The Origin of Pancake Breakfasts and Fish Dinners

In the recitation of our Creed, we Catholics profess the singularity of the tenets of our faith. The parishioner in Omaha, Nebraska received the same Baptism as his brother in Oslo, Norway. Throughout the worldwide Church, this unity in belief has created institutions within individual communities that have also become globally practiced.

Pancake breakfasts and fish dinners have their origins in the observance of the current Lent season. Catholics prepare for the Passion during Holy Week and the joy of Easter with 40 days of prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. This includes sacrificing meals, certain luxuries and vices, and the abstinence from meat. In the days leading to Ash Wednesday (which by the way is not a Holy Day of Obligation as many seem to think), when Lent officially begins, monasteries, convents, and rectories, along with most Catholic homes, would empty their pantries of decadent foods like milk, flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. The best way to dispose of these items without being wasteful is to make pancakes. In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, this last Tuesday before Lent is still called “Pancake Tuesday,” when people would enjoy one last feast before fasting.

Pancake breakfasts and fish dinners have provided locally-based ministries and organizations—most noticeably the Knights of Columbus—with a means to both serve abstinence-friendly meals and encourage charity in their parish; profits from these events usually benefit the less fortunate. So in remembrance of the sacrifice made for us, let us remember to make our own.

"News Notes" published by the Wonderer, Bishop Jerome Listecki of La Crosse

In "News Notes" published by the Wonderer, Bishop Jerome Listecki of La Crosse, Wisconsin, (a Chicago native) was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to Archbishop of Milwaukee succeeding Archbishop Timothy Dolan, According to a ZENIT News Agency report, the newly elected prelate stated "I am humbled by my selection" and "will do my best to fulfill the confidence His Holiness Benedict XVI has placed in me." The Milwaukee Archdiocese has some 680,000 Catholics, served by 347 diocesan priests and 322 religious priests, 191 permanent deacons, and 1,583 sisters. On that same day, the Holy Father accepted the resignation of Bishop John D'Arcy, 77, of Fort Wayne South Bend, Ind., for reasons of age, and named Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Harrisburg, Pa., as his successor. Kevin Rhoades was born in Mahanoy City, Pa., in 1957, and was ordained a priest in 1983 for the Diocese of Harrisburg. Bishop Rhoades has been serving the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, and has also been working for the U.S. bishops' conference. The Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend has some 160,000 Catholics, served by 249 priests, 18 permanent deacons, and 847 religious. A November 13 Vatican communiqué announced the Episcopal appointments.

News article by Catholic News Agency

According to a news article by Catholic News Agency, the Spanish daily El País published an article on Sister Veronica, a 43-year-old prioress who has revolutionized an old Poor Clares convent, turning it into a magnet for dozens of young professional women. The newspaper goes on stating, she "has become the biggest phenomenon in the Church since Teresa of Calcutta," as "she has made the old convent of Lerma into an attractive recruiting banner for female vocations. The majority of the young sisters who have been attracted to the cloister "have been in relationships and had careers." In addition, "None are immigrants. Most are from the middle class and thy have college degrees. This community offers a complete roster of lawyers, economists, physicists, and chemists, roadway engineers, industrial workers, agricultural workers and aeronautics engineers, architects, doctors, pharmacists, biologists and physical therapists, librarians, philologists, teachers and photographers" In an interview of one of the sisters by El País defines the cloister as "a house open to those who knock on our door. We want to share our faith, to make known what is happening to us." The growth of the cloister since the arrival of Sister Veronica has been explosive: In 1994, when she was appointed mistress of novices at the age of 28, nearly 30 sisters entered. In the years from 2002 to 2005 there were 269 sisters who entered, and late last September there were 134.

Comments and Notes on the Sunday Readings: The Fifth Sunday of Easter

Christ is Risen! Alleluia Alleluia!
He has truly Risen Alleluia!

