Furrowing the Field

And just like that, Lent begins this Wednesday! Are you ready? Do you have a plan? Do you have a realistic plan? Is this plan actually going to help you grow in holiness and in your relationship with the Lord? The three traditional practices during Lent are Fasting, Prayer, and Almsgiving. Fasting: Pick something that is doable, but challenging. Fasting can take many forms. We should opt for something that we might actually fulfill. That, of course, depends upon each individual. Some might be able to eat just one meal a day. Others might be able simply to give up snacking between meals. Some might opt to give up some particular food that is a regular part of their diet. I remember when I was at BU, one of the kids gave up drinking anything but water for all of Lent. (That was pretty impressive to me!) Another kid gave up sitting on furniture (except when he was in class)! We can fast from TV, from earbuds, from alcohol, from coffee, from scrolling on our phones etc. etc. I think it’s a good idea, however, to always have some experience of physical hunger during Lent. That growling stomach can remind us that our deepest hunger is for God. Again, don’t pick all of the things I just mentioned, but perhaps pick one or two. It can even be like, “I won’t scroll on my phone until after I’ve prayed in the morning for ten minutes and won’t scroll after 9:00 pm.” Again, make it doable, but challenging. Prayer: There are so many ways to deepen our prayer life during Lent. We could combine, for example, our fasting with prayer. An example of this might be fasting from sleep. No, not no sleep, but deciding to wake up fifteen minutes earlier every day and spending those first fifteen minutes of the day with the Lord. The parish wants to help us all in our prayer life. Like last year, we will add an additional daily Mass during Lent. Almost every day during Lent, there will be a Noon Mass and a 6:00 pm Mass. Last year, numerous people told me that after they attended daily Mass during Lent, they began going all year long to daily Mass. I can think of no better way to grow in the spiritual life during Lent than by attending Mass more frequently. Try to go every day. Maybe that is not possible. If so, commit to going two extra times a week. You’ll never regret it. Adoration: The church is open most of the day, every day. Decide to pay a visit to the Lord every day during Lent. Pop into church and spend some time with Him. Bible Study: On Thursday evenings, after the 6:00 pm daily Mass, Fr. Sijo leads a bible study. Perhaps Lent can be an opportunity for you to come to know the Lord more intimately through the study of the Word. On Friday evenings after the 6:00 pm Mass there are Stations of the Cross. The Stations are a beautiful Catholic custom of deepening our friendship with the Lord by meditating on his Passion. Rosary: Decide to pray the Rosary every day. Maybe you can’t commit to the whole thing. Then, decide to pray one decade a day. Confession: Our parish has abundant opportunities for you to frequent the Sacrament of Penance. Take advantage of it! Almsgiving: Lent is a time to exercise generosity. When was the last time you upped the amount of money you give to the weekly collection? Did you give yet to the parish’s Grand Annual Collection? What are you planning to give to the Archdiocese’s Catholic Appeal? Giving up chocolate is fine, but we do it knowing that in forty days that chocolate is ours again. Giving from our money cuts closer to the bone, doesn’t it? When we give money, we do so knowing that what we give is gone. A good question to ask before Lent begins is what percentage of your income do you give to the Church? Do you consider that to be generous? (And yes, I am asking myself that same question.) In any event, lots to think about before Wednesday! My piece of advice is decide before Wednesday! Don’t put it off. Be ready to begin on Ash Wednesday! Other advice: Don’t make your penance everyone else’s penance. If giving up coffee is going to make you mean to your family, give up something else. Don’t set yourself up for failure. Pick something doable. If you fail once, twice, or seventy times, don’t use it as an excuse to quit. Get up and begin again. All of these are just suggestions. I’m sure you can go online and find many other options. Lastly, I was afforded the opportunity to write a small book of reflections on the Way of the Cross, published by “Magnificat”. We are making the book available to all of you this weekend. I hope that these reflections are beneficial to your own spiritual life. It is my hope that in praying them, you might become more certain of the Lord’s love for you and may, in turn, grow in your love of Him. We have limited copies, so please only take one for yourself. They can also be purchased on the Magnificat website. I look forward to living this Lent with all of you. Can we please all pray for one another during Lent? Your Brother in Christ, Fr. David Barnes

