Priests Summoned to the Mountain

“Whenever the divine favor chooses someone to receive a special grace, or to accept a lofty vocation, God adorns the person chosen with all the gifts of the Spirit needed to fulfill the task at hand.”

- St. Bernardine of Siena

Recently I travelled 215 miles to my alma mater, Mount St. Mary Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD, to make my annual retreat. Founded in 1808, it is our nation’s second oldest and largest Catholic seminary in the United States. There were 50 priests on retreat, 6 of whom were from our Diocese of Pittsburgh. Our retreat master was Fr. Brett A. Brannen, a 50-year-old priest from the Diocese of Savannah, GA, born in New Orleans to a Southern Baptist father and a Catholic mother. He spoke quickly with a southern drawl and kept us on the edge of our seats. He served as Vocations Director for 10 years in his home diocese, as well as Vice Rector of Mount St. Mary, which was the genesis of his book, “To Save 1,000 Souls – A Guide to Discerning a Vocation to Diocesan Priesthood” (Vianney Vocations 2010).

He encouraged us to make the following two resolutions at the onset of the retreat: start doing what Jesus wants us to do, and stop doing something Jesus wants us to stop doing. He asked the Holy Spirit to fill us. And just as we turn our coffee cups over when we go into a restaurant, he encouraged us to turn the coffee cups of our souls over to receive new graces, make new resolutions, and to give Jesus time through prayer.

He encouraged us to follow these seven objections of the retreat:

1. See the big picture by getting away from the daily grind of parish life and daily duties and responsibilities. Give ourselves time to be free from those burdens.

2. Laugh and have fun. Adults only laugh 17 times a day, whereas children laugh over 200 times per day. Humor, levity, and joy is good medicine for the soul.

3. Make time for listening - by making a holy hour, spiritual reading, or reading the Bible. Preaching is the primary duty of the priest and in order to preach well, we must be still and pray. St. John Vianney taught us that praying and preaching go together. We must be quiet men of prayer. People come to God through preaching, thus we must meditate and get into the habit of reading the Gospel for the next day so that when we sleep at night good thoughts go with us and evil is purged. One hour of prayer defines the other 23 hours of a day. A best friend of Jesus wants to come face to face with his presence in the tabernacle in church. Why see Jesus with a remote control when you can go face to face?

4. Offer good stories that are real gems that others can use for inspiration in writing homilies. The week was laced with many gems of the saints and wisdom that gleaned light through the ages.

5. He challenged us to be better priests. Jesus doesn’t call the best to be priests, but expects the best of those he does call. All that happens in life can make us better or bitter — it’s our choice. God orchestrates the good of our lives to bring about our salvation and others’. He challenged us to learn and grow in every assignment that we have been given. The purpose of being a priest is to bring Jesus to people and people to Jesus.

6. Go to confession. The Sacrament of Reconciliation gives us wonderful graces to experience God’s love and forgiveness no matter where we are or what we’ve done. We need to admit sin, confess sin, and let it go — move on! You can’t be a good confessor unless you first become a good penitent. We learn to do right by what we have done wrong. There is nothing worse than a proud priest. Sin makes us humble and a humble priest keeps his eyes fixed on Jesus.

7. Be excited to be priests. If we came tarnished, dulled, or indifferent, we could rekindle the fire and renew the spirit. Keeping enthusiasm up through the toil of the years is not always easy. He had us remember what we thought the priesthood was going to be like, and now, years later, ask whether we have lived up to those ideals and expectations that we once had in discerning and undertaking this noble vocation. At the ordination of a priest, the bishop places his hands over the hands of the ordinandi, and says the words, “May Christ, who has begun this good work in you, bring it to fulfillment.”

Walker Percy, a great Catholic writer said of the parish priest, “A priest is one of the heroes of our modern age.” Priesthood is a lifetime commitment. A priest is called and assigned to remain at the ‘battle station’, to take care of God’s people there on the "front lines" by faithfully fighting for Christ and his people against the onslaught of the world, the flesh and the devil. The priest blesses and strengthens God’s people by preaching, teaching, and the celebration of the sacraments. We live in a modern world that is often filled with violence, hatred, suffering, and death. People desperately need love. We cannot bring Jesus’ love into the world unless we know and believe in that love ourselves.

He encouraged us to put prayer first each day. He says there are morning people and night people. A morning person in prayer is like a rooster – God gets first place. But the night owl prays late at night, giving Jesus the last hour.

