A 2nd collection will be taken this weekend for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). Email messages have been circulating regarding funding provided by CCHD to ACORN. That funding was cut off earlier this year and no money from last year's collection or this year's collection will go to that cause. For additional information check the following post on the National Conference of Catholic Bishops(NCCB)website:

http://www.nccbuscc.org/comm/archives/2008/08-175.shtml

The link below is an interesting (short) article regarding “why we need churches” whether they are simple or fancy. Also, the article is written in regard to the Feast of St. John Lateran and the dedication of the Basilica in his name. Community is, for sure, more important than a building, but this article brought to light some interesting ways to think about the actual building.
 
http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/librar...._John_Lateran.html

This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of St. John Lateran. It seems like a strange thing to celebrate. The Church is actually the Cathedral church of the city of Rome, not St. Peter's Basilica which is more or less the Pope's personal church (that may not be such a hot description.) I think that the point of the celebration is about union with the Bishop/Pope of Rome and not about the church. Afterall, the Cathedral is the Bishop's church, so this is a way to speak about our union with the Pope.

We had a nice discussion about the value of a church building and the importance of style in a church. Some expressed appreciation for our present church, especially liking the way the sunlight enters the building, a sign of God's presence. Others spoke of the beauty of simplicity. But the major consensus was the value of the community. It is the people of God that makes a church beautiful. Many had had experiences in less than beautiful places that were made beautiful by the people. A good reminder.

Here is a link to this Sunday's readings:

http://www.usccb.org/nab/110908.shtml

I will offer a commentary on my next entry.

This Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of All Souls. This is an opportunity for us to pray for our faithful departed (not faithfully departed, since pretty much all of the dead are faithfully departed, but not all were faithful) and to reflect on the reality of our own death. While it can be seen as morbid to think of death, I think it would be worse to live without death. This life is good, but it is not something I would want to do for eternity unless I could eat whatever I wanted without gaining weight. And no exercise or waking up early or... You get the point. While death can be seen as a punishment by God for our sins, it can also be seen as a remedy for the limitations of this world, a freedom to live a better life.

Having said all of that, I'm not particularly interested in the remedy at just this moment.

Here is a link to the readings for Sunday, Nov. 2nd:

http://www.usccb.org/nab/110208.shtml

This is a link about a Catholic pro-life pharmacy; encouraging.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/468381.aspx

The Gospel reading this Sunday from Matthew is Jesus' famous response to the Pharisees that one should 'give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.' Our faith sharing group this morning (Monday mornings from 8am to 9am, open to all) had a spirited discussion about this. A theologian recently said that there is a distinction between the political order and the moral order and that not everything in the moral order belongs in the political order. He means by this that not everything that we hold to be immoral should also be illegal. I believe this is true, though what those things are is the difficult thing to define. Clearly, we as Catholics have held that abortion is one of those moral issues that should also be covered in the political issues. This is surely one of the most divisive issues that our country faces. Perhaps it is providential that this reading comes just weeks before our Presidential election.

Let's try again posting the readings of the Sunday Mass. If you have the time and feel like making a comment, please do so. They are available at this link:

http://www.usccb.org/nab/101908.shtml

Thanks for your nice message, Taree. It is true that none of us knows how we are affecting others. I suppose that our actions are always preaching something. I'm sure that your own witness and faith have been the most important.

Where do you camp near the church?! I think it is illegal to camp in that park near the church.

Good morning! I just discovered your forum and hope more people join in to keep this going. We are an "outdoorsy" family that gets away from the Dallas hustle/bustle by camping with family close to your church, and go to your church services whenever we are camping. Fr. Tim - while I am a 'cradle Catholic', my husband is not - but after listening to your sermons and seeing the wonderful fellowship at St. Mark's, my husband has started his RCIA classes at our 'home church'. I just wanted to let you know that you and your congregation just never know when someone is at your services by just a 'happenstance' and you never know when your words and deeds are going to take someone's heart and turn them to Catholicism. You and your parish are wonderful, and after 20+ years of marriage, I am so thankful to you for your words and messages that reinforced what I've been explaining to my husband for all these years and moved him to start his journey in faith to Catholicism. Bless you all and please remember - a new Catholic could be right next to you, just waiting for the right words and/or conversation/actions that will bring them into our fold....

Thanks for the new chairs.

It's great having a Pastor who's not afraid to roll up his sleeves and help.