Firstly, just some practical, nitty-gritty aspects of our life together. The sound system has been well-received. There are still a few things to be worked out, so please be patient. Unless your vehicle is bright red with flashing red lights on top, please do not park in the Fire Lanes around the church. The sidewalk in front of the church is also a public walkway, so please do not park on the sidewalk. We have spent a lot of money in recent months: The front steps, the sound system, the HVAC system, ice dams on the roof of the church and parish hall causing damage etc. If you aren’t already, please be a consistent and generous contributor to our parish finances. It’s great if your parents and grandparents are generous to the parish, but if you’re in the workforce, join in the fun of supporting your parish. There are some folks who use the foyer during Mass because they have some particular need to do so. For some it is a medical reason. Others might bring their small child there if the child is being restless. All good. But, please do not use the Foyer during Mass as a place to carry on conversations or scroll on your phone. Last week during Mass, a full-blown conversation was taking place back there during one of the Masses which I could hear all the way down at the altar! When we come to Mass, the goal isn’t simply to get Holy Communion. The goal is to worship God with as much love and attention as we possibly can. Thanks. Now on to something less nitty-gritty, but I think it applies to many of you. I just wanted to give a word of encouragement to the many of you who are dealing with a lot in life. In a particular way, I am thinking of those of you who come to Mass each week who are caring for a spouse, a parent, a child, or a loved one and who feel the weight of the world on your shoulders. Some of you are caring for a loved one who has dementia or Alzheimer's and are exhausted. Others perhaps have a child who is going through a lot. That child might be three or thirty. That weighs upon you. Some are perhaps going through some personal struggle or battle in their life. Whatever it is, please know that others are praying for you. Sometimes I use those silent pauses during Mass to pray for people in those situations. In any event, I hope that St. Patrick Parish is for you a bit of an oasis in your life, a place where–in the midst of your trials–you find some refreshment. I hope you know that you are not alone. With that, I am taking the week off. Just my luck that Florida is experiencing a cold spell right now. I keep telling myself, however, that 60 is better than -6. Your Brother in Christ, Fr. David Barnes

Chances are, if you asked most people to recite the Ten Commandments, they would struggle to do so. I’m willing to bet that, if asked to name them, most would probably begin with, “Uhm . . . thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery” . . . and then would maybe get one or two more. (I bet some of you reading this are testing yourselves right now!) I wonder how many would remember the Third Commandment: “Keep Holy the Sabbath?” It’s quite amazing that in this very brief list of serious commandments, even before we get to murder and adultery, is the commandment to keep holy the Sabbath. That fact should alert us all to the seriousness with which God takes that command. God provided Moses with ten commandments and among these, he chose to include the command to keep holy the Sabbath. For two thousand years, Christians have celebrated our Sabbath on the Lord’s Day, Sunday. Since the earliest days of Christianity, Christians gathered together to celebrate the Mass. Many–during persecutions–risked or gave up their lives in order to be present at Mass. Believers feel deeply the responsibility and the joy of keeping the Lord’s Day. In fact, it is a grave obligation for every Catholic to participate in the Mass each Sunday. There are occasions when one is excused from the obligation of attending Sunday Mass. Illness, danger due to weather, attending to the care of someone who is sick, mothers attending to a newborn, and similar situations are examples. Golf, lacrosse practice, or a dance recital are not. There is no commandment that says to keep holy dance class or lacrosse practice. I mention all of this mostly because last weekend I felt such enormous gratitude for all of you. There was a big storm coming. We were bombarded with reports of the impending storm all week. What could have happened? Well, you could have allowed that atmosphere of chaos to affect your judgment and draw you away from fulfilling the Lord’s commandment. But, what actually happened? So many of you rearranged your schedules in order to come to an earlier Mass. You prioritized Mass over everything else. You truly kept the Lord’s Day holy. I thought perhaps confessions last Saturday would be low because everyone was distracted by the impending storm. Instead, they were full as usual. You gave God your best. God not only gives us commandments. He also gives us the grace necessary to live those commandments. So, last week, God gave you all some great graces. Did you squander them? Did you reject them? Did you turn your back on them? Nope. You accepted those graces and you did something so pleasing to the Lord. You came and worshipped Him at Mass. In doing so, you also provided a solid example to others (including me). Seeing all of you faithfully keeping the Lord’s Day last week was a real sign to me that God’s grace is at work in you. Many of you probably think, “Of course I went to Mass. I would never miss it.” Others might be thinking, “I thought about not going, but I still went.” In doing so, you all loved God. What a beautiful thing. Thank you for your beautiful witness of faith and for your love for God. When we love God, He pours out even more blessings upon us. So, by loving God last week, you not only won great graces for yourself, but you also undoubtedly won great graces for the whole parish. Your love for God is truly beautiful and I am grateful to witness it. Your Brother in Christ, Fr. David Barnes