The First Reading—Acts 9:26-31

This reading recounts to us the first encounter that Saul (latter known as Paul) had with the disciples whom he formerly persecuted. Only a short time earlier, Saul was trying to destroy the Church that Christ had just founded. In a few words people in the Church were afraid of Saul (Paul) and they were not quite sure if the rumors of his new conversion were true. Notice that it is Barnabas that takes charge of the situation, bringing Saul first to the Apostles so that he could recount to the leaders of the Church the events of His conversion. Immediately Saul begins to preach the gospel and even began to debate with Hellenist. Who were the Hellenist? They were Jews that gradually adopted some elements of Greek culture. Many spoke Greek and did not adhere to certain details of the Law as rigorously as other Jews. They were secular Jews. In any case, they took great issue with the message of Saul (Paul), and even attempted to kill him. In order to save his life Saul (Paul) was sent to Tarsus. Paul would suffer much more in the years to come as he continued to follow the special call that he had received from God..

The Responsorial Psalm- 22:26-18, 30-32

This psalm (22) starts off as a lament, and is one of the saddest and most desperate in all of scriptures. My God, My God, …why have you forsaken me? Christ refers to this psalm while nailed to the cross. In doing so he refers to the message of the whole psalm while calling our attention to the purpose of his sufferings. Many forget that this psalm ends in triumph. One would be mistaken to think that this psalm was only a desperate lament of defeat. It ends in triumph and because of this it is easy to see why the Church wanted to use this psalm for the fifth week of Easter. Christ, as terrible as his sufferings and death were has triumphed and is risen. Hence the words: “Let the coming generation be told of the Lord, that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born the justice that he has shown.” In Christ, in his death and his resurrection, we can read the psalm anew and see something marvelous that prophets and righteous desired to see.

The Second reading- 1 John 3:18-24

Let us not love in word or speech but in deed and truth..I

The commandments of God are not optional and the faith is not a salad bar where one can pick and choose what they wish to follow. When Christ came into the world he entered a world that was looking for universal truths…. Truths that were always true, in all places and at all times. In this world, the church of Christ, the Catholic Church was born. Hence, we can understand why very on the word “Catholic” (Universal) was used to refer to the true Church that Christ had founded. Hear, John tells us that the commandments are not and optional. Our faith is more that bold words, but it must be lived every day of our lives 24/7. In our modern times we see that the Church is gravely persecuted by our secular culture, because it will not bow down to the false gods of this world, and by doing so change the moral law, which no one can alter or change. The world wants to make the Church change what it cannot change. This sums up why the church will be persecuted and also why it should not surprise us. These are doctrines that have to do with faith and morals. Neither you, nor I could ever change them because God has ordained them. They often have to do with Marriage, purity, holiness, sin and the universal mission of Christ as Savior. Because the Church holds closely to these truths it will be persecuted and hated especially by the popular media. We must teach our children that they should not be surprised and that we must continue to live the faith in word and in deed just as St. John wrote..

The Gospel--- John 15:1-8

In this gospel reading Jesus is telling us that our faith must be more than mere words. We must remain in him because outside of him there is no life. Hence, just as branches that are cut off from the vine are gathered and burned so we must see and understand the absolutely essential need that we have to live every moment of our lives in Him, the true vine. I should note that this is the last of the Seven “I am” statements that Jesus gives us in the Gospel of John. With this Gospel reading the Church is direction our attention to the covenant relationship that we have in Christ. The very essence of this relationship is celebrated every time that we gather to celebrate the sacraments and especially when we celebrate the mass. May the Lord renew us so that we can this relationship with true fidelity and make our lives fruitful, enabling us produce everyday the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-24).

Comments and notes on the Readings: The Fourth Sunday of Easter

Christ is Risen! Alleluia Alleluia!
He has truly Risen Alleluia!

1st reading Acts 4:8-12

In this reading Peter preaches, that there is an urgency that his listeners to believe in Christ as the Messiah (the anointed One) that the Father has Sent into the world for our salvation. He has become the “Corner Stone” (Psalm 118) and there is no other Name “in heaven” or on the earth by which we are to be saved. To understand this verse one must remember what Christ said about salvation and judgment (John 3:17-19) The Father did not send Christ into the world to Judge the world, but, so that the world could be saved through Him. Peter, the first pope, makes it clear that through Christ, God has definitively revealed His plan of salvation…Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6), the Good Shepherd who leads us to the Father. His name Jesus (Yeshua, meaning, salvation) is the name above all names and to His name all knees will bend (Phil 2:5-11).

