Funerals

Last week, I had the distinct honor of being able to be present with two families whom I have known for a long time. Two Saturdays ago, I was able to serve at the funeral Mass for Steve Brackett. About 4 years ago, a good friend of mine, Shannon Mckeand, married Steve. The Mckeands are parishoners at St. Jude, but are very active throughout the south side of Indianapolis. Tom Mckeand owns a construction company, and they did the work on the Hollowell house about 15 years ago which allowed us to triple the size of our house. They are extremely generous people, and they touch the lives of all those whom they come in contact with.





The morning of the Steve's funeral, I was awakened by a call from Nick Oskay, a Roncalli and Nativity classmate. He informed me that Matt Oskay, Nick's cousin, had been found dead at Warren Central. I couldn't really believe what he was saying. I had known Matt since fourth grade. We played Nativity football together. I still remember when I was in seventh grade and Matt was in 8th grade, he had me over to spend the night. That is something that 8th graders just don't do! At Roncalli, we were in the show choir for a year together. As I told someone at the funeral home, once you've sang and danced with a guy while you were both wearing sequens, a bond is forged which will never be broken!

Both funerals were absolutely beautiful. It was such a privilege to be able to be a deacon at both Masses. It was especially touching to be able to deacon Matt's funeral at Nativity because of the fact that the entire parish came to the funeral, and it seemed so sacred and beautiful that Matt was baptized there, and all of us had been to so many Sunday masses in that church, the list of things which made it such a special day could go on forever.

Being able to be present to both families in the midst of their tragedies was such a confirmation for me of why I chose the priesthood. To walk with people in the midst of such horrendous tragedy, and to still be able to see goodness in the middle of all that has been such an honor and a joy for me. May we all keep Matt and Steve in our prayers.





Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,


And let perpetual light shine upon them.


May the souls of Matt and Steve, and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace.


Amen.

Bishops' Conference Presentation

I (John) just returned this afternoon from Baltimore. In Baltimore, the Bishops of the United States are gathered for their annual week-long meeting to discuss issues for the upcoming year. Included on their slate are the discussion and approval of the much-rumored new translations for certain parts of Mass, and the second major item is the issue of how to best respond to Catholic politicians who support abortion legislation.

Each year, St. Meinrad hosts a dinner for any bishops interested in stopping in and hearing about what is happening at St. Meinrad. This year, our new rector, Fr. Denis Robinson, thought it would be good to bring a seminarian along as well. So, for two days, I got to hang out in Baltimore on St. Meinrad's tab. It was really wonderful! I got to meet up with my brother Danny who lives in Washington D.C. and his girl friend. We got together Sunday night and watched the Colts scratch out a victory. I was also able to take in a lot of the city. As I walked the city on Monday, it finally started to sink in for me just how powerful a witness the Roman collar is to people of all faiths. Walking down the street I was stopped by a man who said he was thinking about joining the ministry and thanked me for my witness. Twenty seconds later, simply standing at a cross walk, a woman standing next to me said, "I believe there is a God. If not, what are we all here for." I wasn't exactly sure what she was getting at, but she was smiling, and said thanks, so I took it as a positive. There were so many interactions like that; it was truly astounding. It really affirmed for me the committment that I made to myself when I was ordained that I will always wear black for the rest of my life.

Anyway, my little presentation went well. I only spoke for about five minutes. It helped that there were only about 15 bishops there - somehow it didn't seem as intimidating as I thought. I simply told them a few of the things that make St. Meinrad a special seminary, most of which Jeremy or I have already mentioned in this blog.

Let us pray for our bishops, this week and always. They have such a tough job to do, and yet they can never back down in the face of evil. May God grant them the strength they need to carry out their task this day. Amen.

First Homily

Tomorrow (thurs.) I am scheduled to give my first homily. I am surprisingly not that nervous about it. A few things have led to that calmness. 1) At St. Meinrad, you have the option to take some intro singing lessons and then join the cantor rotation. I did that about four years ago, and have embarassed myself many times through that growth process. I have found, though, that stumbling through that, I realized that the times where I did mess up in Mass never caused the world to collapse! I've also gone on record saying that if you can sing in front of the people you live with, then preaching is no problem at all. 2) Jeremy and I have also had very good preparation here at St. Meinrad. Our school is known as helping guys come a long way in their preaching style. I've been taking a preaching class at least once a year now for four years. The preparation has been very solid.

