Contributing Clergy: Bishop Kevin W. Vann, Father Glenn Baaten & Deacon Jim Merle
As an affirmation of my faith, I say in silence as the priest raises the consecrated Precious Body after the words of Transubstantiation:
‘My Lord and my God! Help me to be one with You in all that I am and do in thought, word and deed, and in faith, hope and love. Help me, an unworthy servant, to be worthy.’
Easter, especially the Triduum, is a continuous historical and spiritual reminder to Christian believers of the greatest love story that ever happened in our reality nearly 2000 years ago. Without it, a massive amount of those would have no connection with God except at creation and at the end of one’s life for judgment. The years in between would be aimless based on one’s free-will decisions that may or may not lead to a relationship with God. The Blessed Trinity in their infinite wisdom provides a plan for each of us that circumvent what could have been a tragedy for all: A world without a Christian God who created us out of and for love.
It always amazes me in reading the Gospel at the Procession on Palm Sunday and in celebrating Holy Week how in the space of five days the people’s sentiment for Jesus goes from praise and joy to false accusations, a mock trial, physical torture and to death by crucifixion. Unfortunately, it does not surprise me. Man’s cruelty to humans seems to be an expectation accepted by most as to how one treats another based on frustration to selfishness being denied. I can hear people saying:
“Enough is enough. This itinerant preacher is preaching heresy to Moses’ Covenant with God. Let us turn him over to the Romans for torture and death. It is better to follow the Sanhedrin than this turmoil with a promise we cannot see fulfilled.”
Periodically, my wife accuses me of selective listening; especially when it concerns a point she is trying to make about something that I choose not to hear. My usual excuse for not hearing her, if I am still asked to respond, is that my tinnitus is so loud I could not make out what she said. In my defense, which is often true, but it does not excuse me from not responding in some fashion.
Dear Subscribers –
Beginning with the week of Easter, April 20, 2025, the blog you have known for the last six years as “A Catholic Deacon’s Perspective” will no longer reflect only my thoughts but will be renamed as “A Catholic Clergy’s Perspective.”
Added writers will be Bishop Kevin Vann, Ordinary of the Diocese of Orange, California, and Father Glenn Baaten, a former Episcopalian priest, ordained into the Roman Catholic Church as a priest. Both spiritual leaders will author articles on a periodic basis based upon the time they have to devote to the blog. I will continue to offer my weekly articles based on the Sunday Gospels and readings for the three-year cycle of A, B and C along with various current events that challenge us to balance our humanity with our spiritual lives.
As always, I invite you to have an open mind and to offer positive comments from your perspective about what is being offered.
Thank you to those subscribers who have been with me all these years and welcome to new readers that will be added when Bishop Vann and Father Baaten join Easter week.
God Bless,
Deacon Jim Merle
None of us are perfect as we are all sinners. Given that scenario, how do we stand a chance of being rewarded the promise of eternal life with the unpredictability of obstacles in our life such as diseases, violence and natural disasters in addition to our own culpability?
The final and most profound promise of devotion to the Sacred Heart is one of the most consoling gifts from Jesus to His faithful followers. He promises, “I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in My disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.”
If you have not figured it out yet, God is very patient with those who practice their faith. The Chosen Race of Jews of the Hebrew Scriptures who either witnessed or were taught about what God did to release them from slavery took 40 years of wandering in the desert before fully accepting His love for them. It has been 2000 years plus since Jesus walked the earth and Catholics are still questioning the teachings of Jesus and His plan for our salvation based upon a Pew Research Center recent survey indicating only 31 percent of believers accepts that the bread and wine is transubstantiated into His body and blood and not just a symbol.
Though I have lived most of my life in California, my heart is still attached to the Chicagoland area of Illinois. As a Chicago north sider, I am a devoted Cub and Bear fan and have an affinity for the entire city; especially downtown.
Every human since the beginning of time has been tempted, whether in his or her faith or in something not related to a faith. What is important about this rests on everyone’s response to the temptation. Did he or she act upon it for self-gratification, or was it squashed for a better action that would improve the life of not only the one tempted but others who may have been affected.