Author: Father Jacob Maurer

A month of pastor’s posts! Thank you to everyone who has offered encouragement to continue these – I’ve been having a blast putting them together (and learning about the saints as I research the upcoming liturgical feasts!).

With the summer coming to a close, there’s a lot to look forward. The most immediate is our ‘End of Summer’ BBQ, happening this Sunday after Masses (11:30 am to 1:30 pm). These picnic-style barbecues started as a post-pandemic effort to rekindle our connections as a community. While we had hopes, we never dreamed how popular they would be and how much folks with rally around them. I hope you’ll come for some food, stay for some fraternity, and enjoy a pleasant afternoon with your fellow parishioners.

This Sunday is also the last weekend with Deacon Kirk at Saint Mark parish. He will be sorely missed. Even before he was ordained, Deacon Kirk was volunteering frequently at our parish. During the pandemic he was assisting at the altar at practically every Mass and building remote programs for baptism, confirmation, RCIA, and weddings. Though he has been away from Saint Mark parish every third Sunday, this wasn’t a day off – he travels north to his son’s parish to assist and preach at the Spanish-speaking Mass there. Though I suspect he might be embarrassed by our attention, I nonetheless hope you’ll join me in offering personal thanks to him for his generous sharing of his time & talents and for his faithful ministry to our community.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also point out that our community is going to need many hands to help assist in ministry in the coming weeks and months. As of right now, we have exactly one person to lead RCIA classes for new adult Catholics, confirmation classes for our youth, baptismal preparation for expecting parents, and wedding instruction for engaged couples: the pastor. And while I am eager to see these ministries through, the fact of the matter is that I will not be able to do this alone. Please prayerfully consider sharing your faith with new Catholics, with our youth, with expecting parents, and couples preparing for marriage. More to come on this, but it’s not too soon to invite the Lord to help you discern if He is calling you to assist.

Finally, I want to follow up on my homily from Sunday, albeit tangentially. In just a few weeks, we’ll be entering the next phase of the archbishop’s pastoral project Partners in the Gospel. The long and short is that every parish in the archdiocese is going to be part of a parish family – a joining of 2-3 parishes under one pastor and (possibly) a parochial vicar. The draft of parish family configurations will be announced in September – with an input session for parishioners to follow afterward. For many Catholics, this has not been something that has received a lot of attention – I strongly encourage you to visit our dedicated Partners in the Gospel page, read some of the materials there – perhaps starting with the most recent letter from the archbishop.

One of Deacon Kirk’s go-to lines that I especially appreciate is that “the Lord is going to do something amazing”. Of course, only He knows what that will be! As for us, we will simply have to follow the Lord, trusting – as we know we can – that He works all things for our good. Let us continue to pray for each other, and work so as to build up the Body of Christ.

Yours in Christ,

Father Maurer

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Monday, August 21 – Pope Pius X is often only associated with the schismatic acts of Archbishop Lefebvre, founder of the Society of Saint Pius X – a group of irregularly ordained clerics who have yet to be reconciled with the Church even today. Lost in the noise is the fidelity and example of Pope Pius X himself, whose motto was “Restore all things in Christ”. I encourage you to take some time to learn about him, his life, and his ministry as we celebrate his memorial today.

Tuesday, August 22 – As we celebrate today the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we would do well to look to the Jewish tradition of the Queen Mother. Widow of the former king, mother of the new king, she was both advisor to the new king and advocate for the people. If that sounds familiar, good! Though Jesus has no need for an advisor, He nonetheless opens Himself to her intercession on our behalf – may we be sure to ask for her aid as we seek to follow Him.

Wednesday, August 23 – Saint Rose of Lima is perhaps most known for her persevering devotion and willingness to endure even great suffering on behalf of Christ and her love for Him. Read more about her at Franciscan Media as we celebrate her memorial today.

Thursday, August 24 – One of the twelve Apostles, Saint Bartholomew is said to have traveled to India to preach the Gospel before going on to Armenia. He is considered one of the co-patrons of the Church in Armenia. Unfortunately, apart from what is mentioned in Scripture, little of his life & work is known outside of tradition and legend. Nonetheless, we celebrate his feast today and thank God for his witness! Read more about him at uCatholic.

