Deacon Dan Wright

Friday Reflection: On God's Goodness

The grace and goodness of God toward us is immeasurable.  It is beyond all words of description, yet we attempt to describe it; we try to find the words to communicate it because we experience it as wonderful and as freeing.

As I was meditating on the second reading from the Office of Readings for this morning, which is from St. John Fisher, I began to consider all the goodness in my own life--the goodness that I can participate in--and the goodness that I know awaits me.  I consider everything in life, all experiences, as the gift of God.  Even now as I listen to the sound of falling rain from the window behind me, I intuit the ways of the Creator. I see the ways of God as I listen to the voices of my wife and children in the next room.

In the reading from the Liturgy of the Hours, St. John Fisher describes the work of God in freeing the Hebrew people from their bondage in Egypt.  He considers these things as proofs of God's "deep love and kindness for us." Certainly they are proofs and they are worth considering time and again.  They are to be revisited often.  Yet we also have the proof of God's love in the world in which we live now, in the world of our encounter with the holy.

Like the Hebrew people we too receive a special gift to consider among the many gifts in our lives. Even in lives where there may be pain or a sense of emptiness, the gift of salvation awaits for those who seek it in faith. Salvation is a gift that flows through human history and points us to the God who reaches into our humanity and moves within us to impart his being and his life, which is love and salvation.

St. John Fisher reminds us that God "did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, an offering and a sacrifice to God in a fragrant odor, that he might redeem us from our iniquity and cleanse us for himself as acceptable people." 

This Friday, as we enter into the weekend, we might consider the love that has been offered to us: consider the love given continually from the heart of God to the heart and soul of man and woman.  Consider the "extent of his kindness" and in some way let us offer our genuine praise.  

On the Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas

For All Good Things

Loving God, who sees in us nothing that you have not given yourself, make my body healthy and agile, my mind sharp and clear, my heart joyful and contented, my soul faithful and loving. And surround me with the company of men and angels who share my devotion to you. Above all, let me live in your presence, for with you all fear is banished, and there is only harmony and peace. Let every day combine the beauty of spring, the brightness of summer, the abundance of autumn, and the repose of winter. And at the end of my life on earth, grant that I may come to see and to know you in the fullness of your glory.

            Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

I found the prayer above and offer it as the meditation for today.  It contains what all of us want: health--both physical and mental--happiness and deep joy, a soul full of love that communes with God at all times. I see a great need for the spirit of peace in human lives, which the prayer also recognizes.

May God grant us wisdom and knowledge in the spirit of the great saint whom we memorialize today. May all come to know that God is good and may we come to experience that goodness in our daily lives.

Whenever we open our hearts to God he will fill us with what we need most. Thomas Aquinas taught us to look to Christ's sacrifice--to look to the cross and to look to the crucified one for the things we need most. Certainly this is not the wisdom of the world, yet it is exactly wisdom... it is a wisdom beyond all other wisdoms.  In our Lord's gift of himself we find true fulfillment, true understanding...we find that which has value above all things.

A Poem from the Night

Occasionally I like to add a favorite poem as the day's blog post.  I have chosen Joseph Mary Plunkett's (1817-1916) "I saw the sun at midnight rising red."  Actually, I know Plunkett better for his "Hound of Heaven," which bears a special significance to me. However, today's selection spoke to me in that it is obviously the product of a night spent in prayer. I suppose I feel a certain kinship to those who stay up late. From time to time I'll include some of my own poetry, but for today I offer this deep meditation on the love of God.

I SAW the Sun at midnight, rising red,
Deep-hued yet glowing, heavy with the stain
Of blood-compassion, and I saw It gain
Swiftly in size and growing till It spread
Over the stars; the heavens bowed their head
As from Its heart slow dripped a crimson rain,
Then a great tremor shook It, as of pain—
The night fell, moaning, as It hung there dead.
O Sun, O Christ, O bleeding Heart of flame!
Thou giv’st Thine agony as our life’s worth,
And mak’st it infinite, lest we have dearth
Of rights wherewith to call upon thy Name;
Thou pawnest Heaven as a pledge for Earth,
And for our glory sufferest all shame.

Austin Has a New Bishop!

