St. Mary of Vernon Catholic Church

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We continue to be overwhelmed and brought to our knees by the recent revelations of the extent of the sexual abuse of minors, and even more so, the extent of the clerical coverup, in Pennsylvania, Buffalo, and other dioceses and countries. Our love and prayers go out in a profound way to all the victims whose lives continue to be affected so terribly years afterwards. Healing and justice go hand in hand.

We are painfully aware and feel so badly that many Catholics have felt it nec- essary to walk away from the Church. We Catholics who remain in the church find ourselves being asked, more and more, by non-Catholics and fallen away Catholics alike, at work or within their families: How can you possibly want to remain in the Catholic Church after all this evil has come out? Sometimes our response is not easy to put into words. Frequently our rea- sons don’t always fit into logical, concise or easily expressible terms – which can frustrate us as well as the other persons we are talking to at the time.

When our Pastoral Staff met recently, we were asking ourselves this very same question. We thought sharing some of our own, personal reasons for sticking with the Catholic Church might be helpful to one another and our fellow parishioners. Perhaps our sharings can strengthen our mutual motivation and support for doing all we can to make sure that the Church moves forward with substantive reforms.

Over the next several weeks, staff members will share our personal reflections in bulletin columns (included here on the website) simply entitled: “Giving Thanks for the Gift of our Catholic Faith”.

We hope these reflections might be helpful as you fashion your own responses. As always, we welcome your thoughts as we walk side by side in our mutual journey in faith. 

The Gift of our Catholic Faith: A Reflection from Fr. Joe, Pastor

I find myself going back to the very foundation of my personal and communal life of faith. The Church is rooted in faith in Christ Jesus. Jesus called together his original disciples and sent these disciples to spread the Good News of his kingdom. He commissioned them to gather a living community of faith, whose beginnings are described in the Acts of the Apostles and in the letters of St. Paul. From its very beginning, the church had been made up of human and flawed individuals and leaders.

Throughout history, over and over again, the church has needed to be reformed, renewed and rebuilt. St. Francis, St. Teresa of Avila, and countless other reformers faithfully stuck with the church and decided that to abandon it makes no sense. Frequently when on the brink, official Councils were called – the collective wisdom and grounding of faithful leaders saw us through reforms.

Today, like the reformers of old, I know so many good and faithful priests, bishops and laity who do not want to give up on the living faith of Jesus nor on the Church he founded. I, like so many of you, maintain a firm belief that the Holy Spirit, who descended upon the early Church at the first Pentecost, does not abandon Christ’s Church. And I firmly believe the Spirit will always come through again.

The Sacraments – especially the Eucharist – have grounded our shared communal faith in each and every generation as we faithfully continue to do what Jesus asked his disciples to do – to continue “breaking the bread” of the Eucharist in his memory. The Body and Blood of the Lord binds us together. The Eucharist, together with the Sacrament of Reconciliation, enables us to reform and renew ourselves, personally and communally.

I am very much aware of how any lack of integrity or any duplicity on the part of a presiding priest or bishop makes it so horribly difficult for those gathered to accept. However, awareness of the church’s teaching – which was clarified, no doubt, during one or more periods of needed reforms – brings me an inner peace. Namely, the church has taught that the positive effects of Jesus present in the sacraments do not depend on the sanctity of the priest or bishop presiding. Jesus does what he says he will do in spite of the human instrument.

I firmly believe that the Holy Spirit is calling each of us to a stronger, relentless faith and to work together to make sure that the Church reforms whenever needed. As it does right now. For we together are the living Church.

Fr. Joe Curtis 

A Reflection from Maureen Evers, Pastoral Associate

The summer after I had just graduated from high school, on the brink of going away to college, my family took a camping trip in Yosemite National Park. Standing on a footbridge across a bubbling brook, among a darkened forest of giant redwood trees, I looked up to encounter a night sky ablaze with more stars than I ever knew existed. It was there that I had my first real experience of the power and greatness of God, both immanent and transcendent. As a young girl accustomed to the haze of suburban lights and much smaller trees, I felt very small indeed—no more than a speck in all of God’s wonderful creation. And yet at the same time, I recall a voice that I believed to be the voice of God speaking to me and saying, “I have something very special in mind for you, Maureen.” It set me on a quest to discover that dream God had in mind for me. To this day, I cannot say I have discovered it. God’s ways are mysterious, and my path has been full of twists and turns, and sometimes even a few dead ends. But even when I have been lost, God has always drawn me home to the Catholic Church, through the community and through the sacraments. I know I was born into a Catholic family for a reason. That was God’s choice, not mine. But it is my choice to remain Catholic today.

