Bible Study for the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

  • 6/17 – Matthew 6:5-15 – Father, You know our hearts and our minds, our needs and desires, there is nothing hidden from You. Grant us Your guidance and a holy fear so that we may do, think, and say what is right.
  • 6/18 – Genesis 1:27 – Father, You created us in Your image. Grant that we may remain thankful for all You created and that we may be worthy stewards over the world.
  • 6/19 – Hebrews 2:11-17 – Father, You sent Your Son as redeemer and savior. Grant that we may recognize this tremendous gift by which we have been healed and made part of one body in Christ; all being Your children.
  • 6/20 – Matthew 5:48 – Father, grant us the grace to strive after perfection and holiness, to live as an image of You in the world.
  • 6/21 – Hebrews 12:5-11 – Father, we thank and glorify You for Your just discipline. Grant that we may be made more perfect in Your eyes by receiving Your discipline with joy.
  • 6/22 – Genesis 18:19 – Father, grant to all fathers the strength and fortitude to lead their families to You, serving as examples in Your service.
  • 6/23 – Deuteronomy 6:6-7 – Father, grant all fathers the grace to be an example of Christian life every day, at home and work, among friends and strangers. May they lead many to know You, most especially their wives and children.

Pray the week: Father in heaven, we thank You for the gift of our fathers; for their leadership and instruction.

Tragedy and rebuilding in faith

On Wednesday, June 13, 2012 a tragedy struck the members of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Madison, Illinois. A fire broke out at the church causing extensive damage to the building and the appointments of the parish. The fire department has done their very best to save whatever they could for the people of Sacred Heart. The Office of the Bishop of the Western Diocese is imploring all parishes and Diocese to help in any way they can, providing this little parish with deep faith and trust in God, those things necessary so that they can continue to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ in Madison, Illinois.

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The church was going through a remodel and the only thing left on the list, was the roof and now there’s nothing left.

“This was just our home so I just don’t know what we are going to do,” says says longtime church member Ginny Boxdorfer.

“I don’t know if they can build it back before we are all dead I don’t know,” she says.

Father Andrzej Bako has faith that his parish is strong and will rise from the ashes.

“From the loss and from the people comes strength and will to rebuild,” says Father Bako.

The Western Diocese is accepting monetary donations via Paypal or by check to assist the parish in rebuilding. Please make checks payable to the Western Diocese and mail them to the Western Diocese of the Polish National Catholic Church at 920 N. Northwest Hwy. Park Ridge, IL. 60068. Indicate on the memo line–Sacred Heart Fire Fund.

God bless you all and please pray for Father Andrzej Bako and the Faithful of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Madison, Illinois.

Pray to the Holy Spirit – Special Synod of the PNCC

Our Holy Church, in its democratic tradition, and honoring the practices of the Church as they existed from the time of the apostles, has called a special synod to elect two new candidates for the office of Bishop.

Our Church has two unfilled offices, the Bishop of the Buffalo-Pittsburgh Diocese and the Bishop of the Western Diocese.

Delegates from across the Church will gather in Scranton, Pennsylvania on Friday, June 22nd, to elect two priests as candidates. Our former pastor, Fr. Stanley Bilinski as well as Fr. Raymond Drada, and Fr. Jerzy Rafalko have been nominated as candidates and were accepted by the review commission.

Please, please, pray during the month and the days leading up to the Special Synod, that the gifts of the Holy Spirit be poured out generously on our Holy Church.

Come, O Holy Ghost, the Lord and Life-giver; take up Your dwelling within my soul, and make of it Your sacred temple. Make me live by grace as an adopted child of God. Pervade all the energies of my soul, and create in me a fountain of living water springing up into life everlasting.

Especially allow our Special Holy Synod to gather and deliberate all the while having wonder in Your Presence. Allow them to depend on Your interaction in the election of candidates to the Office of Bishop in Your Church.