This was emailed to me this morning from the Diocese of Austin

 

AUSTIN – Habemus episcopum! (We have a bishop!)

Pope Benedict XVI has named Auxiliary Bishop Joe S. Vásquez, of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston as Bishop of the Diocese of Austin. Bishop Vásquez will be the fifth bishop of Austin and the first Mexican-American to lead the diocese.

"I wish to thank Pope Benedict XVI for the confidence he has placed in me in naming me shepherd of the Diocese of Austin," he said. "I also offer prayers of gratitude this day for Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop Emeritus Joseph A. Fiorenza and the priests, religious and laity of the Archdiocese for forming me as a bishop. Most of all, I give thanks to God for the gift of priesthood, which has brought me such joy for 25 years. I trust in the Holy Spirit to enlighten me for this next step in my journey."

The Apostolic Nuncio to the U.S., Archbishop Pietro Sambi, made the announcement in Washington on Tuesday morning.

Bishop Vásquez, 52, was ordained as a bishop in January 2002 and has served as Galveston-Houston's auxiliary bishop since then. Since 2006, Bishop Vasquez has been the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston's Vicar General/Chancellor, overseeing the administrative operations of the largest diocese in Texas and the 11th largest diocese in the U.S. He has also served as Episcopal Vicar for Hispanics and he has been the Archdiocesan Liaison for Youth during his years in Galveston-Houston.

Bishop Vásquez was born July 9, 1957 in Stamford, Texas to Juan and Elvira Vásquez (deceased). He is the oldest child and has three brothers: Robert Vásquez, Samuel Vásquez (deceased) and James Vásquez and two sisters: Cynthia Martínez and Consuelo Elrod. He attended public schools in Stamford and Abilene and then studied theology at the University of St. Thomas in Houston from 1976 to 1980. He attended the Gregorian University, North American College, in Rome from 1980 to 1985. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of San Angelo on June 30, 1984 by Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza.

In the Diocese of San Angelo he served as associate pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Odessa from 1985 to 1987; as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Fort Stockton from 1987 to 1997 and as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in San Angelo from 1997 to 2002.

The Mass of Installation will be March 8 at a yet-to-be determined location.

Bishop Vásquez succeeds Bishop Gregory Aymond who was appointed Archbishop of New Orleans by Pope Benedict XVI last year. Since that time, Msgr. W. Michael Mulvey has been leading the diocese as Administrator. On Jan. 18, Pope Benedict XVI named Msgr. Mulvey as Bishop of Corpus Christi.

The Diocese of Austin includes 127 parishes and missions in 25 Central Texas counties spread over 19,000 square miles. There are approximately 500,000 Catholics within the diocese.

Remembering Timothy and Titus: On Being Disciples

The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house.
Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
"Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you."
But he said to them in reply,
"Who are my mother and my brothers?"
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
"Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God

is my brother and sister and mother." Mk 3:31-35

The gospel reading today for the Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, is one that I find to be an interesting selection. It juxtaposes Mary, whom we call blessed and mother, and whom we adore, with all who strive to do the will of God.

To do the will of God might seem to be a monumental task, perhaps one too great for mere men and women to accomplish. We need not look far in this life to notice, not the triumphs of humanity, but the common failures and traps. In our times it frequently seems that the expectation is for us to make a mess of our lives, and so we go about doing just that.

However, there is another way; it is the way of those who are called disciples. One of the memories I cherish and value from my childhood is that my great aunt, who took on the role of mother for me, taught me at an early age that I could be a disciple. She did this by directly teaching me about the disciples and apostles and then telling me that I too could be a disciple.

Discipleship is about doing what the world does not expect us to do. The world tells us to follow after our base appetites and to let no one tell us that the way of our desires will lead to an unfulfilled life rather than the fulfillment that they falsely promise.

Jesus wants us to be disciples. He wants those who long to do his will. Doing the will of God has the effect of incorporating us into the family of Christ. We stand alongside his mother and his brothers and sisters who have said, "I desire to do your will O Lord, help me in my weakness to be what you want me to be. Help me Lord to be what the world does not expect me to be. May I triumph in you; may I overcome in you, and may I be made new entirely in you."

