Third Sunday of Easter April 26, 2020 Our Lady Most Admirable, detach us from the visible, and lead us on to fix our gaze on the invisible. Amen. From the Gusset Happy Easter! In the Gospel story depicting the Resurrection of our Lord on the path to Emmaus, the scripture says: beginning with Moses and all the prophets, (Jesus) interpreted to them (the two pilgrim disciples) what referred to Him in all the Scriptures. That a dead man would present Himself alive seems, so incredible to us, that no one guessed, in a million years, that this would happen to Jesus. Peter, James, and John were told explicitly that Jesus would suffer and then enter into glory. The twelve Apostles were told three times that Jesus must suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the 3rd day be raised. Through out the whole Old Testament, God the Father’s divine plan was preparing the chosen people that the Messiah would come and suffer and be killed and rise from the dead; and yet and still, no one recognized the Christ’s perfect fulfillment of His Father’s plan. And so, in the Gospel, Jesus turns to the Scriptures to explain to the downcast pilgrims and to us: how the Bible foreshadowed the life of Jesus. Can you imagine, Jesus telling you: how Abel’s blood speaking to God from the soil was a sign of how Jesus would be killed by His brother (you and I) and how His blood poured out, would speak to God the Father in the Mass saying, “forgive them Father, they know not what they do.” How Isaac was a sacrifice offered up to death, but a sacrifice that survived! How Joseph (of technicolor dream coat fame) was sold into slavery, but then became the savior of a whole nation, which included his brothers, who had sold him into slavery. Imagine Jesus explaining to you, how Moses was the mediator of a covenant between God and the Israelites; just as, Jesus made a new and everlasting Covenant in the Eucharist between God the Father and you and I and everyone, who is blessed by God to eat of the sacred meal at the Catholic Mass! The divine plan is revealed throughout the Scriptures: God wants to save man through a sacrifice M the sacrifice that we partake in every Sunday in the Mass! The joyous light that is Easter makes all this known to us. We, Catholics, are the only people, who are filled with joy this Easter. Even should someone die in our family, we have been taught by Jesus Christ, Himself, that suffering, that passion, that death leads to unsurpassable glory! In a world that has been beaten down by the Coronavirus, we, rather, are filled with joy, because Jesus taught us how to pass through suffering to obtain the salvation of our souls and the salvation of the souls of those we love. Happy Easter! Our Lady Most Admirable…pray for us! Yours on the Path Fr. Randy Who Might Your Fourteen Holy Helpers be for the Coronavirus? Way back in the 14th century, when the bubonic plague was at its worst in Germany, the Catholic Church called upon the intercession of a group of 14 canonized Saints to help her citizens get through this very dark time. Each of the Saints that was invoked gave relief to a different symptom of the black death. Two years back, during our RCIA classes, we helped those coming into our Catholic Faith to learn their catechism by reading Fr. James Martin’s book: My Life with the Saints. As we learned about Fr. Martin’s “Dream Team of Saints,” we naturally learned (by the life these heroic men and women lived) M what it means to be Catholic. I encouraged all the RCIA students to devise their own list of patron Saints M Saints who inspire them to fall more in love with Jesus Christ. Wouldn’t it be a shame if this pandemic passed and as we analyzed our Catholic Faith, we discovered that we had not grown deeper in love with God?! I suggested in last week’s Heroes of God, Feast Days of the Saints column M that Pope St. Martin (patron Saint of those who feel forgotten) might be a good Saint to pray with during our shelter in place quarantine. If you do not have a Dream Team of Saints to pray with for the Coronavirus scare, might I suggest you take some time during this pandemic to devise a list of the greatest Saints in your life, and then to pray to this group of Saints on a daily basis M asking them to help you to grow in your love affair with Jesus Christ. The Fourteen Holy Helpers and the malady they treated: St. Agathius = headaches, St. Barbara = fever, St. Blaise = illness of the throat, St. Catherine = sudden