I often say that I grew up at the very end of a particular era. We lived right around the corner from the parish church, the rectory that housed five priests, the convent filled with nuns, and the school that my brothers and I attended. When it snowed, we would help shovel out the parish. During the blizzard of ‘78, my mother sent my older brothers with their sleds to help the sisters bring back the bundles from the supermarket. We were altar boys, sang in the choir, and when we were older, were in the CYO. Our whole life revolved around the parish. Our friends were from the parish. Our parents’ friends were from the parish. It really was our whole life. When we went out to play, it was with friends from the parish. When we got into fights, it was with kids from the parish. When we got in trouble, it was someone from the parish who caught us. I am always grateful for that experience. It was a real sense of community. We were bound together. Back then, maybe because we were just kids or maybe because life was different then, it didn’t seem to take much effort for us all to be bound together in community. It was just the way it was. If you lived in North Quincy, you belonged to Sacred Heart. That’s just how it was. Today, belonging to a community takes a lot more effort. In a mobile and digital society, real belonging takes commitment. Social media attempts to provide people with a feeling of belonging, but somehow makes them feel more isolated. It creates a facade of community, but lacks the give and take of real life. In a digital world, it is easy to escape from reality and to escape from true belonging. We might think that this is true only of young people, but it is not limited to them. How many people have disappeared from real community life? They are glued to screens; gambling away their money, scrolling through photos, buying useless products that they neither need nor will actually use, addicted to pornography, obsessed by news and tragedies, in a constant state of anger. So many people have been sucked out of reality and into an empty world. Extracting themselves from this abyss of emptiness feels impossible to them. The worst part of it is that so many Catholics have disappeared into this emptiness and have given up the very Bread of Life. It is terribly sad to see people–especially towards the end of their lives–let go of Christ and disappear into nothingness. They are lulled into a spiritual coma where they think they can live without the Eucharist, without confession, without God. They might not say it, but that is how they are living. Nobody wakes up old and decides to live this way. It happens gradually. They stop praying daily. They don’t go to confession for long periods of time. They withdraw from the Sunday Mass. And step by step, they disappear from life. All of us have an opportunity to rescue people from this prelude to hell. We do that by committing ourselves to the life of our parish community here and now. In doing so, we provide young people the opportunity to experience what a true, life-giving community is. I know parents have a lot on their plates, but I just want to encourage parents in modeling the Faith to their children. Their eternity is being worked out here and now. They need you to raise them in the Faith. Don’t let them down. As far as parishioners who are homebound, I urge family members and friends to keep these folks from disappearing. No one should presume that someone who is homebound is no longer in need of spiritual nourishment, growth, and the Sacraments. It is just the opposite. These people are entering into the last years of their lives and NEED spiritual care. I am touched by the devotion shown by many of our parishioners who reach out to the homebound and make certain that they receive sacramental ministry. Their faith in the sacraments is really edifying. If you disappear from social media, nobody really notices. And, truth to be told, it makes no real difference. If someone disappears from the Church–by effectively living as though God no longer matters–it is a tragedy of the highest order. If you are at Mass each week, but feel yourself getting sucked into the abyss, do something about it. Become more involved in the life of the parish. If you are homebound and living your whole life on social media, television, and home shopping networks, reach out to us. We will do our best to provide some regular spiritual care and the sacraments. All of us clinging together to Jesus, to the Eucharist, to the Mass, and to our life together–this is how we are saved from that terrible abyss of nothingness that seems intent on swallowing us up. Together in Christ, we live REAL life. Together in Christ, we live eternal life. Your Brother in Christ, Fr. David Barnes

I do not know if it was New Year’s resolutions or what, but the Masses last weekend were happily crowded! If you happen to be someone who is just getting back into the swing of things, welcome home! I remember when I belonged to a gym (and actually went!), the very beginning of January would be a mob scene, but would quickly return to normal within a week. If you’re trying to make Mass a part of your life again, be faithful to it for two months. That’s a good amount of time to form a good habit. Then, it gets easier. Remember also that the urge you had to return to Mass is itself a grace from God, so you are not doing this alone. He is giving you His help. I mentioned last week at the Noon Mass how encouraged I am by seeing you all at Mass. St. Paul tells us that we should encourage one another and build each other up. When I look out from the altar and see all of you praying together, helping one another, and living lives of faith, I really am so encouraged. Your presence makes me want to be a holier man, a better priest, and a more faithful disciple of the Lord. In each of your hearts there is a remarkable drama taking place. The Lord Jesus is calling you, drawing you out into the deep life of faith, and immersing you more fully into His Saving Passion, Death, and Resurrection. When I look out and see you, that is what I see, and it fills my heart with a deep affection for you. This Drama of Salvation sometimes gets forgotten by us. We get distracted. We focus on “what needs to get done,” but we forget that all of the other things in life—our families, our work, our obligations, our hobbies, our politics etc.—are all taking place within something much greater, the Drama of our being disciples of Jesus Christ. Every so often, I realize that this can be true even of parish life. In a big parish like ours, it is true that things have to get done. Sometimes, however, we go through the motions, doing the work, doing the same things etc., but forgetting the “why.” A lot of time and energy in parish life can be spent “doing things” because "we have always done them like this," but we forget that the reason we should do anything at all as a parish is in order to form lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ. When Jesus called his first disciples, he spent time with them. They lived a friendship together. It was through this small, intimate friendship that he taught them and formed them. This method is still the method. I see the fruits of this method in the life of our parish. The other evening some members of the young couples and family group had a small potluck supper. It wasn’t huge, but it was beautiful. In the simplicity of that meal together, Christ was forming them and meeting them. I won’t list them all out, but there are various small groups—both official and unofficial—of which many of you are a part. Through these small friendships and companionships, Christ is forming you into his disciples. Do I love a crowded Sunday Mass? Absolutely! When I see the crowds, however, I also see how important and formative small groups are in the parish. In these intentional communities people become more attracted to Christ and the desire to remain with Him deepens within them. In these small friendships we learn from one another how to follow Christ. My hope in writing all of this today is simply to put in front of all of us the reason we exist as a parish. It is to form lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ. It might seem like that is totally obvious, but it feels like we somehow lose sight of it at times. I want to commit myself to making every aspect of our life as a parish centered on that mission. I’d be happy if you would join me in that. Your Brother in Christ, Fr. David Barnes