The new chairs are FABULOUS!!! Keeping a wiggly 4 yr old boy from disturbing others during mass is so much easier with solid, unmovable chairs!!

The chairs are great! They are so comfortable, and I like the Hymnal holders. Also, the acoustics are better.

Partial group picture of workers who installed new chairs in Church

New Chairs In Church

Additional information:

In light of Speaker Pelosi's erroneous remarks regarding the Church's teaching on abortion, the Bishops have posted an excellent document at www.usccb.org entitled, Respect for Unborn Human Life: The Church's Constant Teaching. It's a two page document that states the church's position on abortion for the past two centuries.

Recently Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, said on a morning news program that Saints like Thomas Aquinas and Augustine debated the beginning of human life. This prompted a parishioner to ask the following (which I am posting here and inviting your comments:

I know that the Catholic church says that she is wrong. But what does the Catholic church say about her use of St. Augustine’s comment on the time when life begins? She uses this (amongst other reasons) for supporting abortion.

 

I responded this way:

you probably have read the reaction from Abp. Chaput and other bishops accross the nation who have reacted very negatively to her statements. as i hear what they say, they explain that St. Augustine and St. Thomas were working from very inadequate ideas of biology which have since been corrected. i think that they said that ensoulment did not take place until 'quickening' which i think is when a mother feels a kick. shouldn't it be called 'kickening' then? just wondering...

 

but, frankly, they are kind of embarrasing explanations from great thinkers of the church. they were basing their teaching on what they knew. we obviously know more about embryology, etc than they did. all i can say is that we are responsible for what we know as they are responsible for what they knew.

Religious orders practice what is called 'fraternal correction' in which the members gather together and each one is held accountable to the others for their behavior. (Most likely taken from this Gospel passage.) I really don't know if they do that any more or not. It easily led to abuse. People can be pretty petty and will twist things around. They will call someone's disagreement with them a fault whereas it is really a difference of opinions. Still, it would be useful if we were open to admitting our own faults and willing to listen to others note our faults. (please do not do this to me! I meant it for other people.) We are blind to our shortcomings. Jesus seems to think that we should help people overcome their faults. I suppose it is an issue of humility and insecurity that prevents us from hearing others. What do you think?

Below is a link to this Sunday's readings. You are invited to post your comments about the Gospel or any of the other readings.

http://www.usccb.org/nab/090708.shtml

Edited by author 08-25-2008 10:16 PM
Please keep the family of Jim & Rose Bezdek in your prayers on the loss of their daughter, Elaine Groshen who passed away at 4:25 PM today (Sunday, 08/24/08).

Visitation will be on Wednesday evening, August 27th, from 7 to 9 PM with the Knights of Columbus rosary recited at 8 PM, at Mulkey Mason Jack Schmitz & Son Funeral Home, 705 North Locust Street in Denton. A funeral service will held on Thursday morning, August 28th, at 10:00 PM, at Saint Mark Catholic Church at 2800 Pennsylvania Ave, in Denton.

Memorials may be made to the American Institute for Cancer Research,
1759 R. Street NW, P.O. Box 97167, Washington DC, 20090-7167

May her soul and the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.

Dear Fr Tim,
We have been away quite a bit these last 3 months. My father, Mel Becker, who is on our prayer list, underwent mitral valve repair surgery in May, and is nearly fully recovered and better than ever! Thanks for all your prayers. The surgery was very "touch and go"... He is a "young" 82 yrs. old.

Several months back we had a wonderful open forum on the New Church property and our assistance to the ICC community. Are the minutes from that meeting posted? Was there a follow up session since then, and have any decisions been made concerning either of these issues.

Yours in Christ,
Jack Becker

Jayegr, I like your input regarding the Sunday reading. Hurt feelings can keep us from following through when things get tough. Your comment about our willingness to be challenged in our faith is also a good point. I'm usually the person who is overly sensitive to change. Your perspective provides an interesting insight to this reading.
Thanks.

I’m sure the woman felt rejected and had hurt feelings. She could have justifiably given up and walked away. The love for her daughter, however, was more important to her than her own feelings.

Yes, maybe not responding was Jesus’ way of toughening up her faith; if she had been too sensitive thinking only of her feelings instead of what she really needed, her daughter might have died. Likewise, if we become too sensitive, our feelings can become more important to us than our soul. For example, we might get offended at church and vow to never come back, which would mean we are putting our feelings above our soul. So perhaps we should be willing to be more challenged in our faith and less soft with ourselves.