Fr. Brannen urged us to offer a rosary one day on the retreat. He asked that we pray for the humility to have an infusion of love for all the priests at the battle station for us in our time and on our course, who conferred on us the divine life of Jesus. We were to pray a rosary and offer each decade for:

1st: The priest who baptized us

2nd: The priest who gave us our First Confession/Communion

3rd: The bishop who confirmed us

4th: The bishop who ordained us

5th: The bishop who will bury us

It made me think as I prayed for these special priests who have graced my own journey of faith and who manned the battle stations.

As we descended on Mary’s mountain, we were coming back home to be refreshed and renewed in the work of ministry. Like St. Paul, we must all endure the hardships for the Gospel’s sake. God gives us different gifts, challenges, assignments. If we have to take a few licks, so be it! Life will soon be over and we must bear witness to the Gospel by being authentic, humble, holy, kind, and faithful priests, seeking daily conversion. It’s a great time to be a priest in the spring time of evangelization. May God who has begun this great work in us bring it to fulfillment!

John the Baptist: Harbinger of Light

“Becoming a father is easy enough; but being one can be tough.”

- Wilhelm Busck (1832-1908)

Recently while I was at the Little Sisters of the Poor, I was speaking with Bishop Zubik’s father, Stanley Zubik, affectionately known as “Stush.” I usually stop in his room after visiting Mom and share my world with him, updating him on my weekly itinerary, such as worldly events, Diocesan happenings, parish activities, and family news. He especially enjoys friendly banter about the Pittsburgh sports teams. He regularly gives me newspaper clippings from articles he thinks are good including ones by my favorite author, Bishop Bob Morneau, from “The Compass,” a Catholic paper in Green Bay, WI. I told him that I would be travelling to Mt. St. Mary Seminary for a retreat this week, and he spoke of the spiritual giant in his own life for whom he was named, Msgr. Stanislaus R. Labujewski, commonly called “Msgr. Labbie.”

For over 5 decades the Monsignor served Ambridge as the pastor of St. Stanislaus Parish for a total of 56 years. Wow! To be a priest for 56 years is itself a miracle, but to serve only one flock is amazing. He knew all the stories of countless generations and was in fact, a spiritual father, mentor, guide, teacher, and exemplary role model. His life was entwined with people of various ages and was rich and fulfilling. They knew him, and he knew them. There is a towering monument in Good Samaritan Cemetery in Ambridge atop the mountainside depicting Christ, the Good Shepherd tending his sheep. That monument stands as a tribute to the Msgr. Labbie, buried there, whose steady, constant, faithful fatherhood planted imperishable and incorruptible seeds that nourished spiritual life, growth and maturity. When you enter you cannot help but see this tall monument of a towering person who has graced so many generations. Here, the shepherd lies in eternal rest among those he served in life, his very own sheep. So, both in life and in death they are wedded together as they walked as God’s children seeking to do His will on earth.

As I go to the “Mount” this week, I will visit the cemetery and pay my respects to Fr. Thomas J. Byrd, a priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, who taught me homiletics. He was laid to rest there in 2000. He would always say, “Gentlemen, remember you only have 7 minutes in your homily to make them laugh cry and feel religious. The more you do that, the more they will be touched by God’s grace, presence and love.”

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Nativity, the birthday, of St. John the Baptist, the prophet who foretold the coming of Christ. He is one of my favorite saints. He tops the list. I like him because he was an important person in salvation’s history and knew his place. He was the last of the Old Testament prophets and the first of the New Testament — a bridge builder — and was in many ways, outstanding. He was a prophet, a preacher, a disciple and a martyr. John didn’t try to impress or pretend to be important. He didn’t sugar-coat anything. His candor and direct style prepared the way of the Lord. “Too much honey is bad for you and so is trying to win too much praise” (Proverbs 25:27).

His birth coincides with the summer solstice which, this year, is celebrated on June 20 in the Northern Hemisphere. Solstice comes from 2 Latin words -- “sol” meaning sun and “stitium” meaning to stand still. It’s the time of the year when the sun is at the greatest distance from the equator. It is the time when it appears that the sun has stopped moving and is higher in the sky, thus the daylight time is the longest and the nighttime is the shortest. After this zenith point of the solstice, the daytime light begins to decrease as we draw closer to the birthday of Christ on December 25.

Things seem brighter on the inner landscape of our lives when we are surrounded by light. Summer is a season of light and we are called to witness to the Light. As a hospital chaplain for many years, I was amazed at how many people waited for the first streams of daylight as a welcoming of brighter hope. When we share the light of other believers, it brightens the path of faith.

