Backyard flora

It isn't quite Hawaii...

A brief history

St. John the Baptist parish in Quincy, Illinois was founded on 15 May 1880, the fifth parish to be established in the Gem City.

The first parish in the Diocese of Quincy (which then became the Diocese of Alton, which became the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois), St. Boniface, was founded in 1837 to serve the German speaking parishioners of the newly established city. Upon their arrival in Quincy, the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) established St. Francis of Solanus parish in 1860. Two years later St. Peter parish was established to meet the needs of Irish immigrants who had come with the railroads. Immaculate Conception parish (St. Mary's, as it is more commonly named) was established in 1867 to serve the German citizens in Quincy's south side.

There was a recognition of the needs of the German Catholics in Quincy's north side toward the beginning of the 1860s. At the time of the dedication of Immaculate Conception parish, Bishop Henry Damien Juncker promised the established of a parish in the north end once St. Mary's and St. Francis' were in better financial situations.

These were, of course, difficult times financially for Catholics in the United States, as well as for most of her citizens. Bishop Peter J. Baltes succeeded Bishop Juncker, who learned in 1872 of a plan of the Illinois General Assembly to repeal legislation that granted the incorporation of churches. Not wanting to miss an opportunity, Bishop Baltes incorporated the future parish of St. John the Baptist on 24 May 1872, appointing at the same time two trustees.

Some months later, Mrs. Anna Cox, the widow of General John C. Cox, donated half a block of farm land for the new parish, which was accepted and deeded on 5 January 1874.

Even so, difficult times remained and monies remained scarce. The priests at St. Boniface parish remained sympathetic to the needs of the Catholics in the north side of Quincy and helped to organize a building committee and to collect donations for the new church. Formed in 1879, the committee collected $818 dollars from prospective parishioners. Once the boundaries for the new parish were established another collection was taken up. Yet the parish lacked the leadership it desperately needed.

Fr. Bruener, pastor of St. Boniface parish, requested Bishop Baltes to send help the struggling parish. His Excellency replied to the request on 15 May 1880 with a simple telegram: "Father Still is coming."

At only thirty-one years of age, Fr. Joseph Still, a native of Prussia, seemed just the man for the daunting mission that lay before him. One parish history book describes him thus:

"Father Joseph Still was the answer to many prayers and the cause of many more. His personal endowment seemed ideal for the hard task ahead. He was a young man, 31 years of age, strong, determined, enthusiastic, physically pre-possessing with a no-nonsense personality that matched his parishioners."

Fr. Still lived at St. Bonfiace while he oversaw the construction of an initial structure that housed both the church and the school and school began on 7 October 1880 even though construction was not quiete finished. In a just a few months, Fr. Still's leadership advanced the parish greatly. The church - located on the second floor - was dedicated on 21 November 1880.

The first rectory was completed and occupied on 4 August 1881, with the parish numbering 190 families.

After purchasing additional lands around the church, Fr. Still invited the Sisters of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ to open a home for the elderly. This they did, which eventually led to their teaching in the school.

By 1887, the parish numbered 250 families with 244 children in the school. To house the students, a three-story addition was built in 1891.

With the growth of parish a new church was needed to the provide the sacraments to the parishioners. With little effort of the convincing the parishioners, Fr. Still drew up plans for a new stone church with the help of the altar builder, Henry Schenk. The new church would be 74' by 166', while the original structure measured only 82' by 54'.

Construction on the new church continued through 1897, slowed down by a lack of funds. The cornerstone was laid on 13 October 1895. The local papers described the day as "outdoing anything of the kind ever attempted in Quincy unless it was the laying of the cornerstone of the Courthouse." Bishop James Ryan dedicated the new church on 13 February 1898.

This is enough for now of the history. I may post more in the coming days.

This made my day

The caption comes from Andrew and is used by The Crescat. I found it via Fr. Z.

Alas, the time has come

Upon return from the illustrious island of Oahu, tidings of the utmost sadness have reached my eyes. But first, a quick history.

When my parents were still living, I was a member of St. Dominic parish in Quincy with my great aunt. When my parents died, I joined St. John the Baptist parish with my aunt's family. This parish very quickly became my home and is no small part of why I love Quincy so very dearly. I am, if my count is correct, the eighteenth priest to come from St. John the Baptist parish since its founding in 1880.

