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From the Desk of Fr.

Dennis Miller, Your Pastor


THE MOST HOLY TRINITY ~~~~~ May 26, 2013

Before I begin the catechetical parts of my column, let me address a troubling pastoral situation. As many of you are aware, recently an establishment of ill repute has opened in our part of the State of Iowa. This establishment claims to bring jobs and business to the community but is, in truth, bringing drugs, prostitution, exploitation of women, and other deeply distressing things. Any Catholic who participates in this activity is in a state of mortal sin and needs to seek the sacrament of reconciliation before receiving communion. However, as most people who go there probably dont go to church, I encourage you to work with the people who are protesting to gently and lovingly work to close this blight on our community. I have come to understand that the people referred to as protestors call themselves witnesses because they see their actions as a ministry of the loving forgiveness of God. If you join them, remember to constantly show forth the loving, forgiving face of Christ to the lost people who would participate in this life. They are prodigal children who need to come to their senses so that they can receive the loving forgiveness of the Father. Well, we made it. Lent is finished. Easter has come and gone. Our kids are confirmed and have now received their third or fourth communions. In the life of the church, it seems to get really intense at Ash Wednesday and doesnt really relax until the Easter season is finished. That tends to roughly run parallel to the school year as well. I hope your life is starting to slow down a little as we ease into summer. Last weekend, reflecting on the gifts of the Holy Spirit was very fitting for our seniors as they begin the transition to their post-graduate lives and the Holy Spirit is a reminder to all of us of how important it is to live each day as though the resurrection matters. As we conclude the Easter Season, we move into Ordinary Time, a time to reflect more deeply on the teachings of Jesus instead of solely focusing on the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. As we begin this Ordinary Time, we focus on two extraordinary celebrations. This weekend, we celebrate Trinity Sunday, one of the hardest weekends for priests and deacons to preach. The trinity is one of the central mysteries of the church. It is easier to say what the trinity isnt than what it is. We often try to explain it using analogies like the three states of matter (solid, liquid, and gas) or the three leaves of a shamrock. Both of these explanations help us understand one part of the mystery but, ultimately, can lead to confusion and error. For example, if you believe that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are merely three different expressions of the same person, as ice, water, and humidity are just different states of matter of H2O, you fall into the ancient heresy of modalism. Modalism says that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are simply three different modes of the same thing. And the analogy of the shamrock can lead to something called partialism which says that the different persons of the trinity are just different parts that make up the whole like the parts of an orange make up the whole. I think of the mystery of the trinity in a similar way to how we view mystery which is part of a good story. We all start out knowing nothing, theres a point of partial understanding but also partial confusion, and we really only understand things at the end of the story. After Trinity Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of the Lord, or as it used to be called, Corpus Christi. This Solemnity is an opportunity for us to reflect upon the gift that God has given to us in the Eucharist. It is intimately connected to Holy Thursday, the

night when we commemorate the Last Supper. This year, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, has encouraged us to add special solemnity to that weekend. There will be two special opportunities to do so. First, at the Holy Hour on Saturday, June 1st at St. Boniface in Garner we will choose special readings that focus our minds and hearts on the Holy Eucharist. Then, at the last scheduled mass of the weekend at St. James in Forest City, I will lead a Eucharistic procession that carries with it a plenary indulgence. To obtain the plenary indulgence, you have to fulfill the following requirements Do the work while in a state of grace Receive Sacramental confession within 20 days of the work (several plenary indulgences may be earned per reception) Receive Eucharistic communion (one plenary indulgence may be earned per reception) Pray for the pope's intentions (Our Father and Hail Mary, or other appropriate prayer, is sufficient) Have no attachment to sin (even venial) - i.e., it is sufficient that the Christian makes an act of the will to love God and despise sin.

May these celebrations be times of growth in the love of the Lord and his gift of the church for you and your families.

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