John the Baptist is more than an “Advent prophet.” In all 4 of the Gospels, John is seen as the “best man” and not the bridegroom. He is a herald not the “main event.” John is a “voice” not the Word. John was a signpost to direct people — not to himself, but to the One coming after him. John baptizes with water, Jesus with the Holy Spirit. John points the way to Jesus, the Lamb of God, whose coming brings light to all the nations. When we believe in Jesus we are freed from the discouragement of spiritual paralysis by being freed from sin — the cause of all evil. Jesus frees us from sin, selfishness, and death. For the Jewish people, the lamb is primarily the Passover lamb, the ultimate symbol of freedom. John harkens and summons us to repentance and belief in Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

How well do we prepare the way of the Lord by pointing others to Christ? Each of us must be a signpost on the journey leading others in the right direction by the good choices that we make. “Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways” (Proverbs 20:30). John teaches us the great lesson of humility. Christ must increase, and sin and selfishness must decrease in us. John the Baptist proclaimed, regarding Jesus and himself: “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30).

There is a continuous call to conversion in every season of our lives. We are to follow in John’s footsteps and prepare the way for Christ by burning brightly with the love of God as we celebrate John’s birth. May his birth bring blessings to our discipleship. May you enjoy all the blessings summer affords!

Prayer for Summer Blessings

Creator of all, thank You for summer! Thank You for the warmth of the sun and the increased daylight. Thank You for the beauty I see all round me and for the opportunity to be outside and enjoy Your creation. Thank You for the increased time I have to be with my friends and family, and for the more casual pace of the summer season. Draw me closer to You this summer. Teach me how I can pray no matter where I am or what I am doing. Warm my soul with the awareness of Your presence, and light my path with Your Word and Counsel. As I enjoy Your creation, create in me a pure heart and a hunger and a thirst for You.

- Unknown

Sewing Seeds in Every Generation

“A father is respected because he gives his children leadership...appreciated because he gives his children care...valued because he gives his children time...loved because he gives his children the one thing they treasure most, himself.”

—Anonymous

I’ll never forget in the Fall of 1984 driving to Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary for the first time with my family. After making our way through the Catoctin Mountains whose windy roads never seem to end, we finally arrived at the remote country town of Emmitsburg, MD (just 12 miles away from Gettysburg, PA). As we unpacked the car with the help of the seminarians, my dad, completely worn out by the trip, remarked, “I hope you like it here because I’m not coming back!” Dad was certainly correct. Within a year and a half, the Lord called him home, and he never did make that trip again. But Dad was happy that my brother Dan was just down the road in Hershey the at Penn State Medical School, knowing that we had one another.

The word “seminary” literally means “seed bed” — a place to foster new life, new promise and to spiritually cultivate the soul by plowing through selfish desires in order to yield to God’s transforming grace for the unfolding of His plan. During my childhood years, my parents helped develop our faith, planting the seeds for greater growth. After prayer, discernment and surrendering to God’s will, the Spirit led me to a greater formation training at the seminary.

The more I reflect upon my years in the seminary, the more I understand the nature of growth itself. Growth is an imperceptible process. Sometimes in our spiritual lives, we feel discouraged. God’s will is not always so clear or evident. We may struggle with the same sins, temptations, weaknesses and dryness in prayer. However, God’s grace continues to grow within us. But just like a seed planted in the earth, it’s a hidden growth. This hiddenness summons us to trust more in God and do His work as we wait patiently for His action. We can learn from the mustard seed, the smallest seed in Palestine. A farmer has great faith in this seed, that it will grow and bear great fruit. So too, the Kingdom of God is brought forth from the most ordinary, mundane, common realities of daily life. And even though we don’t think we have a great harvest — God still trusts us to cultivate with care and sacrifice the plot of earth He has placed in our care.

It is in that spirit that I return today, on this Father's Day, back to “Mary’s Mountain” to make my annual priestly retreat at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary. The retreat master will be Fr. Brett A. Brannen, a priest of the Diocese of Savannah, GA, who was in the seminary during my time. A retreat is a time to hear the call of God once again after many years. In an oftentimes noisy, busy and fast-paced society, a retreat almost seems as an escape rather than what is essential to meeting life head-on. But a retreat is a time to pause, reflect, relax, rest and renew in the Lord, and thus better serve the Lord. As my brother Dan and his wife go to the beach for a summer vacation, I ascend to Mary’s Mountain to give thanks for the calling God has given me in the ministry He has entrusted to my care and the garden He wants me to help cultivate. I look forward to being with brother priests from around the United States to share our experiences of ministry after having worked hard in the vineyard to share a meal, camaraderie and the bond of the Eucharist together. We learn from one another and this exchange is invaluable to greater maturity.