Why am I still Catholic despite all the harmful, sinful, and sometimes even scandalous behavior that has been committed by its members? Because God knows I’m not perfect. Because I know, deep down, that I am a sinner too, that I have caused harm to others, sometimes even willingly and obstinately doing the opposite of God’s dream for me. And yet, my Catholic faith reminds me that God loves and forgives me in spite of all my faults and failings. I experience that love and forgiveness profoundly through the presence of Jesus in the sacraments.

So, who am I to point the finger? Yes, terrible wrongs have been committed on innocent victims, and I cannot stand idly by while they continue to occur. But I am also called to love and forgive and to bring the presence of Christ to others through my witness of faith, both within the Church and outside of it. Why am I still Catholic? Because in the Catholic Church I find a community that loves and sustains me in faith. Because in the Catholic Church I encounter God’s mercy. And most of all, because I believe that the Catholic Church provides my greatest chance to discover God’s dream for my life, which is ultimately to be brought into the fullness of God’s love in Heaven.

 

Thoughts from Deacon Dan Moore . . .

I am Catholic because:

The Catholic church is built on a rock foundation with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone. (Matthew 16:18)

My love for Jesus is engrained in gratitude for count- less blessings in my life. I am so fortunate to be raised in the faith by parents who actively lived and openly spoke of their trust in God with every decision and sacrifice made for me and my brothers. I am blessed with abundant love and the joy of having a family of my own. Through the sacrifice of others, I live with the freedom to express praise and glory to God through my commitment of service to all, as a deacon. I truly believe that awareness of blessings and expressing gratitude for them helps me stay grounded in this Catholic faith.

I have an affinity for the Communion of Saints and the loving personal witness of dear family and friends to the power of faith in times of desolation and consolation. We Catholics have a rich and dynamic history of very holy women and men, some we call Saints, some we know to be saintly. We know who they are, and we count on their legacy to continually renew our faith when questions arise, and we stumble. Lately for me, checking in on Saint Hildegard of Bingen and her outspoken preaching to clerical abuses of her time affirms everyone’s role in accountability for what we do and what we fail to do. In high school, I chose St. Francis of Assisi as my Confirmation saint. I connected with stories of his love of nature and his personal conversion. An adult appreciation of Saint Francis opens the story wider to his radical way of life and the inspiration from God to rebuild the Church. The saints point us to Jesus through humility and love of the Sacraments. We profess belief in the Communion of Saints; this is a foundational belief of the Catholic Church that I love.

I am Catholic for these and so many more reasons. This is a time to deepen the roots of our faith, how do we do that?  How do you consider your blessings in life as nourishment of your Catholic faith?  How does your favorite saint inspire you to be proud of your Catholic faith?  Why are you still Catholic?   Why am I still Catholic?


Thoughts from Susan Gray, Business Manager

As Fr. Joe mentioned last week, the Parish Pastoral Staff agreed to write out our thoughts about why we are still Catholic and share them with our parish community. We all feel the pain of the horrific abuses in our Church. It hurts, I feel betrayed and saddened, I am sure you do too. So why do I still come to Church each week, still say my prayers, still belong to this parish?

When we discussed this very question at a recent staff meeting the first thing that came to mind was the Shrine in my Grandmother’s house. I am from an immigrant family; all my grandparents came from Italy to the US through Ellis Island in New York. They brought very few material things with them, but they did bring their Catholic faith. Growing up everything revolved around Church; every holiday, every celebration was dictated by the customs of our faith – remember fasting!

Which brings me to the Shrine. At the top of the staircase in Grandma’s house there was a landing and in the corner was the Shrine. I still remember it so well; there were several statues, the largest was of the Blessed Mother, several real plants, maybe a candle or two. But the most interesting part was that right above that landing was a skylight – so on every sunny day the sun would shine through the glass and radiate right on the statues just like it was meant to be; natural light beams right from heaven. You can see how this would leave an impression on a child. Visiting the Shrine was a normal part of visiting Grandma’s (especially since it was also right next to the only bathroom in the house).