In 1999, St. John the Baptist parish was merged with St. Rose of Lima parish (two blocks down) and became All Saints parish. In 2006, All Saints parish was merged with St. Boniface parish and Immaculate Conception parish and became Blessed Sacrament parish. This last merger still makes very little sense to me whatsover, and these misgivings I have made known.

In reading the bulletin from my home parish of Blessed Sacrament in Quincy, a deep pain struck my heart when I saw the following:

All Churches are built for a very special purpose, which is to gather as the people of God and celebrate the sacraments of our faith. When that need no longer exists, the purpose of the Church ceases to be present. These are sad moments, but also joyful moments. Sad, because we miss the familiar surroundings. Joyful, because these sacred spaces have nourished our faith for many generations. Bishop Lucas will be joining us for these special liturgies [i.e., the final Mass to be celebrated in this church]. We will gather at St. John the Baptist Church on Tuesday, June 26th...

I will withhold today my own disagreements with the theoligical view expressed in the above and simply beg your prayers for me and for the parish that instilled within me a deep love of Christ Jesus and of the Church. These are difficult times, indeed.

I will now have to change my funeral plans to have the Mass of Christian Burial for me celebrated in the splendid chapel of Quincy University (pictures here).

I have blogged elsewhere about this here and here. Pictures of my first Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving in this church are here.

Hilarious

Fr. Longenecker has a great photo caption for the Ascension. Zadok the Roman has one, too.

Homily - 20 May 2007

It is not one of my best homilies, but I am afraid it is the best I could muster after returning from vacation.

Today, “God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy” (Psalm 47:6). The Lord Jesus Christ “was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight” (Acts 1:9). Can you see the Lord ascending in glory? Can you hear the song of the angels echoing that sung at his birth: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14)?

He ascends into heaven, accompanied by the eyes of the disciples gazing after him. He lets them observe it, and he makes them witnesses… They certainly saw, touched and felt him. They confirmed their faith by looking at him and touching him. They accompanied him with their gaze as he ascended into heaven. With attentive ears, they heard the angel’s voice assuring them and foretelling that Christ would come again.[1]

The same Christ who will come again is the same Christ who will come to be our judge. Do we believe this? It boils down to a matter of faith: do we trust in the power of the Risen Lord or not? Do we truly believe that he is the only Son of God? Do we truly believe in the power of his love?

These questions easily bring to mind other questions: What happens to those who believe after death? Is a life of obedient faith worth it in the end, or is it too complicated and too difficult to follow faithfully after Christ? These are questions for each of us to consider, for they are indeed the questions of our hearts; it has always been this way.

In every age, man’s questioning has focused not only on his ultimate origin; almost more than the obscurity of his beginnings, what preoccupies him is the hiddenness of the future that awaits him. Man wants to tear aside the curtain; he wants to know what is going to happen, so that he can avoid perdition and set out toward salvation.[2]

With the eyes of faith we come to see what will become of us in the end, for “this Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Through his death Christ has torn away the veil and has opened for us the way to heaven. Today’s celebration is not so much about the Lord’s ascension into heaven as it is about his Second Coming when he will take those who are faithful to himself. This is a comforting thought, if we live a life of faithful obedience to Christ.

Let us not fool ourselves. The simple living of a “good life” is not enough to attain salvation; faith is required. The Savior plainly tells us,

Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?” Then I will declare to them solemnly, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers” (Matthew 7:21-23).

When surely do not want to hear the Lord Jesus say these words to us. Rather, we want to hear him say to us, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).

After summarizing his mission, the Lord Jesus leads the disciples to Bethany where there he ascends to the right hand of the Father. Why does he take them to Bethany, situated on the side of the Mount of Olives? The name Bethany means “House of Obedience.” Jesus takes the disciples to the Mount of the Olives - on which is the Garden of Gethsemene - to show them that just as Jesus was obedient to the will of the Father, the disciples, too, should be obedient to him. If we are obedient to him then we will follow him, and following him we will come to share eternal life with him and with all the saints.