Discipleship is the witness of the power of God to reach in and change lives. It is the witness of conversion, and the witness of a love greater than any love the world knows. Really, I think we all want love. Too often this becomes the source of many failures. If we only knew that the love of God awaits us and the magnitude of it, we might fall to our knees immediately and pray, "thy will be done."

Paul's Conversion and Our Conversion

Although I considered the readings for the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul today as a place to begin my reflection, what stood out to me more, at least in the general theme of conversion was a reading from First Peter, which was part of yesterday’s evening prayer:

Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, he who in his great mercy gave us new birth; a birth unto hope which draws its life from the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; a birth to an imperishable inheritance, incapable of fading of defilement…

Certainly when we look at the life of St. Paul, who said that his sins were greater than those belonging to any other because of his persecution of the Church, we can see both the mercy of God and the new birth in Christ active in his life. Indeed, God frees us all from sin and gives us a new beginning in a world made new by the power of Christ.  Paul shows us what we can attain with faith. The essential message of Saints Peter and Paul does not vary. God makes all things new; he does it in us by the power of his great love to give us a new beginning, a new birth. In Christ God makes all things new and we stand blessed to participate in praising God along with countless saints and angels.

As I read the passage quoted above I felt compelled to insert myself into it as I continued:

…which is kept in heaven for me who is guarded with God’s power through faith; to be revealed in the last days.

While the message of the conversion of St. Paul certainly teaches us about the great apostle, it also teaches us about ourselves. It is about Paul and us. Therefore, when I first read St. John Chrysostom’s excerpt from the Office of Readings for today’s feast, I felt a strong sense of affirmation.  He says:

Paul, more than anyone else, has shown us what man really is, and in what our nobility consists, and of what virtue this particular animal is capable…

...Of what we are capable through God's mercy by our daily participation in the new creation; by our participation from moment to moment in God's design for humanity. What might be wrought by faith human tongues have just begun to express.

Pope on Priests and the Digital Media

I was delighted today to discover that the pope is asking priests to begin making wider use of digital media such as blogs in order to evangelize. For several years now I have strongly held that the Internet provides one of the best means ever to take the gospel to the entire world.  

Electronic evagelization is something that all of us can take part in--I note the numerous blogs by Catholic laypeople and certainly the good number already in existence by priests (many fewer by deacons such as myself)--but the priest has a special call to take the gospel to all the world. Therefore, it is very encouraging to see the pope's support for priests in this area.

A number of years ago I recall hearing someone with far-reaching insight say that with the Internet we have to avoid the mistake we made with Television in terms of not using it to it's fullest potential. Of course there are notable efforts, such as EWTN and televised Masses, in existence already in terms of television, but there's room for much more.  

The pope speaks of the Church exercising a "diaconia" of culture, and of course this is something that we can all be involved in bringing about. I pray that whatever efforts I put in here on this blog will be an inspiration to all people--lay, religious, and clergy--to take a greater role in bringing the gospel to all the world. However, even more we should all pray that the media may be used to spread Christian values and culture in a world where more often than not the media serves purposes that are opposed to the gospel.

Here is a direct link to the Pope's message. 

Friday Reflection: Growing in Grace

Friday comes as a welcome moment as I prepare for the weekend. I accept the day as a moment to reflect on the need for growth in the grace that God gives us. Surely all who desire God’s grace and salvation have it readily available for the asking. Nevertheless, all of us may grow in grace and growing in grace is certainly a beautiful thing. It is something to be greatly coveted in the good sense of the word.

Asking God to allow us to grow in grace doesn't mean that we deny the existence of the grace we have already. Nor does it somehow mean that we can be “more saved” than someone else or "more saved" than we are already. However, it does mean that we see the need to better reflect the image of Jesus in our daily lives. It means that we want to be more like Christ. We want to know him better and show him better in our world. Growing in grace is becoming more Christ-like.

I take Friday as an exciting anticipation of the weekend. Not so that I will have time away from my job (After all, growing in grace means that I meet Christ daily at my job. My job too is God's gift to me). Rather, I anticipate the weekend because it offers me yet another opportunity to be reconciled and to worship God and receive the Blessed Sacrament—the real presence of Jesus—again. I look forward to the weekend because everything that happens recharges me and gets me ready to go into the world next week and give a special gift to all whom I encounter.