The word “vocation” comes from the Latin word “vocare” meaning “to call.” Throughout the Bible God calls frequently. This election or calling is a personal summons to respond in faith. It’s walking with courage and giving witness. It is a growth process. A vocation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. But we must work on answering the call throughout a lifetime. It must be nourished. A call is also not a private call but a gift for others — to share with others, to encourage others, to help others and to live our faith each day. Even when we stumble and fall and to rise up again. It’s in difficult times that we really grow the most.

There is a towering figure at Mt. St. Mary’s for whom the library is named after, Msgr. Hugh J. Philips. And atop the cemetery, there is towering monument in his sacred memory. This man came to this campus in his sixth grade as a student and remained there for more than eight decades, leaving this world, and the Mount, at age 97. He taught theology and Church history at Emmitsburg School and was a professor of philosophy and psychology at St. Joseph College in Emmitsburg. He also taught Medical Ethics at Catholic University. Msgr. Philips was in many ways the spirit of Mt. St. Mary’s. He was the 19th president of the college. He later became an archivist and the college library was named after him in 1995. He was the director and chaplain of the Shrine. He was responsible for all the renovations for the Our Lady Lourdes Grotto there. Today, over 100,000 visitors come to this quiet spiritual sanctuary that he so faithfully tended to and cared for all the years of his life.

As I head for the mountains for a retreat, I take with me all the faces, names and graces that I have received throughout this blessed vocation that God has entrusted to me. Msgr. Hugh Philips is a larger than life figure at Mt. St. Mary’s. His name is on buildings, written in history books and touched by those who knew and walked with him. He’s in the hearts that he’s left behind. Like the parable of the mustard seed, true greatness grows in smallness. It is the small imperceptible things of life that help us and others to grow. I was always inspired by this man’s dedication, commitment and love, to make this small town a large center of faith formation. Although my dad only made it to this mountain once, his spirit makes me soar to new heights as I continue to serve the Lord. Never underestimate the presence and the power of a father’s influence in one’s life. Wishing all fathers our respect, our appreciation and our prayers.

Happy Father’s Day!

The Cup of Life Outpoured

“Without the Holy Eucharist, there would be no happiness in this world, and life wouldn’t be bearable.”

— St. John Mary Vianney

If you’re an early riser, maybe you caught the Mass at 6:00 AM on PCNC Sunday morning, which I celebrated for today’s Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). I’m grateful to the lectors, servers, and Ginny Ambrose and the choir from our parish who assisted me for this celebration, and especially for the shut-ins who tuned in to watch. I spoke in my homily during the broadcast about how grateful I was that while in the hospital I was able to view this Mass when I was sick.

While in the hospital, I knew as the sun was coming up in the morning, inevitably the phlebotomist would come in to draw my blood each day. She mentioned that so very much is known about a person by their blood — their heart rate, their blood pressure, iron levels, oxygen, hormonal imbalances, cholesterol, white blood cell and red blood cell counts, disease… all can be known through this fluid which is the life support of the body. Even before surgery you have to have blood drawn so that an ample supply of your type can be on hand for use during the procedure.

Blood carries the very “stuff” of life. When one hemorrhages, or there is a loss of blood through an accident, life goes out. In reminding us that the function of blood is as a carrier of nutrients of our complex immune systems, modern hematology enhances our understanding of blood as the very “stuff” of life.

Blood is also the sign of life. The ancient Israelites saw blood as the ratification of the covenant with God. As Moses splashed the blood of animals on the altar, he represented God walking through their midst, and as he sprinkled the people, he represented the people becoming a sacred nation consecrated to the Lord. The sprinkling of blood of animals was a promised relationship between God and the people — a sharing of life, divine and human. On the Day of Atonement, the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies to sprinkle blood as a reminder that all life belongs to God. The significance of blood finds it perfection in Jesus’ sacrifice, as in the book of Hebrews we are reminded that Christ entered the heavenly sanctuary not with the blood of animals but with His own Blood that brought about our redemption providing cleansing from sin and access to God. Jesus on the night before He died said those sacred words, “This is my Blood of the Covenant which will be shed for many.”