Reflection for the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Hey Dad,
Pass the mustard seed

“It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches”

Sitting around with dad today, we might lay out all the things he loves to eat. Hot dogs, hamburgers, kielbasa – what else? The fixings we love – ketchup, onions, and our theme for today, mustard.

How did that mustard get there?

The Hunter – Angler – Gardener – Cook website notes how easy it is to make mustard. They start by saying: “What do you mean you can make mustard at home?”

“Well… How did you think it was made? By mustard elves under a tree?” They note: “If you
have mustard seed and water, you can make mustard.”

The basic idea behind making mustard is this: Grind seeds and add cool liquid. At its most basic, this is all mustard is. Adding an acid, most often vinegar, stops and sets the reaction in place – this is precisely what happens with horseradish as well. Adding salt not only improves the flavor, but also helps preserve the mustard, too. Finally, let your mustard set in the fridge or in a cool place for at least a day to age and mellow.

Mustard of course comes from that giant bush that grows from the smallest of seeds. That’s what today is all about – growth.

Our dads and those other important men in our lives have been there to guide that growth. We don’t start out finished anymore than the mustard seed starts out as the finished bush or as really yummy mustard. Dad sees that we grow in the right way.

Jesus says: “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it?” It is the story of the mustard seed.

God’s guidance over our growth is absolute. He is our heavenly Father. Just as the cedar and the mustard seed cannot grow without His oversight, we cannot possibly grow the way we should without His guidance and presence in our lives.

Nothing gets to perfection without effort. Certainly dad will tell us that we need study, patience, work hard, and practice. Dad is speaking for God here as well. We cannot get to heaven, to spiritual perfection, to our destiny with God without study, patience, hard work, and practice.

When dad asks for the mustard today, remember that we are all growing, no matter our age. We will get to where we are meant to be – people who fulfill God’s plan for our growth. Trusting in Him like we do in dad, and we will win.

Bible Study for Corpus Christi

  • 6/10 – 1 Corinthians 10:16 – Lord Jesus, we praise, thank, honor, and bless You for granting us union with You in Your body and blood.
  • 6/11 – 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 – Lord Jesus, we thank You for the gift of the Holy Mass wherein we meet You and partake in the bread and wine of the new covenant.
  • 6/12 – Hebrews 10:19-20 – Lord Jesus, in Your sacrifice on the cross You destroyed all that separates us. Grant that we may always be fed by Your body and blood, and have life in eating and drinking.
  • 6/13 – John 6:51 – Lord Jesus, You have given us Your flesh as living food. We praise and thank You for this gift by which we attain to eternal life.
  • 6/14 – Psalm 116:13 – Lord Jesus, in consuming Your precious blood we call out to You. Grant us continual renewal in Your blood that redeems.
  • 6/15 – 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 – Lord Jesus, in the Holy Mass we receive sacramental grace in Your pardon for our sins, enlightenment through Your Word, and Your body and blood. Grant that we may strive toward worthiness which can only be obtained through reliance on Your grace.
  • 6/16 – Acts 2:42 – Lord Jesus, Your Holy Church lives and abides in Your way. Through Your Holy Polish National Catholic Church may we live as one body in Your body and blood.

Pray the week: Lord, we praise You for living with us and feeding us with Your body and blood.

Reflection for Sunday in the Octave of Corpus Christi

The ultimate Mystery.
Hey, do i know You?

“While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.”

Memories, happy ones, are a wonderful thing. We remember that family picnic, our grandparent’s house, graduations, First Communions, that wonderful trip to Florida or Wildwood, our wedding day.

The best part of our memories is the people, those with the gleaming smile, the tender words, the comforting touch. We come across a scent, some food – that special item mom or dad, grandma or grandpa prepared and memories flood back.

One of our hopes is that we might re-experience those moments, relive them with the same level of joy, expectation, happiness, and fun we experienced the first time around.

The best thing would be if those who are no longer with us, whether because of distance, or because they have been called home to the Lord, might rejoin us once again. As faithful Christians we know that one day we will be reunited those we love in the heavenly kingdom, but that seems not enough.