Responsorial Psalm-- 118

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord (Psalm 118). Even today in Israel people will begin a salutation with the words Blessed is He/she who comes. Catholic Christians understand these words in Light of Christ’s coming into the world, for he comes in the name of the Lord, sent by the Father. Also these words could be attributed to those who are sent by the Church to preach the Gospel to all nations. In Luke’s Gospel, (13:35) Jesus makes a reference to this verse implying that God’s Chosen people will one day say of Christ, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. The Responsorial psalm is a response to the first reading—Hence, the Sacred Liturgy (also called the Mass) is directing us to understand that this psalm is most fittingly fulfilled in Christ. He is the One who comes in the name of the Lord, may all nations recognize his true identity.

2nd Reading—1 John 3:1-2

This short reading is packed full of important theological truths. First, the Christ teaches that we who have been baptized into Christ and live in Christ are really the Children of God. We are not like the Children of God, we are the Children of God. Unfortunately some Churches and other groups are so caught up on the concept of total the depravity of the human race, that their view on depravity negatively affects their view on grace. They forget that in Christ one is a new creation and rightly there “ARE” the Children of God! Never forget who you are! God’s children shinning like bright lights in the midst of a world that too often does not “know Him.”
Secondly, John tells us something important about the Resurrection. He gives us some insights into the question regarding what the resurrection of the dead be like? How will we be? In a word: we don’t know completely, but we will be like “Him.” Just like Jesus when he was risen.

Gospel—I am the Good Shepherd—­In the Gospel of John there are seven times that Jesus says the words “I am” with a title. He says, for example, I am the Bread of Life, the Light of the world, the Door, the way the Truth and the Life, the Resurrection and the Life ect. Each time that Christ adds a title to his name He is telling us that He is God. It will help us if we recall when God revealed Himself to Moses in the Burning Bush at the base of Mt. Sinai. There he revealed to Moses his divine name often translated “I Am.” Add to this the fact that when Jesus says that he is the Good shepherd it directly refers to the 23rd psalm where David tells us that God/The Lord/YHWH is our shepherd. Hence, Jesus is telling us that he is God in our midst. The disciples would not understand this until the day of the Resurrection. After Christ had risen St. Thomas bequeaths to the Church his great confession, he tells us that for all who personally know the resurrected Christ they will have the ability to say with confidence “MY Lord and My God!”

There are two things that Christ also tells us about the Good Shepherd. 1-I know my sheep and …they will hear my voice. The sheep are those who follow Christ, they are both believers and disciples and this is how we must live. Our faith must be more than us saying that we know Christ…there are many people who enjoy saying that they know Christ and less that actually live as if they know him. Christ himself tells us that on the last day many will come to him saying Lord, Lord, and he will send them away saying that he never knew them. To live like we know Christ we must spiritually hear his voice this is another way of saying that we must always do the will of our heavenly Father in our lives. To do the will of the Father we must cease from worrying about what we want and become preoccupied with what the father wants in our life. 2nd- Setting an example that we must imitate Christ laid down his life for us. Christ tells us that as The True Good Shepherd, he freely lays down his life for his sheep. Just as Christ gave his life freely for our salvation so we, if we are to be true disciples of him, must freely give our lives to the service of his will. May the Lord enable each of us to do so, as we celebrate the gift of the Good Shepherd!

Comments and notes on the Readings: The Third Sunday of Easter

Christ is Risen! Alleluia Alleluia!
He has truly Risen Alleluia!