So, what does this have to do with why I am still Catholic? I guess it is because it is part of my family’s roots, my family’s tradition. It is who I am. Yes, I can be upset with the men who run the Church, but it does not change my relationship with God or with my faith.

Another thought is that after all my years working at the parish, for the “Church”, I guess I can see a different perspective. I know many, many priests, all good and holy men. Also, many, many seminarians who are all working hard to be ready to serve us as our future parish priests. I know the Church has been through bad times in the past, this may be the worst because the sacred trust was broken, but it is still the Church that Jesus Christ left us. It is the Church of my roots and so I am still here. Like St Peter said when Jesus asked if he wanted to leave: “Lord, to whom would we go?” 

A Reflection from Sr. Mary Barbara . . .

“The fullness of joy is to behold God in everything.” Julian of Norwich, a laywoman and a mystic of the 14th /15th century, was profoundly aware that our Catholic faith calls us to believe that we live in a world infused with the sacred. Since God became human in Jesus Christ, God is therefore seen, touched and heard in the context of our ordinary, daily living. Everything can be an opportunity to encounter something of God’s presence. This is called sacramentality. All that God has created is holy.

I grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere. I had innumerable opportunities to recognize God’s presence. Being close to nature and having time for silence away from the busyness of town and city life gave me the opportunity to reflect on the world around me and to recognize God’s pres- ence working in my life and in the lives of others. This awareness of being surrounded by God’s presence drew me to a Franciscan way of living in community, perhaps because St. Francis of Assisi saw the sacredness in all things. My Franciscan religious congregation reinforced this sacramentality. My everyday life, my activities, my service to others, celebrations, creation; all can draw us closer to God.

This does not mean that I do not at times lose my focus when I become discouraged and disappointed in the actions of some of our Catholic leaders whom we look to for guidance. When I lose my focus, I often hear Jesus saying within my heart, “Mary Barbara, keep your eyes fixed on me. It is I who inspires and perfects your faith” (Hebrews 12:2). Despite the sinfulness of its members, of which I am one, the Church is holy because Jesus Christ is the founder and Jesus is in charge. The Catholic faith is so much larger than its problems. Its traditions, devotions and rituals, its service to the poor and disenfranchised, its sacramentality, and its sense of hope in the midst of a world in turmoil compels me to be a member of this Church and this faith. This is why I am Catholic and why I choose to remain Catholic.

When you are discouraged and/or disappointed, who do you go to for guidance and sustenance?

Do you truly believe that Jesus Christ is at the helm of our Catholic church? 
 

A Reflection from Deacon Jerry Nora . . .

I have a lifetime of reasons for remaining Catholic, too many for this column. Let me describe two. One reason is a gift; the other reason a rational choice.

The Gift: In December 1954, my mother assembled a Christmas creche and taught me about the Holy Family. I learned that Jesus loved me. Over the next months, my mother taught me about heaven and God. (Part of the lesson was that God could see everything, even in the dark and even when no one else knew I was stealing candy.) Around Easter time, Mom gave me and my brother Fred picture books about the Mass. I knew that when I was older I would receive Holy Communion, and that Holy Communion was Jesus coming into me to make me a better person.

I am glad that my mother wanted to teach me all I could learn about these matters. In June 1955, she unexpectedly died from a brain aneurysm. I was devastated, but I was not dismayed. I already knew that life was important, that we were related to God, and we were meant for heaven. Now I had a mother on her way to heaven. At age four, I knew life was a profound matter with meaning and eternal consequences.

Later, my father remarried and our family grew. On the day I finally received my first Holy Communion, November 27, 1958, our new baby brother died. For me, the Mass became that much more meaningful to me as a participation in the heavenly banquet. The faith my first mother taught me, and which my parents and grandparents reinforced, is a gift I could never totally lose no matter how much I might try.

The Choice: I have studied the Philosophy of God at Georgetown and University of Chicago, and I try always to think critically about my faith. I do not want to believe an illusion. After all of my studies and conversations with theologians, atheists and others, I am convinced of several things which cannot prove the truth of my faith, but they do prove that my faith is a rational choice.