This Friday I offer special thanks for the answered prayers in my life—really for as far back as I can remember, but also recently. I thank God for the special people in my life and for the healing and hope that they have brought and taught me to receive. I thank God for this special day to prepare to meet Jesus yet again. More than anything, I am thankful for the opportunity to grow and become whatever God wills. May we all be blessed with the freshness of God’s love and Holy Spirit as we enter the weekend and the new week ahead.

Remembering St. Agnes: Considering a Child's Sacrifice

Today is the birthday of a virgin; let us imitate her purity. It is the birthday of a martyr; let us offer ourselves in sacrifice. It is the birthday of Saint Agnes, who is said to have suffered martyrdom at the age of twelve….Dragged against her will to the altars, she stretches out her hands to the Lord in the midst of flames, making the triumphant sign of Christ the victor on the altar of sacrilege….Too young to be punished, yet old enough for a martyr’s crown; unfitted for the contest, yet effortless in victory, she shows herself a master of valor despite the handicap of youth. As a bride she would not be hastening to join her husband with the same joy she shows as a virgin on her way to punishment, crowned not with flowers but with holiness of life, adorned not with braided hair but with Christ himself.—St. Ambrose, On Virgins

It may be that sometimes we don’t sufficiently consider the lives of the saints and martyrs on their feast days or memorials. For those who are able to attend Mass daily there may be a better understanding where there is a priest for whom such things bear great importance. I must admit that sometimes, due to the busyness of the day or something else, I have failed to give the kind of attention to the lives of the saints that would truly inform my worship. However, sometimes there is a saint who seems to call out and catch my attention.

Years ago I had a long visit with a wise elderly priest after coming to terms with an especially trying personal challenge. The priest told me that there had always been a saint praying for me, whom I may not have realized or known about—he said it was a special saint whose prayers were just for me. I believe this now more than ever.

I can’t really say that Agnes, this young girl who lived in the third or fourth century, has been my special saint. However, I do know that she stands out to me today. Perhaps it is her youth and the fact that I have a little boy who is only a year younger than Agnes was when she offered her life in the truest imitation of Christ. Perhaps it is my consideration of my own daughter, who is just couple years older than St. Agnes was, who speaks to me. Regardless, I want to stop for a moment and consider St. Agnes, whom St. Ambrose tells us “succeeds in convincing others of her testimony about God.”

Today I call out her name. I say "St. Agnes, little friend, not unlike some of my students whom I fondly remember from years past, not unlike my own children, pray for me. Help me to have your courage and commitment to Christ. Help me to become like you, who depended on God and placed yourself entirely in the hands of Christ our savior. Let me be like you…to hide myself in Christ Jesus…to place myself entirely in his great sacrifice… but also to face the here and now with courage. Not being called to suffer the martyr’s death necessarily, but being called to give my all, my everything, for him who loved me greatest and saved me from eternal death."

To Be Who God Has Made Us to Be

All things are in the hands of the Lord, as the reading from Samuel in the Morning Prayer today reminds us.  I reflect on this briefly today after having a busy night—family responsibility, as well as work taken home, is part of being a deacon.   Today required a little more of me.

The diaconate is really a very different kind of ordained ministry in that in most cases it involves a job during the day and family to care for and to participate with in life.   Often life, my family and work, calls me to participate in ways that I don’t always anticipate but that I meet with readiness.

I’m quite thankful for my family.  They offer me exactly what I need in order to do what I do at the parish and at school.  They offer the balance I need and thus I am able to keep things in the proper perspective.  Our life is in the hands of the Lord: God has made us to be who we are.   God gives us what we have so that we might consecrate it and sanctify it as his instruments.  

God asks us to take responsibility in what he has given us.  He asks us to take ownership and identify with the life we have.  Life is not given to us to run away from or to hide from its difficulties and challenges.  God asks us to face it head on with faith.  God urges us to meet difficult situations—and perhaps difficult people—with strength, with love, with unfailing faith.

…the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he has set the world upon them.  He will guard the footsteps of his faithful ones… (from 1 Sam. 2)

Let us go forth this day to be who he has made us be, and let us do it with faith.