Suffering

     I picked up a small and dated book (1971) on one of my favorite saints last week. It was titled: I Knew Blessed Maximillian, and it was a first-hand account of one of the friars who wasa member of one of the monasteries founded by (now) St. Maximillian Kolbe in pre-World War II Poland (and in others places like Japan). He describes Fr. Kolbe as telling the monks prior to their friary being dismantled by the Nazis, about "...the three stages of life: first stage, the preparation for the activity; the second, activity itself; third, the suffering."
    I grew up in the ethos of the American form of ever-unfolding progress; things got better over time, with improvements through technology and historical reflection. For many years, I believed in scientific positivism, where research would increasingly yield a higher quality of life for all peoples. But I could never adequately answer why the poor got poorer, why genocide continued, why one war followed another.
    But St. Max not only preached the Paschal Mystery of suffering, death and resurrection, he lived it. Fr. Kolbe gave his life at Auschwitz for a poor farmer, who lived to tell of the Nazis allowing Fr. Kolbe to offer himself as an oblation for this individual. Suffering can often be senseless, but it can also be redemptive, and one of the most important "stages" in life. It can even lead to "all joy"!

SOLT Healing Retreat

I was able to participate in the SOLT Healing Retreat in Corpus Christi, Texas on August 7 - 9, 2015. The silent retreat was led by Father Dan Estes, SOLT, and addressed the three "systems" operating in the spiritual world: God's System, Man's System, and Satan's System.
The focus then focused on Forgiveness and Childhood Trauma, Unhealthy Relationships, Bondage, the Occult and concluded with a healing service followed by Holy Mass.
The retreat was powerful. I recognized God's presence deeply all through the weekend of prayer and mediation. I experienced a profound trust that our Blessed Mother would help me then and in the future as I addressed some issues in my life that have been with me for many years.
It was a deeply blessed and holy time.

Rascals

Two of our grandsons love to hangout with each other and enjoy vanilla ice cream, a favorite of their grandfather

O Antiphons

My first awareness of the "O" Antiphons and their crescendo-like beauty came from reading Fr. Thomas Merton’s glorious description of monastically praying these gems in his masterpiece biography, The Seven Story Mountain. I was 19 years old and it was 1971 and I finally opened myself to God’s desire for me to live a life of full communion!

A few months later, I saw a brochure on the Newman Center bulletin board about a summer program in inner-city, Kansas City. This program was for college students throughout the United States, and it was sponsored by the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT).

I left Delaware in June and tutored inmates who had dropped out of high school. I served on a SOLT “ecclesial family team” (composed of a priest, sister and a married couple), which was an unheralded and exhilarating experience for me. In spite of the Kansas City heat, I returned a year later to Kansas City to join SOLT.

This Advent, I have been inspired to revisit these “…seven jewels of our liturgy” that harken back to the fourth century.

The “O” antiphons begin each year on December 17, and continue through December 23. These antiphons address Our Lord with seven glowing Messianic titles, based on the Old Testament prophecies and types of Christ.

During this seven-day period, the antiphons are part of the evening prayer of the Divine Office (the antiphon before and after the “Magnificat” in Vespers), as well as part of the “Alleluia Verse” before the Gospel for each day’s Mass.

The antiphons beg God with mounting impatience to come and save His people.

O Sapientia (O, Wisdom),

        O Adonai (O, Lord and Ruler),

                              O Radix Jesse (O, Root of Jesse),

     O Clavis David (O, Key of David),

O Oriens (O, Rising Dawn),

O Rex Gentium (O, King of the Gentiles),

     O Emmanuel! (O, God is with Us!)

 

The "O" Antiphons are also the verses for the ancient hymn, O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

In addition, if one takes the first letter of the Messianic titles, beginning with the last title and going to the first (Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia), the Latin words ERO CRAS emerge, which means: "Tomorrow, I will come." 

            YES!

Come, Lord, Jesus!

Detroit

This beautiful mosaic adorns the altar-face in the second-floor chapel of the SOLT rectory at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Detroit, Michigan. It is a stunning reminder of the price paid for our redemption.

I hope this helps someone

Better training helps police when 911 involves mental health

BY MARY SANCHEZ
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
08/26/2014 6:00 PM 

Jim Dougherty holds a photo of his son, Aaron Dougherty, who was killed Nov. 11, 2002, during an encounter with Kansas City police at the Dougherty home.  FILE PHOTO BY TAMMY LJUNGBLAD/THE KANSAS CITY STAR

On Wed, Aug 27, 2014 at 10:59 AM, Jim Dougherty <drjimdougherty@gmail.com> wrote:Mary,   I was unable to open your column, although I could see the picture on the STAR's Home Page. It looked well done. Can you send me what you wrote?Blessings,Deacon Jim 
The weather was beautiful the day police shot and killed Aaron Dougherty.

A bright, sunny November day of 2002. That’s not trivial reflection. The conditions may have played a role in the 26-year-old’s death.

Dougherty had dimmed the lighting in his family’s Brookside home. When officers entered, answering a 911 call Aaron had made about someone being armed, their eyes were likely still adjusting. Dougherty, suffering from depression, had knives in his grip. The officers believed he moved toward them.

Attention to the innate, physiological aspects of policing, coupled with intense training on mental illness, is one of the positive outcomes of the shooting. Dougherty’s father tells his story to police learning about mental health through Mid-America Crisis Intervention Teams, which has trained 2,000 police officers, dispatchers and detention officers on the Missouri side of the Kansas City area since 2000.

The program reinforces officers’ training about the things that happen to them during stress — elevated heart rates, for one — then layers on information about mental illness.

So when Jim Dougherty heard about the shooting death of Joseph Jennings of Ottawa, Kan., his own heart took a skip. Jennings, 18, had reportedly just been released from psychiatric care and was suicidal. Ottawa police shot him Saturday, answering a call about a man armed with a gun.

Perspective is important with increased publicity around police shootings lately. For the mentally ill, much has been done in recent years to help police respond. The program Dougherty promotes gives police critical insights, including understanding how a person might behave if they have stopped taking medication or are in the middle of an overdose.

Kansas City police responded to two suicide threats last weekend. A woman armed with a knife said she wanted “suicide by cop.” A man holding what turned out to be a BB gun sat on his roof with a rope around his neck. Both situations ended without harm.

Nikk Thompson first brought the crisis intervention training (CIT) program to the metro area while he was an officer in Lee’s Summit. He is retired now, but he continues to help spread it metrowide and to other states, including Kansas.

“If a CIT officer has to shoot, then he has tried everything in his power not to do so,” Thompson said. “And it’s devastating to the CIT officers. You feel that you lost.”

To reach Mary Sanchez, call 816-234-4752 or send email to msanchez@kcstar.com.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/mary-sanchez/article1304708.html#storylink=cpy

 

Blessed!

I was ordained a permanent deacon in the Diocese of Kansas City - St. Joseph on June 7, 2014 by the Most Rev. Robert W. Finn, D.D. My Mom and Dad and brothers, Terry and Bob, flew in from Philadelphia to be with me and Karol. Later that day, I preached my first homily with my wife, parents, and brothers in attendance. This was such a beautiful blessing!

This day was also special for me because I could serve as a deacon to the great High Priest, Jesus Christ. Our late son, Aaron, was named for the first Temple High Priest, Aaron, the brother of Moses, and I felt Aaron was also with me that day. We were serving God together, he from Heaven and me in St. Louis Church in Kansas City. Praise God!