First, life either has meaning from a transcendent God or it has no meaning. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, a baptized Catholic and abortion rights jurist, once wrote, “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life." Of course, Kennedy’s opinion is proud nonsense. If each of us gets to decide the meaning of life and the universe, then life and the universe really have no meaning. If life has meaning, it has to come from something greater than us. Kennedy shows us what we have if there is no God who gives life meaning: chaos, anarchy and a meaningless universe.

Second, Jesus is the only great religious teacher who claimed to teach us as God, and not simply as a great human soul like Buddha or Confucius. As C.S. Lewis wrote, “Jesus is either God or Jesus was insane.”

Third, only Jesus gives us a way of life that reverses the roads to hatred and sin. Jesus thinks differently than a mere human being, and he transforms suffering into holiness. The best human religions teach us to feel compassion; Christ commands us to love. The best human religions urge us to submit to death and hope for a better reincarnation. Jesus taught us the importance of this life and then came back from death. Jesus is God.

Fourth, Jesus entrusted his Church to the apostles. If one believes in Jesus, then the best place to remain is in an Apostolic Church that carries on his mission, conserves his teachings, and gives us his body and shares his sacraments.

Fifth, given that the Roman Catholic Church a.) has never broken away from the Apostolic Tradition, b.) accepts the entire body of scripture passed on to us by the Church Fathers, c.) loyally proclaims Jesus’ hardest sayings, whether on eating his body or the permanence of marriage, and d.) has an unbroken line of leadership going back to Peter, Jesus’ designated leader, then there can be no better apostolic church than the Roman Catholic Church.

A rational person would agree that, if there is a God, there will be no better place to meet Him than exactly where my mother taught me. If Judas could not persuade Jesus to abandon His Church, then no one can cause me to do so. Being a Catholic is the closest, surest way of abiding with Christ. 
 

A Reflection from Marion Hornung, Director of Religious Education . . .

As someone who has spent some twenty plus years of my career ministering to the young of our faith community and as a mother of three children, I am angered, outraged and sickened that such behavior was tolerated and covered up by the leadership of our Church. The universal Church, the mystical body of Christ has been gravely wounded and for this I grieve and mourn. However, my Church, our Church is worth fighting for and I refuse to walk away. I am a Catholic, and it is who I am and who I will always be.

My earliest memories of my faith as a child were going to novenas with my mother and holding my father's hand walking into Mass. You knew where someone lived in the city by the name of their parish and you were either a Catholic or a Public. We were entrenched with the lives of the great saints, our Catholic heroes, who inspired us to pick up our crosses, to be holy and to follow Christ. We displayed pictures of the saints and Mother Mary on the walls of our homes, hung crosses in our bedrooms, and lit candles by our statues. We fasted and didn't eat meat on Fridays. We carried our rosary beads and prayer cards. It is through the sacrament of Baptism we were freed from the stain of Original Sin and became the adopted children of God. It is through the sacrament of Reconciliation that we atone for our sins and receive forgiveness. It is through the Mass and the Eucharist that we are fed and sustained. I was married in the Church, raised my children in the faith and it will be where I am buried from. My Catholic faith is the very fabric of my life and it is how I define myself. It is as much a part of me as my Irishness, my blue eyes and my left-handedness, it is in my DNA. I know no other way. I am a Catholic.

While I am outraged by the actions of these men, my heart aches for those who have been victimized. We are called to pray, to heal and to forgive. It may take some time for all of this to take place. We can't change the past but we can do our best to make sure it never happens again. I have served alongside some of the finest priests and for them I am profoundly saddened. They, unfortunately, are now viewed through the same lens; and as unjust and unfair as it is, it is the reality. Where do we go from here, you might ask? For me, when a family is in crisis, we stick together and we do whatever it takes to get the job done. We pick up the pieces and we move forward. Most importantly, we don't quit and we stay the course because this family is certainly worth fighting for. 

7:00 AM  |  9:00 AM  |  7:00 PM

FOURTH SUNDAY:  4:00 PM
Every fourth Sunday of the month in the SMV Day Chapel.
11:15 AM | Includes signed interpretation on the first, second and third Sundays.