death, St. Christopher = dangers of contracting illness while traveling, St. Cyriacus = temptation to sin while sick, St. Denis = headaches, St. Erasmus = intestinal ailments, St. Eustace = prevent family discord while sick, St. George = for the health of the family pet, St. Giles = to help make a good confession, St. Margaret = for safe delivery of a child, St. Pantaleon = for a Doctor’s safety while treating patients, and St. Vitus = freedom from seizures Heroes of God; Feast Days of the Saints St. Mark April 25th When St. Peter (thrown in prison by Herod and the night before his trial and imminent martyrdom) was rescued by an Angel of the Lord, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who is called Mark. (Acts 12:12) St. Mark would later meet up with St. Peter in Rome and be considered (what Tradition says) “the interpreter and mouthpiece of St. Peter.” This is the reason that Mark’s Gospel is referred to as the “Gospel of St. Peter,” because although Mark is not an eyewitness to the actions and teachings of Christ, Mark learned the details from Peter. Indeed, after Peter’s death in the circus of Nero, the Catholics of Rome urged St. Mark to document all that concerned the life of Christ. Written in Greek, St. Mark wrote not simply to give historical documentation, but to urge the followers of Christ (you and I) to lay down our lives for the sake of the good news. Mark equates Jesus with the Gospel. (Mark 8:35) Originally, Mark traveled with St. Paul. You see, Barnabas was Mark’s cousin, and these three men traveled to Cyprus and Antioch. There seems to have been some sort of disagreement between Paul and Mark, because Paul would not take Mark on his future mission trips. St. Peter was so close to Mark M that he called Mark: “my son,” which some Catholic historians think is a reference that Peter baptized Mark! Could it have been that when both St. Peter and St. Paul were thrown into the Mamertine prison in Rome, that Peter was able to reconcile the relationship between St. Mark and St. Paul? For when Paul writes about Mark just before his martyrdom by beheading, Paul speaks highly of Mark! St. Mark eventually became the Bishop of Alexandria and is now known as the patron Saint of Venice, Italy M where his relics are stored in the great basilica of St. Mark in the piazza called “the world’s most beautiful drawing room,” by Napoleon. There is a beautiful story describing the translation of St. Mark’s relics from Alexandria to Venice. The Doge Giustiniano Participazio (the Venetian form of government is to elect “the smartest” man to govern the people M this man is called the Doge) couldn’t stand the thought that the Catholic city of Alexandria was taken over by Muslims, so he devised a plan to steal St. Mark’s relics to safety. In 828, two Venetian merchant sailors hid the relics of St. Mark under a layer of pork (Muslims are not permitted to eat pork) and this prevented the guards from inspecting the ship’s cargo too closely! In his will, Doge Giustiniano asked his widow to build a basilica, dedicate it to St. Mark, and repose the relics of St. Mark under the altar. By 1094, the Doge’s wishes had been carried out. St. Mark’s feast day is also associated with the blessing of fields for productive crops! St. Mark…pray for us! To watch the Sunday Pro Populo Mass and make a spiritual Communion simply go to our Parish Website: www.olphmarystpatrick.com Besides the Masses listed below, Fr. Randy will continue to celebrate an addition Mass each day for the intentions of all the living members of our parishes and for those buried in our cemeteries (a Pro Populo Mass) until the end of the pandemic. Saturday, April 25th Feast of St. Mark OLPH (+) Craig & Ray Bresson/ Mr. & Mrs. Mark Bresson SMA (+) Quinn & Josephine Torri/ Torri family Sunday, April 26th 3rd Sunday of Easter St. Patrick (+) Joann Burke/ Mr. & Mrs. Darrell Full OLPH (+) Pro Populo/ Fr. Randy Monday, April 27th (+) Margaret Bonnell & Joan (Myers) Dinges/ Mr. & Mrs. Robert Jones Tuesday, April 28th SMA (+) William & Raymond Muetze/ Mr. & Mrs. Max Muetze Wednesday, April 29th St. Catherine of Siena OLPH (+) Frank Joerger/ Mr. & Mrs. Michael Widolff & (+) Catherine Schauer/ Geraldine Fronek Thursday, April 30th SMA (+) James Zinke/ Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Kuebel OLPH (+) June Stephenitch & Velma Kellen/ Mr. & Mrs. Steve Klein Friday, May 1st St. Joseph the Worker St. Patrick (+) Martin Quest/ Mr. & Mrs.