,’ said the other, ‘You come with ME,
I have some hay over this way, you see’.
So, they got nowhere, just pawed up the dirt.
Pulling each way, how that rope did hurt!
Then faced they about, those stubborn mules,
And said, ‘We’re acting just like human fools,
Let’s pull together, I’ll go your way,
Then you come with me, and we’ll both eat hay’.
So, they ate their hay, and like it, too,
And said, ‘Let’s be comrades, good and true’.
As the sun went down they were heard to bray,
‘Ah, this is the end of a perfect day’”
-Anonymous

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

For three years the early disciples of Jesus had followed him with great hope. In the words of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, “We were hoping that he was the one who would set Israel free.” But on good Friday their hopes and the hopes of many others, were crushed as they witnessed his death by crucifixion. Having witnessed his death, fear gripped the disciples and in the words of today they all began to shelter in place, afraid of a similar retribution befalling themselves. In short, fear controlled their lives. Fear of course is a natural phenomenon, but so also are the virtues of hope and faith. The important reality is to recognize our fears, but to never allow them to control us. A great example of this is given to us on the Feast of Pentecost when these same disciples no longer allowed their fears to control them, but they controlled their fears, even though the dangers that threatened them remained the same.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was emphatic when he said, “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

Of course, Roosevelt was not alone in his depiction of fear, Samuel Coleridge said, “In politics what begins in fear usually ends in folly.”

The tragedy of fear is that it has the ability to freeze us in place, or as Shakespeare indicates, it puts us in a position where we can neither fight nor fly. What people need above all is hope, a hope that does not deny the reality of fear, but a hope filled with courage. Bear Grylls puts it this way, “Being brave isn’t the absence of fear. Being brave is having that fear but finding a way through it.” In finding a way through it, let us keep in mind the words of Zig Ziglar when he says, “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”

Many of us have heard of the tales of Aesop and this one makes the point….

A mouse that dwelt near the abode of a magician was kept in such constant distress by its fear of a cat that the magician, taking pity on it, turned it into a cat itself. Immediately it began to suffer from fear of a dog, so that the magician turned it into a dog. Then it began to suffer from fear of a tiger, and the magician, in disgust, said: “Be a mouse again. As you have only the heart of a mouse,  it is impossible to help you by giving you the body of a noble animal.”
-Aesop

The question for us in not whether we have the heart of a mouse or a lion, but whether we have the heart of a believer or a non-believer?

Who Walks With God

Who walks with God must take His way
Across far distances and gray
To goals that others do not see,
Where others do not care to be.
Who walks with God must have no fear
When danger and defeat appear,
Nor stop when every hope seems gone,
For God, our God, moves ever on.

Who walks with God must press ahead
When sun or cloud is overhead,
When all the waiting thousands cheer,
Or when they only stop to sneer;
When all the challenge leaves the hours
And naught is left but jaded powers.
But he will some day reach the dawn,
For God, our God, moves ever on.

                                    ~ Heart and Life

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

Happy and safe Easter everyone! Soon we begin and celebrate the Easter season, a season where we celebrate the victory of life over death and our mission to spread this message of hope far and wide to the whole world.

Composer Giacomo Puccini wrote a number of famous operas. In 1922, while working on his last opera “Turandot”, considered by many to be his best, he was suddenly taken ill with cancer. In the event that he would be unable to finish the opera, he requested his students to complete it for him. He died a short time later and his students honored his request, carefully studying their Master’s final opera.

In 1926, the world premiere of “Turandot” was performed in Milan, with his favorite student, Arturo Toscanini, directing. Everything went beautifully until the opera reached the point where Puccini had put down his pen. Tears ran down Toscanini’s face. He stopped the music, put down his baton, turned to the audience and cried out, “This far the Master wrote, but he died.” A vast silence filled the opera house. Toscanini then picked up the baton, smiled through his tears and exclaimed, “But the disciples finished his work!” When the performance had ended, the audience broke into thunderous applause. No one at the premiere ever forgot that moment.

Like Giacomo Puccini, Jesus centuries before asked His disciples to help in completing His great work of love; spreading it far and wide across the world, and down across the centuries. As we in our time, continue to embark on this great mission, I hope that each of us will find ourselves as committed as were Puccini’s disciples. Each of us individually, and together, should be committed to spreading the great love that is our Master’s work.

Again, happy and safe Easter everyone!

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

This week we learned that our journey of staying home, safe and distancing ourselves must continue for another thirty days. Despite the fears that the virus imposes, there are the other viruses of discouragement and despair that are always ready to attack.

In light of this, we must all pray for the gift of perseverance. There are great examples of the importance of perseverance throughout our history. Some worth sharing:

Hopefully we will all take this prayer, Serenity, to heart.

Msgr. Hugh M. Marren, Pastor

© 2020

It is now the topic of conversation on radio, tv and social media 24/7. Experts from all walks of life are working feverishly (excuse the pun) to limit its impact. Many work places are closed or with limited hours and All Saints is no exception.

Having some spare time on my hands, I decided to update my files. Believe me, they needed some updating! For example, I came across a file on my first youth program in 1976, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church on Briarcliff Road in Atlanta. It was called “ACTION” (Active Catholic Teenagers In Our Neighborhood).

One of our projects was to answer the question, What is God Like? In this time of coronavirus, I ask you the same question. What is your God like, the God we pray to and put our faith in?

Maybe this is not the calmest time to answer this question, so let me offer you the answers of our “ACTION” youth group. They decided to envision Him through the eyes of marketing by answering…

God is like…

Why not at this time, both as individuals and as families, reach out and touch God in prayer.   You will find that not only is He all of the above, but even much more and better. Keep safe and remember you and your loved ones are in our Masses as we offer them daily in our private home and chapel.

© 2020