Even so, it is not always easy to believe. The teachings and commands of Jesus are difficult and hard to keep; they challenge us to grow and to love and oftentimes it seems far easier to stay where we are and not to love as we know we should. Following after Jesus Christ always involves pain, a pain that paradoxically leads always to joy, for

The Lord did not only shed his blood, but he also applied his death to the preparation of the cure. He rose again to present us with a sample of resurrection. He suffered with patience all his own to teach us the patience we should have. In his resurrection, he showed us the reward of patience.[3]

Let us then enter into Bethany, into the House of Obedience on the mountain the Lord; let us enter into the life of the Church where the Lord Jesus continues to speak to his disciples today. Let us listen to the Church, for to her have the means of salvation – the Scriptures and the Sacraments – been entrusted.

What does it mean to be obedient? It means to listen, to listen so well to another that we come to know their wishes for us before being told. To be obedient to Christ is to be his disciple, to be his student, to be his friend who dwells with him and lives in the light of his love. Christ Jesus gives to us the Holy Spirit in Baptism and in Confirmation so that we might, as Saint Paul says, “know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of his glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18-19).

Whoever wishes to follow after Christ and go where has gone “must deny himself and take up his cross daily… For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it,” says the Lord (Luke 9:23-24). The Cross is not to be feared but is to be embraced; it will not harm us but will save us!

“Since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water” (Hebrews 10:22). We have nothing at all to fear if we follow Christ faithfully and obediently. We can listen to Jesus in confident trust because he himself is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6) and “in him there is no darkness at all” (I John 1:5).

The disciples realized this truth, though without a doubt it took them some time to understand and accept it. It is the same with us. The Cross is often a stumbling block to the faith, but to those who do accept it tremendous grace is given. Such is the case with the disciples; this is why they were filled with “great joy” (Luke 24:53).

The disciples learned that their Maker subjected himself to countless kinds of abuses at the hands of the wicked and even to the sentence of death for their salvation. This effectively stirred them up to tolerate adversities of every kind for their salvation. They remembered that through his sacraments they had been cleansed, sanctified and united to the body of him who, when he had tasted death for them, presented an example of a speedy rising from death. For what other reason might they more fittingly receive the hope of their own resurrection?[4]

The Resurrection and Ascension of the Lord is our hope, for “where he has gone we hope to follow.”[5] “Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy” (Hebrews 10:23). Amen.

[1] Saint Augustine, Sermon 256D.6
[2] Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration. Adrian J. Walker, trans. (New York: Doubleday, 2007), 1.
[3] Saint Augustine, Sermon 175.3.
[4] The Venerable Bede, Homilies on the Gospels, 11.9.
[5] Preface I.

A very fond farewell

The day has come for me to depart this beautiful island. It is a sad day. I can honestly say that I do not want to leave - I want to stay here and I will miss it very much.

When I met His Excellency Bishop Silva, I mentioned to him then that I was not sure if I would want to go home. He responded: "The door is open." I wonder what Bishop Lucas would think if I made the request...

Life on the island is much slower and peaceful than life back on the mainland. I like that. Every cashier looked at the back of my credit card for my signature. They saw "SEE PHOTO ID" and actually asked to see my driver's license. I like that, too. That rarely happens at home.

The weather is beautiful and it is not humid. My arthritis - once my shoulder was back in place - has not bothered me one bit, something that also does not happen in Illinois. The temperature changes little throughout the day - fifteen degrees at most. The sun has shone every day I have been here (ten in total). I like that, too.

Having driven around the entire island, there is not a single geographically boring spot to be seen. I like that, too. The mountains are majestic in their greenery. The flora of the island is beyond compare. Everything is so green and fresh. The blue of the sky is perfect and the stars shine brightly in a different arrangement than I am used to seeing.

The people pray well here and there is a vibrancy to their faith and prayer. I like that, too.

In short, I am very happy here and I do not want to leave. Nevertheless, my plane takes off in - if the Lord wills - two hours and forty-five minutes. I am to fly through the night to Cincinatti where I will board another plane back to Indianapolis that is scheduled to land at 10:30 a.m. local time. From there I will drive the two hours back to Effingham for a wedding rehearsal Friday evening.

The weekend wil be packed with a wedding, the weekend Masses and the high school graduation. This weekend will hit like a ton of bricks, but it will have been well worth it.