At the Mass on television I held up my wooden chalice that I have used for twenty-four years since my ordination. I chose wood to remind me of the sacrifice of the Cross that Christ poured out in love to save us. And I mentioned in my reflection what a humble and sacred privilege it is to celebrate for God’s people the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I pray that I may celebrate every Mass as if it were my first Mass, my last Mass and my only Mass. This wondrous feast of Corpus Christi makes us reflect on God’s inestimable gift of the Eucharist and pray that we always receive the Eucharist frequently, reverently, prayerfully and worthily. Jesus’ shedding of the blood is our “paschal” or “passing over” of death. In the history of salvation God uses death to bring new life. So while the broken Body and shed Blood of Christ commemorates His death, it also celebrates His gift of life. Jesus’ sacrifice becomes a gift. His defeat becomes our victory. His weakness is our strength. His brokenness is our healing. His Eucharist is our blessing.

In three weeks, Bishop Zubik will ordain three men as priests for our diocese: Kevin Fazio, Frederick Gruber, Michael Sedor. In that most ancient rite the priest kneels down before the bishop and receives a paten with hosts on it and a chalice for the celebration of the Mass. As the new priest kneels there the bishop then says, “Accept from the holy people of God the gifts to be offered to Him. Know what you are doing, and imitate the mystery you celebrate; model your life on the mystery of the Lord’s cross.” I pray that I will always hunger to celebrate this Sacrament that I have been ordained to offer for the holy People of God. How privileged, how honored we Catholics are to be invited to Jesus’ Supper, to receive His Body and Blood, to renew His dying and rising from the dead, in order to save us and lead us to eternal glory. Yet it’s all too easy for us to take the Eucharist for granted, the Mass for granted, and think, “Same old hymns, same old sermon, same old prayers, same old people, ho hum.” Today’s celebration and every celebration of the Body and Blood of Christ are our wake-up calls to realize just what a mind-boggling, soul stirring, heart throbbing, spirit raising gift we are given in every Mass, time after time. Let’s not talk about our “Sunday obligation” — let’s talk about our “Sunday Privilege!” Thank You Jesus! Thank You Jesus! Praise the Lord!

There are beautiful prayers in the Roman Missal that a priest can offer in preparation for Mass and thanksgiving after Mass. I’d like to share one with you by St. Thomas Aquinas on this special feast of Corpus Christi:

Almighty Eternal God, behold, I come to this Sacrament of Your only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, as one sick to the Physician of Life, as one unclean to the Fountain of Mercy, as one blind to the Light of Eternal Brightness, as one poor to the Lord of Heaven and Earth. I ask, therefore, for the abundance of Your immense generosity, that You may graciously cure my sickness, wash away my defilement, give light to my blindness, enrich my poverty, clothe my nakedness, so that I may receive the Bread of Angels, the King of kings and Lord of lords, with such reverence and humility, such contrition and devotion, such purity and faith, such purpose and intention, as are conducive to the salvation of my soul.

Grant, I pray, that I may receive not only this Sacrament of the Lord’s Body and Blood, but also the reality and power of that Sacrament.

Oh most Gentle God, grant that I may so receive the Body of Your only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, which took from the Virgin Mary, that I may be worthy to be incorporated into His Mystical Body and to be counted among its members.

Oh Most Loving Father, grant that I may at last gaze forever upon the unveiled Face of Your Beloved Son, whom I a wayfarer propose to receive now, veiled under these species; Who lives and reigns with You forever and ever. Amen.

Trinity: A Relationship of Love

“The high might of the Trinity is our father, and the deep wisdom of the Trinity is our mother, and the great love of the Trinity is our Lord.”

- St. Julian of Norwich

After celebrating the 8:00 AM Mass on Memorial Day I took a six-mile run on the Montour Trail. It was great to see everybody out bicycling, fishing, walking and running. Even the sounds of gunfire on the rifle range sounded good this Memorial Day! I had received many invitations for picnics, pool parties and parades. However, sometimes I prefer the down-time and the quiet to take in the higher meaning of the day, namely to remember the great sacrifices of those who served our nation, to bless them and their families and honor the heroism given for America’s freedom. While I was running (albeit keeping a slower pace since my surgery), there was a man bicycling with three little girls towed behind in a small carriage. I thought to myself that to tow one is work, to tow two is a chore, but to tow three is love! Seeing this sight reminded me of the family of God, a Trinity of Love.