Although I'm on the calendar for tomorrow, I may get bumped because we just learned that a bishop is flying in to visit his seminarians tomorrow. Anytime a bishop visits, he presides and preaches at Mass - so I'll be in the homiletic bullpen tomorrow in case the bishop's flight is delayed. Anyway, here is the first homily I've written for actual delivery during a Mass.

“There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people” (Lk 15:7).

This Sunday afternoon, all around the country, hundreds of thousands of middle aged men will file into NFL stadiums around the country. A significant number of them will not be in very good athletic shape themselves, yet they will injest a few beers, a few brats,… a few more beers, and then most will spend the day mocking and taunting the athletic abilities of some of the finest athletes in the world.
For us as well, the temptation might be there to sit on the sidelines of life. To sit in the crowd. Out of the spotlight. We might be tempted to mock the brother or sister from our flock whom the Good shepherd had to track down and bring home. Perhaps we might find ourselves thinking in the back of our minds “I can’t believe what that moron did. Why didn’t he play it safe, why did he even risk failure, why didn’t he just lay up, and fly under the radar? Yes, the temptation to mock the sinners in our midst for having put themselves in a position to fall is always there.
Our 26th president has something to say about this. President Theodore Roosevelt, in a way, was addressing those NFL fans, and he was addressing us as well when he said that QUOTE
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again… but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause;… who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

May the Eucharist we receive from this altar give us the strength to no longer mill about amidst the company of cold and timid souls, and may it also serve to enkindle in our hearts that fire to enter the great contest that is life…the great adventure that is love. Let us take solace in the fact that if we fall, the Good Shepherd is already on his way to bring us back home."

Deacon Ordination Part 2

(Picture 1: John being congratulated by Fr. Aaron Jenkins of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis

Picture 2: John and Jeremy giving one another the sign of peace after being vested as deacons

Picture 3: John and Jeremy kneeling as the Archbishop prays over our class)

Thanks to all of those who have been praying for us for so long. After a long and winding road, Jeremy and I were both ordained. It was a glorious day! It rained hard the night before, but we all awoke to a beautiful Fall morning, and we were all glad for that.

My family and a few friends of mine came down the day of the event, and were able to celebrate the day with me. It meant so much to have my family and friends with me for such a big day.

Archbishop Buechlein was the celebrant which was awesome. Most of our classmates are from other dioceses, so it was a privilege for the two of us to be ordained by our own Archbishop. Jeremy and I also were fortunate enough to serve as the deacons of the Mass after our ordination. Typically, two men start out an ordination Mass serving in the role of deacon, and then, after the ordination, two of the men just ordained serve as deacon for the second half of the Mass. This year, Jeremy and I were able to serve in that role after our ordinations, which made the day even more special.

After the ordination, the school and all of our guests joined in a lovely banquet to celebrate the occasion. Something Saint Meinrad does very well is the art of banqueting! It was a fabulous meal.

After the banquet, everyone had a few hours to sit back and relax. At 4 PM, our vice-rector, Father Godfrey Mullen O.S.B. celebrated the anticipation Mass for all those families and friends who couldn't, because of travel, stay for the 10:30 AM Mass the next day. I was fortunate to get to serve as one of the two deacons at that Mass as well.

After the Mass, it was time to party. Tradition here is that the deacon class puts on a hog roast for all of the seminarians and guests. It was a great night of celebration.

Thanks again to all those who have prayed for us and supported us. I know I speak for Jeremy when I say we are both very much looking forward to June, when we will both return to Nativity as priests to celebrate our first Masses. Until then, please continue to pray for us and now of our prayers for you. We will continue to update this blog regularly for those who are curious as to what goes on in the seminary between one's deacon and priesthood ordinations.