To this fair island I bid, in the words of Bilbo Baggins, a very fond farewell. Aloha! Or maybe better: arrividerci! Until we meet again! I will return!

Your prayers are requested for a restful sleep through the night and a safe flight. My gratitude in advance!

Tagged again

Andrew at Unam Sanctam has punished - err, tagged - me with a meme about books. Being on vacation this will be tough one, but, nonetheless, here goes:

Three works of non-fiction everyone should read:

Deus caritas est by Pope Benedict XVI - One of the finest spiritual reflections I've yet read.

The First and Second Life of St. Francis of Assisi by Tomaso de Celano - If you want to know the Poverello this is a must read.

Man at Play: Or Did You Ever Practice Eutrapelia? by Hugo Rahner (Karl's older brother) - This fascinating book explores the relationship between play and the Christian faith. I dare say, having become far too serious, we all need a new dose of playfulness. If you can find it, grab it!

Three works of fiction everyone should read:

The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander - Though I haven't read this in years I loved it as a child. Maybe I'll pick it up again this summer.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien - Come on, if he wrote the myth for the modern era surely we should read it.

Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory - Romance, chivalry, honor, revenge, knights, wizards, dragons, faith, love, ideals: What's not to like about this classic telling of the Arthurian Legends?

Three authors everyone should read:

Gary Larson - Perhaps the gravest mistake of the former President Bush was not giving an executive order requiring Gary Larson to continue his The Far Side comic strip series until his death.

Joseph Pieper - His philosophical writings are superb and immensely insightful, and very Catholic.

J.R.R. Tolkien - How can you not read a man who brilliantly blends prose and poetry together so seamlessly?

Three books no one should read:

I generally forget books that shouldn't be read, but I'll say...

The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown - It isn't very well written and has sentence structures suitable for a fifth grader. It's rather insulting, really.

The Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye - A series based on nonsense isn't worth your time.

Pope Benedict XVI by Tom Streisgutt - I blogged about this book here.

Done! I hereby tag the Roving Medievalist, Daniel of the Ride of the Rohirrim, A Catholic Mom in Hawaii, and and Thom of Ad Dominum.

Pictures posted

At my webshots site.

A helpful book

I have just finished reading Sr. Sara Butler's, M.S.B.T., recent one hundred and forty-four page book, The Catholic Priesthood and Women: A Guide to the Teaching of the Church (Chicago/Mundelein, Illinois: Hillenbrand Books, 2007).

This work, in her own words, "reflects the path of my own intellectual and spiritual journey" (10). Sr. Butler wrote this book at the "urging of so many young adults, chiefly seminarians at the University of St. Mary of the Lake's Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois, and more recently at St. Joseph's Seminary ("Dunwoodie") in Yonkers, New York" (ix).

Through this book, Sr. Butler "attempts to interpret and defend the Church's teaching, and at the same time to explain why many have had difficulty accepting it" (ix) to a "new generation ... of Catholic adults who are serious about the practice of their faith [and who] are puzzled, dismayed, and dis-edified by the distress and anger they encounter when the topic [of the reservation of priestly ordination to men] is aired" (viii).

She has divided her book into seven chapters:

1. The Church's Teaching and the Present Discussion
2. The Status of Women in Society and in the Church
3. Three Objections to the Church's Teaching
4. The Church's Fundamental Reasons
5. The Church's Theological Arguments
6. More Objections to the Church's Teaching
7. Ordinatio Sacerdotalis and the Development of Doctrine

If you are seeking to understand more clearly the Church's teaching on this matter, or if you are looking for a way to help explain this teaching to others, this fine and helpful book, for both scholar and layman alike, is for you.

The convergence

Saturday and Sunday my family members who are attending the wedding arrived.

We met for lunch today and then I rented at PT Cruiser - convertible - to drive back and forth from Waipahu to Honolulu so I don't exhaust my friend with travels to and fro even while he works. I've never driven a convertible before and, while the PT Cruiser wasn't my first choice, it's quite nice.




This afternoon I went to the Bishop Museum to look at native Hawaiian artifacts and others from the Pacific islands. The displays were quite nice.