Good morning, and welcome to the third pastor’s post! Still searching for a geeky Catholic title for this thing, but I’ve been enjoying putting them up so far – I’ve been delighted to hear from folks now saying they are too. If you’re among that crowd, please take a moment to share this with other parishioners. My hope is that this is a(nother!) opportunity for us to connect with each other as we start each week.

Speaking of hopes, I want to take a moment to talk about dreams for parish life. As a priest and a pastor, there are loads of dreams I carry with me – but at the root of them all is a sense of community, of belonging, of looking forward to seeing friends old & new at Mass, in prayer, in learning together, and at social events. For myself, Sundays are at the heart of my own sense of parish community: greeting parishioners before Mass, praying together in our joint offering of the Mass, catching up afterwards, and enjoying coffee & a snack before going our separate ways. Truly, it is the high point of each week.

By the way, thanks to the work of our maintenance facility manager we have new coffee machines in our school cafeteria where we have our Sunday socials. Come for the fresh coffee, stay for the company!

There was an article from The Pillar last week that caught my eye, featuring the parish of Sts. Peter and Paul Basilica in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They have built a creative example of fellowship & community support, playing out in an edifying and (at least to me) new way. Pope John Paul II was fond of the phrase “legitimate diversity”, perhaps most famously used in his 1995 encyclical on ecumenism, Ut Unum Sint. I find this inspiring not only for ecumenical efforts (ad extra) but for parochial life (ad intra). Though there is a standard definition of what makes a parish (all the Christian faithful of a particular territory), there is no limit to how it might explore how it expresses that community life! What might the Lord empower us to create & build, if we but opened ourselves to His inspiration?

On a different note, I found myself talking music with one of the attendees at our AMA (‘Ask Me Anything’) session last night. We were geeking out about – of all things – video game music and how triple-A games (Skyrim, Halo, Breath of the Wild, et cetera) have amazing music composed by professionals, performed by talented artists, and thoughtfully placed within the story & play so as to immerse players in fully conscious, and active participation in the game.

If that phrasing sounds familiar, it should! “Fully conscious, and active participation” is one of the rallying cries of Sancrosanctum Concilium – the first document of the Second Vatican Council. I’m not saying we should shoot for music that energizes congregations for battle with aliens on a ring world against galactic danger – but this level of effort & energy should not be reserved to games; it should be reflected in our prayer, worship, and the general life faith!

For now, I hope this week is full of many blessings, creativity, and perhaps a little excitement (of both the earthly and heavenly variety). As always, know of my prayers for you – especially as we gather an extra time this Tuesday for the solemnity of Mary. May God bless you and your loved ones throughout this week.

Yours in Christ,
Father Maurer

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Monday, August 14 – World War II brought with it both great suffering & sorrows as well as inspiring extraordinary virtue in those who were caught in so many impossible situations. Saint Maximilian Kolbe, whose memorial is celebrated today (the day of his execution) – and one day before solemnity of Mary, to whom he had great devotion. Read more about him at Loyola Press.

Tuesday, August 15 – We celebrate today’s solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, of such significance in the life of the Church that it is a holy day of obligation. Be sure to plan to attend Mass today (we’re offering Masses at 9:30 am and at 6:30 pm)! And consider checking out Bishop Barron’s homily ‘God’s Warrior Queen’ on the occasion of this feast in 2021. Let us together honor the Blessed Virgin, our queen mother!

Wednesday, August 16 – In our second AMA (‘Ask Me Anything’) session a few weeks ago, we had some enthusiastic conversation around the societal responsibilities (and culpability) of those who are wealthy. Today’s memorial honoring Saint Stephen of Hungary points us toward a man who took such responsibilities seriously. Whatever our place in our community, may we also seek to use our gifts for the betterment of ourselves and those around us.

Saturday, August 19 – Saint John Eudes, though appearing on the liturgical calendar in the form of an optional memorial today, is perhaps not as well-known as other saints. I must admit that this is certainly true for me, as I had not taken the time to look into his life & ministry. It turns out he was a French missionary who started two different religious communities and was also a member of a third! His particular devotion, it seems, was to the sacred hearts of Mary & Jesus. You can read a little more about his life & piety at Aleteia.