It's an unusual reading, with Jesus seemingly being 'rude' to the woman - at least from our perspective. He won't talk to her, he brushes her off, telling her he wasn't sent to help non-Israelites. But commentators say that this is, in effect, a ruse: he is not responding so that she will respond in faith more deeply. Still seems a bit harsh. Are we too soft in our spirituality? Should we be more challenging?

I'm afraid that our open forum has died, but here is a try to revive it. Below is a link to this sunday's readings (it is forbidden to copy them to the website, so you'll have to go there yourself.) I'd like to try again sharing on the sunday readings. Any comments?

http://www.usccb.org/nab/081708.shtml

It is an old accusation that the Vatican is rich and should give its money away to help the poor (Judas was the first to make such a statement, 'why was this perfume not sold and the money given to the poor?! he indignantly said.) Below is an email from the Vatican that reports summarily its financial status for the year. Here it is (by the way, this email is free to all through the Vatican Information Services:)

SUMMARY:

 

- Holy See Financial Statements for 2007

 

___________________________________________________________

 

HOLY SEE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR 2007

 

VATICAN CITY, 10 JUL 2008 (VIS) - The Council of Cardinals for the Study of Organisational and Economic Problems of the Holy See held its 42nd meeting in the Vatican on 3 and 4 July, under the presidency of Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B.

 

  A communique published yesterday afternoon explains that the consolidated financial statements of the Holy See in 2007 - presented to the assembled cardinals by Archbishop Velasio De Paolis C.S., president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See - showed a deficit of nine million euro: the difference between an income of 236,737,207 euro and outgoings of 245,805,167. This follows a three year period (2004, 2005 and 2006) that had showed a total surplus of 15,206,587 euro.

 

  As regards the institutional activity of the Holy See (Secretariat of State, congregations, councils, tribunals, the Synod of Bishops and various other offices), the communique recalls that this produces no revenue.

 

  The sector of financial activities (seven consolidated administrations, the most important of which is the Extraordinary Section of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, APSA) showed a surplus of 1.4 million euro, as compared with the 2006 surplus of 13.7 million euro. This decrease of about 12 million euro, the note explains, "is due above all to a sudden very strong reversal of trend in fluctuations of the rate of exchange, especially of the US dollar."

 

  The real estate sector closed with a net gain of 36.3 million euro, higher than that of 2006 which stood at around 32.3 million.

 

  The activity of the five media institutions connected with the Holy See (Vatican Radio, the Vatican Printing Office, the Osservatore Romano newspaper, the Vatican Publishing House and the Vatican Television Centre), closed with a deficit of 14.6 million euro, "substantially due to the deficit of Vatican Radio and the publication costs of the 'Osservatore Romano'". Nonetheless, the Vatican Printing Office and the Vatican Television Centre closed with a surplus of 1 million euro and 458,754 euro respectively. The Vatican Publishing House also closed the year with a surplus of 1.6 million euro.

 

  The Roman Curia employs a totals of 2,748 people (44 more than in 2006), of whom 778 are clergy, 333 religious and 1,637 lay people (including 425 women). Pensioners number 929.

 

  The communique goes on to announce that the consolidated financial statements of the Governorate of Vatican City State in 2007 closed with a surplus of 6.7 million euro, a drop with respect to last year's surplus of 21.8 million. "There has been", says the note, "a considerable and sustained economic and financial commitment to the protection, maintenance and restoration of the artistic patrimony of the Holy See (restoration of the Pauline Chapel, interventions on the basilicas of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls and St. Mary Major), as well as elevated costs for the internal security of Vatican City State".

 

  "For the financial year 2007, the Governorate of Vatican City State undertook to support the costs of Vatican Radio, contributing to covering half its deficit (12.2 million euro)", says the communique.

 

  Offers from the faithful to Peter's Pence, the fund which goes to the Holy Father's works of evangelical solidarity, fell considerably with respect to the preceding year. In 2006 they stood at 74.6 million euro, while in 2007 they only reached 50.8 million. The communique mentions a single individual "who has chosen to remain anonymous" who made an offer of 9.09 million euro to the Holy See.

 

  Finally, contributions from dioceses in accordance with canon 1271 of the Code of Canon Law, reached the sum of 18.7 million euro in 2007.

OP/FINANCES HOLY SEE/DE PAOLIS VIS 080710 (620)
   
  
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We had a lot of fun at the Supper Club. Cade Ware is a happy baby and loved to look around, as you can see!