The highlight of the afternoon was a planetarium show about navigating with only the stars and the sea. I was reminded that here I can see the Southern Cross, a constellation I can't see back in Illinois. Also, tonight Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Jupiter will all be visible in the heavens, assuming the clouds keep away.



After I quick supper here at the house I'll be making my way to Waikiki beach to watch the stars and to recall the words of King David: "When I see the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you set in place, what are humans that you are mindful of them, mere mortals that you care for them" (Psalm 8:4-5)?



Oh, more pictures will be uploaded within the next fifteen minutes.

Where have I been?

Here are some links to some of the places I have been on Oahu:

Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace

Diamond Head State Monument

'Iolani Palace

Nuuanu State Park/Pali Lookout

Parish of St. Augustine By the Sea

Waimea Valley Audubon Center

I wasn't able to find official links to everywhere I've been so you might also check out www.hawaiiweb.com. I used this site to find information on some of the places I've been.

Oh, the sights

More pictures are posted at my webshots page. Go have a look!

Today I'm off to the Bishop Museum and tomorrow the zoo, the aquarium and a botanical garden or two.

Online dating?

Ride of the Rohirrim has an interesting - and good - post on meeting online through Catholic dating services.

Holy Rollers Gift Shop

If you're looking for a gift for First Communion or other occassions, try www.holyrollersgiftshop.com. It's a new eBay stay run by a friend of mine.

Pictures

New pictures have been added to my webshots site. Enjoy!

Does anyone see something wrong with this?

More on Damien Day

A Catholic Mom in Hawaii has a good post on the celebrations in Honolulu for the Feast of Blessed Damien of Molokai.

This time for real

When I said I was tagged again for the Thinking Bloggers meme, I was mistaken (pipe down now; no comments, please). I was, however, tagged by A Catholic Mom in Hawaii for the About Me meme:

1. Male or Female: Male

2. Married or Single (or religious): Single but spoken for

3. Dream vacation: Four weeks driving around the United Kingdom

4. Birthplace: Quincy, Illinois

5. Area I live in currently: Effingham, Illinois

6. Someone you wish you could meet: Pope Benedict XVI (I haven't given up on this one yet)

7. Biggest "pet-peeve": Slow drivers

.8. Favorite Religious devotion: Stations of the Cross

9. Favorite Saint (besides the Blessed Mother): Francis of Assisi

10. Favorite sport that you play: Does reading count?

11. Favorite food: Carbonara

12. Tridentine or Novus Ordo: The Novus Ordo, celebrated well

13. Would you (or are you) home school or public school: I attended Catholic grade school, public high school, and Catholic college

14. How many kids do you have: Zero physically, but hundreds spiritually

15. Ever been in an auto accident: Yes; I was struck in the side after I returned from Assisi; all I wanted to do was look at my pictures and some woman had to run into me

16. Ever seen a pope in person: Yes. I had a group picture with John Paul II and a group picture with Benedict XVI before his election to the See of Peter

17. Languages that you know fluently: English

18. Last movie you saw in theatres: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

.19. Favorite Blog: Hmm...that's a tough one. My daily stops always include the Roving Medievalist and Open Book

20. Your thoughts on Barney, the Easter bunny, and Santa Claus: I don't really think about them, though I strongly dislike Barney. I have wondered why a rabbit gives out eggs

I tag the Roving Medievalist, Ad Dominum, From Across the Net, and Leave Your Head at the Door. If you also want to do it, consider yourself tagged.

Tagged, again

A Catholic Mom in Hawaii has tagged me for the Thinking Bloggers meme. The rules are:

If you get tagged with a Thinking Blogger Award, you are then supposed to do the following:

1. Write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote.

Five of the blogs that make me think - in no particular order - are:

1. The Roving Medievalist - His frank commentary is insightful and challenging. And his pictures are great.

2. Open Book - Amy's comments on happenings in the world are always refreshing, with a nice dose of common sense.

3. In the Light of the Law - Dr. Edward Peters' posts are a good reminder of the importance of canon law and its application.

4. The New Liturgical Movement - The posts on this sight give good feed for thought on matters liturgical and otherwise.

5. Young Fogeys - Fr. Torobowsky's humorous comments are always worthwhile.

Really, everybody in my blogroll causes me to think in some fashion, otherwise I wouldn't bother reading them.