The First reading Acts 3:13-15,17-19
You put to death the Author of Life

In this Sunday's first reading we encounter the Gospel as it was preached in the early Church. Here, we see a slightly different Peter than the one that we encountered in the Gospels. This Peter, the one who was told by Christ “I give to you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven,” (cf. Matt. 16:16-19) is much more bold. Its hard to believe that this same Peter who preached the Gospel with such zeal in the Acts of the Apostles was the same one who denied Christ three times. What was different? We must understand that the gospels relate to us the actions of the apostles before they received the Holy Spirit and the book of Acts demonstrates how different they were when they received this “power from on high.” John tells us that after the resurrection they were still in the Upper Room and the doors were locked. Here in the third chapter of the book of Acts, Peter is bold enough to tell the crowds that they have “put to death the author of life.” His words tell us much. First, that some of those in the crowd were actually present at the curcifiction and may have even yelled, “crucify him.” Compassionately, Peter tells them, “I know that you acted out of ignorance.” Secondly, Peter is implying that Christ is God, the Incarnate Eternal Word, who “became Flesh” (John 1:14) so as to redeem us from our sins. His saying “you put to death the Author of Life,” is another way of saying that Jesus is God with us (Isaiah 7:14). After saying all this, Peter then begins to ask the crowd for just two things: repentance and conversion. If one lives in sin, they live a life of slavery and they live in darkness. One living in sin is like a person who wishes to throw away his inheritance. When they repent, they return to the Father, in the same way the prodigal son returned to his father after he had wasted his inheritance (Luke 15). Very simply put, repentance is returning to our Heavenly Father and conversion is allowing Christ to make all things new (Rev 21:5).


Second Reading----1 John 2:1-5a

John tells us that if we really know Jesus then we will seek to keep his commands. Our knowledge of Christ must be more than mere lip service. Jesus tells us that not all who say to him Lord, Lord will be saved but “only the one that does the will of His Father in Heaven” (Matt. 7). Hence, our knowledge of Christ is more than a profession of words, more than a feeling and more then an intellectual opinion. It must be reflected by the lifestyle that we live and this includes keeping the commands of our Lord. John is trying to wake up the Church from its slumber or from a potential fall into sin. Without wasting words he is telling them that they are “liars” if they say they know Christ and do not keep his commands. Conversly, for the one’s that do keep his word, “the Love of God is perfected” in them.
This scripture should motivate us to receive the Eucharist with true joy and to live fully the gift that we have received. May the Lord make more prefect the presence of His love in each of us.

Gospel: Luke 24:35-48
The He opened their minds to understand the scriptures

The 24th chapter of Saint Luke’s Gospel is one that we should meditate on as we celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Here two disciples encounter the Risen Christ while they are walking o a short journey to the city of Emmaus. Consider for a moment that to life the fullness of the Catholic faith is to live in relationship with the Risen Christ. There is a knowing of not just a Christ, but of the Risen Christ. The same Christ, who suffered, died and was buried and is now risen in glory who reigns in the presence of His Father in heaven. These disciples, although they were walking with the risen Christ, they failed to recognize that he was near. Such is the case with many in this world especially those that turn away from the Spirit and towards the desires of the flesh (Gal. 5:16). One who follows the desires of the flesh will tread a path of confusion just as these disciples were confused. It was only in the “breaking of the bread” another way of saying the Eucharist, that these disciples recognized that Christ was in their midst. In the same way we must recognize the presence of Christ in our midst especially when we come together to celebrate the Eucharist. Christ tells us, “The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood will have eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day (John 6:54).” It is not an accident that he relates the reception of the Eucharist to the resurrection. May we always receive our Lord with pure hearts.

As the disciples were speaking Christ appeared in their midst and then proceeded to demonstrate that he was not a ghost. He even went to the trouble of eating in front of them. What was Jesus doing? He was showing them that without a doubt he had been truly raised from the dead. The same body that had suffered and died had been raised in glory, it was not a different body. It will be the same with those who believe in Him and live as His disciples. John tells us that we do not know how we will be, but we will be “like Him” (1 John 3).
Christ notes that all things written about him had to be fulfilled, In the Law (the first five books of the bible) in the prophets and finally in the psalms. In other words, the scriptures written in the Old Testament prepared the way for His coming into the world. For this very reason the first reading almst always comes from the Hebrew scriptures of the Old Testament. In the first 5 centuries of Christianity, the Church Fathers went to great lengths demonstrating from the Old Testament that Christ in his life teaching and resurrection had come to fulfill the scriptures. We can just imagine our Lord speaking about every story in the Scriptures and explaining the significance to these events. Luke tells us that “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” In some unexplained way, with the help of the Holy Spirit, these disciples of our Lord now could understand the true and fullest meaning of the scriptures. Saint Paul takes some time to explain this to the Corinthians, telling us that in Christ a “veil is taken away” so that they can more clearly understand the meaning of the scriptures (2 Cor. 3). In the mass we sum up the Gospel in these words:

Christ has Died,
Christ is Risen,
Christ will Come again!

