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  Tuesday – Feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Gospel – Matthew 25: 1-13 (Readings from Common of Virgins) Stay Awake!   Be Prepared! St. Kateri   Center Chapel, Chicago   As many of you know, even though Ginger and I are now living in Tennessee, I continue to serve as the Permanent Deacon for the Native American community at the St. Kateri Center in the Archdiocese of Chicago, although on a rather limited basis (thank you, frequent flyer miles). We celebrate today the feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha.   To give you a little background. Kateri was born to an Algonquin-Mohawk tribe in upstate New York in 1656. When she was a child, smallpox hit her village; her mother, father and brother all died.    She survived but the smallpox left her partially blind, weak and her face permanently scarred and blistered the rest of her life. She often went out in public with a blanket to hide her scars.  She was adopted by her uncle and at the age of 10 the vi...
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  Monday - 15 th Week in Ordinary Time Gospel – Matthew 10:34 – 11:1 Been There!   But Have I Done That? Praying in the Church of Holy Sepulchre If you’re like me, you’re reading today’s Gospel and it’s like, wait a minute, didn’t we just recently proclaim this Gospel?   As a matter of fact, YES, 2 weeks ago, 13 th Sunday of Ordinary Time.   On that Sunday, I reflected on the countless times, over the past 2 years, that Ginger and I have been recipients of many acts of kindness from our SRB Chicago and our St Joseph family here in Tennessee.   A home-cooked meal, a get-well card, phone calls and texts, simple acts of kindness!   And I challenged you to reflect on your last act of kindness, your reaching out to someone in need! So what now?     It’s been 2 weeks since that reflection.   Maybe this is the perfect time to look back on the past 2 weeks and examine our spiritual journey!   What’s changed?   Have you changed? ...
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  15 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Gospel – Matthew 13:1-23 Spread the Word The Fields of Galilee Dear Deacon Bill.             Thank you so much for coming to our Graduation and giving such a wonderful homily.   Thank you also for the card; it really meant a lot.     I’d also like to thank you for everything you’ve done for me over the years.   I’ll always be grateful to you for teaching me how to altar serve and lector and for the opportunity to teach others how to serve.   I hope to make you proud by becoming a teacher myself someday.   Your influence on my spiritual and physical growth is incomprehensible, and it has made me a much better person.   You and Ginger will always have a special place in my heart. Your Server, RJ   My guess is that, sometime in life, we have all received a note like that!   A sincere, heartfelt thank-you for something you did, something you s...
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