The supper club theme was Hawaiian, the food delicious, and the company great!

Two blessings with Fr. Tim at our recent Supper Club meeting.

The America Magazine article is enlightening. The statement the author’s husband made, “being pro-life is being pro-other-people’s-life; everyone is pro-their-own-life”, is so true, and I can see why it was a catalyst for her conversion.
Our cultural understanding of sexual relations is upside down partly because people are spoiled and would rather have more material things than more babies. All the rationalizations/excuses used for having less children and for advocating abortions are simply justifications of a spoiled, selfish society. I’m amazed today at how many young women really don’t want to have a family (I mean one’s that aren’t aspiring to a religious life).
Yes, Children are a blessing and shouldn’t be viewed as a burden any more than the elderly should. Maybe one day things will turn around, and those who are using so much energy for pro-choice, will channel that energy into exploring better ways to raise today’s children.

I think the “Loser Letter” works as author, Mary Eberstadt, plays the devil’s advocate to expose an atheists’ position on abortion. It was interesting to find out that some atheists used to be pro-life, but now usually they aren’t, because it makes them appear religious. Also, it’s a shame that today’s children (and us) have to live in a disposable world, which seems to require an explanation as to, “why am I here”.

Fr. Tim - Thanks for sharing the pro-life article from the America magazine. We haven't won the war against abortion, but we are winning some of the battles. Take care.

The link below connects an excellent article in America magazine. The author talks about her conversion from pro-choice to pro-life. She expresses well our cultural understanding of sexuality and how this easily leads to abortion. When children are an accidental or unwanted by product of sexual relations, abortion is a ready tool to solve a problem. When they are seen (and are) a blessing from God, abortion no longer is accepted. Worth reading:

http://www.americamagazine.org/content/art...fm?article_id=10904

An article written in the tradition of "The Screwtape Letters" by C. S. Lewis is linked here:

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MmFmM...VlYjU4ZmViNzg=&w=MA

Does this work? Anyway, it is really clever and well written.

Yes, I both married my niece and was a proud Uncle at the same time. It was a nice event at St. Bartholomew's parish in Fort Worth where my sister and her daughters are members.

Fr. Tim--your niece and grandnieces are all beautiful. What a happy day they had! Were you there as her proud uncle or did you marry her or maybe both?
Glad to see the forum up and running again and that there are some guidelines in regards to fairness, decency, etc.

This is a picture of my niece who got married with one of my grandnieces.

I have upgraded this website and now pictures can be loaded as well as commentary. Below is a picture of my grandnieces at my nieces wedding. We just had a lot of first communions and confirmations at St. Mark. I think that people would be interested in seeing some pictures from church members of these events or of other events. May be you have some wedding pictures to share or something else pertinent to parish or faith life. Here's your chance.
 
Aren't my nieces cute?! They waved to the crowd all during the ceremony.

My grandnieces at their cousin's wedding, Friday, June 22, 2008

Before the First Communion Masses, there was a lot of noise in the church, I think because there were a lot of visitors and people excited about the ceremony. I haven't noticed that at other Masses with the possible exception of the Sunday evening Mass. There should be some time to socialize before Mass, but it would be better if this were done in the foyer.

Music during the Mass is not meant as a distraction but is part of the ceremony. We play and sing during the Offertory for this reason. Do you think it should be silent?

Dear Father Tim,
Would it be possible to remind parishoners that there should be little to no talking while in church? The volume has gotten to the point where it's very hard to pray, quiet the mind, and remember we are in the presence of God.

Also, the music and the volume being played just before the offetory is distracting. Again, I (and those I've heard in the congregation) find it hard to concentrate. The music (if any is played) should be something that is spiritual in nature.

Thank you for all your care and concern! We are very blest to have you.

Regards,
Susan

Wishing you a Happy Father's Day, Father.
Thank you for your gentle guidance and ministry.
Thank you for your "yes" to God.
As you always bless us here is a blessing for you, united with St. Paul, (Ephesian 3:14-19) we pray before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

I hope this works better. Good luck

The Forum is Back! Yeah! More opportunity to express your ideas, opinions, thoughts and hopes to the parish community. However, I have upgraded the service and I am able to see I.P. addresses and block users who abuse the site. While controversy should not be banned nor disagreements, any kind of abuse (as I see it) will not be tolerated. That said, I hope that people can again enjoy this site and use it to express faith.

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