Comments on the Sunday Readings--The Second Week of Easter

Christ is truly Risen alleluia!

1st Reading--Acts of the Apostles 4:32-35

Shortly after the Birth of the Church Peter (the first pope, and the one entrusted with the "keys of the Kingdom, Matt 16), begins to preach the gospel message. Here his message is simply Christ, the prophesied Messiah, Crucified and Risen according to the scriptures. We can read about this preaching in the first few chapters of Acts, here we are told that the Church was supernaturally united together "of one heart and of one mind." In addition, all possession were held in common, there was no sense of personal ownership or selfishness related to this type of ownership, but all belong to all. Is St. Luke, the author of The Acts of the Apostles trying to tell us that the first Church was communistic in its Character? Not quite, It was far from communist and far from capitalistic. There was a sharing in the Church which almost seems irrational in our modern society due to our strong sense of personal ownership. virtually all of our laws are attached to this sense of ownership and posses ion. In the early Church this was not so, St. Paul in His letters expresses this concept in a number of ways, "You are not your own (1 Cor. 3-6) and your citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3). Because all things in this world were passing away (Rom. 8) there was no need to be overly concerned with the things of this world and, they therefore could be generously shared.

Interestingly all this generosity was placed at the feet of the apostles, and then it was distributed according to need. Ironically people will complain about the Church saying that the church is too rich or that it has too much money. Such anti-catholic propaganda is far from the truth....The Catholic Church, which teaches the fullness of the faith, is most likely per capita the poorest of all the churches in the world. Most of its works of Charity hardy receive notice, from hospitals, to employment training, to emergency aid etc.

The generosity of the the early church testifies to a great desire for the return of Christ. The Church desired one thing, and their generosity expressed it: Maranatha- come Lord! When we are generously we testify to the same desire, that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven and that His kingdom be established in all its fullness.

Responsorial Psalm-Psalm 118--The Church sees the person of Church throughout this Psalm, especially in the words that read"The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone. By the Lord this has been done and it is marvelous in our eyes." We know and celebrate that this stone is Christ and the the marvel in our eyes is that He is the Risen Savior of the world. The "Joyful shout if victory in the tents of the just" can be attributed to His Resurrection. what could me more Joyful than to personally know the Resurrected Christ? To live the fullness of the faith is to personally know the resurrected Christ. This knowing of Christ is expressed in a special was when we receive the Eucharist, the Body and blood of Christ. My advice to you is to read this Psalm often and spend some time meditating on its meaning.


2nd Reading 1 John 5:1-6

Have you been begotten by God....in other words, are you his child? Well, the answer is a simple "yes" if you believe that Jesus is the Christ. John goes on to explain that this believe is more than a simple intellectual belief, but is is that type that must more the heart and the mind to act in such a way the one's whole life is entrusted to our Lord. Hence, One who believes that will will keep the commandments of God and these commandments will not be burdensome. One of the major problems with our world today is that people find the commandments of God a burden. this is especially true in the areas of teachings on Marriage, contraception, abortion, prayer, holiness, greed etc. As the teaching of faith are challenge by our society, more and more organization will criticize the Church and declare its teachings to be a burden. They will make you feel like you are a looser simply because you are catholic and you will not concede to the thinking of the world. On the contrary! John tells us that this is a victory! It conquers the world because it will not concede to the immoral and faithless demands of our society. For us who believe, the victory has already been won, we have only to proclaim it and to live it.

Finally, John talk about the one who has come through water and blood and that this is a testimony of the Spirit. Here he is alluding to the the two great sacraments of the Church: Baptism and the Eucharist. Numerous fathers of the early Church tell is that the water and blood that flowed from the side of Christ call our attention to these great sacraments. Two sacraments that we must not only receive, but the very gift that we receive, we also must live.