Any holiday would be incomplete without a visit to the Little Sisters of the Poor to see Mom. As I walked down the corridor of the hall leading to her unit called “Our Lady of Perpetual Help," I was met by three staff members who frantically told me the news, “Mrs. Jones is missing.” We reconnoitered each room and closet, on the inside and outside of the nursing home. Even the Mother Superior, Sr. Judy Merideth, was searching high and low for Mom. We looked in such places as the greenhouse, the laundry room, the doctors’ offices, therapy rooms, residents’ rooms and lavatories. There were even sisters searching the halls on their motorized scooters.

I went to the second floor accompanied by Brandy, an RN who told me many good stories about Mom. There were security and maintenance men who diligently searched the hillsides around the area in 90 degree heat. Volunteers went through the cars in the parking lot that surrounded the building. Familiar faces and strangers alike went through the outlying areas of the home to look for her, remembering that she wore the patriotic colors of the day: red, white and blue. I even looked in the reconciliation rooms in the chapel, and even Bishop Zubik’s dad, Stanley, helped in the search. This would be one Memorial Day I would not soon forget.

All I could think of was that I hoped Mom was someplace in the cool air-conditioned home after the holiday picnic lunch was over, and not in the oppressive heat of the outdoors. I went up to the choir loft in the chapel, which was sweltering, to hear the residents praying the rosary below. As they prayed, I thought of Blessed Charles de Foucauld who said, “At times of sadness, say your rosary.” I thought about Jesus, who was lost from His own parents, only to be found in the Temple, and also the story of the one lost sheep, one lost coin, and one lost son (Luke 15). Then I thought about what it might be like to have a missing child or even a pet. But in this case it was a missing mother, who, due to her dementia was defenseless and helpless.

I found consolation as I listened to God’s people praying and I joined them in a decade of the rosary in the hope that, through the intercession of the Blessed Mother Mary, Sr. Jean Jugan, the founder of the Little Sisters of the Poor, St. Joseph, our Patron and St. Anthony, Mom would be found.

After a long two and a half hour pursuit I was ready to make a missing persons report with the police to broaden the scope of the search before the nighttime darkness set in. I went back into the chapel to pray for the third time. Upon coming out, I looked at the picture of Pope Benedict XVI and Bishop Zubik and heard the good news that Mom had been found. She had scampered down Benton Avenue only to take an abrupt fall at the corner of Benton and Parviss Street, near the Rite-Aid (almost 3/10 of a mile from Little Sisters). Paramedics were called and she was on her way to Allegheny General Hospital.

Along with our Pastoral Associate, Jim Crable, I flew down to AGH as fast as any ambulance could travel. There I learned that she had been given a CAT scan. She had lacerations on her face and hands, as well as a broken nose. Through puffy and swollen eyes, she spotted me and exclaimed, “Richard, my son! I’m glad you’re here to see me!” I immediately took out my pastoral care book and anointed her with the Sacrament of the Sick. The Chaplain of the Little Sisters, Fr. John A. Geinzer, soon descended upon the room, making the sign of the cross over her forehead and shoulders.

My sister, Patty and her husband Chuck, who had been celebrating their 34th wedding anniversary, arrived and their presence was a great relief to me. They stayed there with Mom until she was moved into a room. As I stood in the emergency room witnessing trauma after trauma on this holiday weekend, I thought to myself that accidents and tragedies occur irrespective of the day. As I stood at the triage desk, I read a sign offering an interpreter for those who spoke various languages: Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, French, Spanish, German, Korean, Arabic, Hebrew. I said to the intake person, “You are missing one from your list—the one for those who cannot speak at all, and such is the case with Mom.”

On April 29, the Little Sisters of the Poor celebrated their 140th Anniversary with a Mass of Thanksgiving. I was happy to see a picture in the Pittsburgh Catholic last week of residents of the Little Sisters of the Poor along with Bishop Winter celebrating that anniversary. One of the residents in the picture was Mom. A parishioner laminated that picture for me and it is hanging on our refrigerator now. Our prayers were answered, and Mom is back where she belongs in the home of the Little Sisters of the Poor.

On this Solemnity of The Most Holy Trinity, we recall the words of Moses in the book of Deuteronomy 4: 39-40 to the Israelite people, “You must keep God’s statutes and commandments, which I enjoin on you today, that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may have long life on the land, which the Lord, your God, is giving you forever.” As Moses reminded the Israelites that God had chosen them for a special mission and destiny, so too, Jesus gives the Great Commission to his disciples on the mountain where he had summoned them to make disciples of all the nations, wherever they went and to baptize them in the fullness of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28: 16-20).