Our real desire is for living memory. This is different from far off memories, fading experiences that seem too distant. We don’t want to be distant, we want to live in those moments, make them last forever.

Jesus knew this longing for living memory, so He did something about it. He created a living memory – a new reality that we are part of every day. That living reality is found in our Holy Communion, the Eucharist.

The Eucharist is the principal sacrament-mystery of the Church. It is not just something we do, nor is it just a distant memory re-performed. It is Jesus coming among us just as He is. We know Him in Communion and we are part of Him in a living memory.

Communion is Jesus joining us together – those with us today, those hundreds of miles away, even people we’ve never met, all in His body and blood. The Eucharistic celebration of faith is where we meet and say: “Yes, I know You Lord. Yes, I know you, my brothers, sisters, my family, and my friends, all who rejoice in being part of Jesus and having Jesus as part of them.”

Bible Study for Trinity Week

  • 6/3 – John 1:1-18 – Lord Jesus, Eternal Son of the Father, True God and true man, grant us the grace to accept and recognize You and the tremendous love that motivated all You have done for us.
  • 6/4 – Isaiah 55:8-9 – Father, You are beyond our knowledge and understanding, yet You have revealed Yourself to us because of Your great love. Grant that we may not consider You as a mystery to be solved, but rather as love to be accepted.
  • 6/5 – 1 Corinthians 13:12 – Lord Jesus, Your revelation of God’s love motivates us to climb up and reach for You. Grant that our lives may be marked by work for Your way so that we may one day see and embrace You in heaven.
  • 6/6 – John 5:18 – Lord Jesus, You are the Son of the Father, and God come among us. Grant that we may never fail to proclaim this truth even in the face of persecution.
  • 6/7 – 1 John 3:2 – Holy Spirit, lead us to heaven. Fill us with Your gifts. Keep us in the way of the gospel.
  • 6/8 – 1 Corinthians 2:10 – Holy Spirit, carry us ever to the hights of joy and happiness promised to those who proclaim Christ and abide in His Holy Church.
  • 6/9 – Deuteronomy 4:35 – Lord God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — we praise You as we stand in awe of the tremendous love and grace that has regenerated us; brought us to knowledge of You.

Pray the week: Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost!

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity

Can you explain?
Ummmmm, maybe?

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”

It is amazing that on the day we consider the greatest mystery of mysteries – the Holy Trinity, we are confronted with the Jesus’ command to go and do the most simple and straightforward of things – baptize.

We recall from catechism class that anyone can baptize. In an emergency, any person can take some water, pour it over a person’s head, and with the words “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” they have baptized that person.

In ages past, this was quite necessary. Unfortunately, many children died shortly after being born. People were caught up in wars and other tragedies. Christians in many places were the subject of persecution and martyrdom. Healthcare, safety, and religious freedom were a far cry from what they are today. Still to this day, every Christian has the right and duty to baptize when necessary.

Today’s Christians in the Middle East, North Korea, and China still baptize in emergencies, in prisons, whenever and wherever necessary. Soldiers in harms way baptize their brothers and sisters. Healthcare workers baptize in urgent situations.

In baptizing, in this simple act, we join the newly baptized to the Holy Trinity, to this great mystery, and to the Christian community.

The key is that in baptism, in regeneration into people of God, we come to recognize that our wisdom and intelligence are not enough. We realize that we are participants in God’s life. We must listen to and understand God’s mystery as a child would; accepting God’s greater wisdom.

Jesus praised His Father in saying: “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to little children.”

We cannot explain the mystery of the Trinity. We can however explain what He has revealed to us and what we have accepted in baptism as His children. It is this simple fact: The Father loves us so much that He offered up His Son so that we might have eternal life. He loves us so much that He gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to sustain, instruct, strengthen, and enlighten us; to join us together.

That’s a mystery we can all explain – love, A.K.A. God.