Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko

This remarkable and courageous priest was murdered by the Communist totalitarian regime in Poland in 1984.
I remember the surreal circumstances of his death, occurring just after he said Mass for the Solidarity union movement in Poland. He was tortured and his body was found wrapped in chains at the bottom of a reservoir. Amazingly, the three police officers who killed him, and their supervisor, were placed on trial and FOUND GUILTY! However, they were released under an amnesty process, that no doubt hastened the fall of Communism in Poland and in the entire world. It was clear from that trial that the government had set out to torture and persecute a man of conscience who became a victim for the Polish people, like that of St. Maximillian Kolbe during WWII.
This past June, Fr. Jerzy was declared a Blessed, which is the last stage before canonization in the Church. He is seen as a modern Saint Stanislaus, and a hero for our modern world.

St. Peter Claver

I have the honor of being a Knight of St. Peter Claver, a fraternal Catholic organization named after the missionary to African slaves brought to South America in the 1500s.
Slavery was a horrific and shameful occurrence, especially in the Americas. But St. Peter Claver ministered to hundreds of thousands of these tortured individuals.
At our annual Mass for the feast of St. Peter Claver yesterday, the presiding priest spoke of the utter dehumanity of this practice. I could not help but reflect on the continuing dehumanizing that occurs through abortion and genocide.
St. Peter Claver, Pray for us!

Adopted Goldfish

I'm so glad that Sam and Sophie Silva have taken good care of my goldfish since we moved many of our belongings from our house in Kansas City to Mountain View, Hawai'i.
I had a chance to see a few of my old fish this week. Sam and Sophie (mostly Sophie) have given them all names. The big one in the picture is Finn, short for Finnegan. Sophie researched fish names on the internet, and came up with this cute gem.

Apostolic Cooking!

Sister Mary Mediatrix and Sister Mary Heather did the cooking at a recent picnic at the convent. I brought some Coke Zero and a CD by my favorite Hawaiian musician, IZ. It was a nice time.

Mobile Office

The DeLaSalle Mobile Office is a 1993 Jeep Cherokee donated to DeLaSalle by Brian Sanders. The car is parked in this picture in front of the house where I room with Fr. Carlos and George Kendzora while I am in KC. -

Apostolic Farming

Rich Sauer is a scientist, a beekeeper and a good family man who once served at Madonna House with Catherine de Hueck Doherty. While at Madonna House, Rich learned about apostolic farming from Doherty, who wrote that she was "...engaged in the occupation of farming because we want to spread the Good News by living the Gospel, and there is no better place to live the Gospel than on a farm.";
Doherty believed that farming was a ministry or a form of worship, versus a source of employment. Rich views his honey collection in the same fashion.
Catherine de Hueck Doherty's cause for canonization as a saint is now under consideration by the Catholic Church.
By the way, Catherine de Hueck Doherty is no relation to me, but in faith, she is my sister!

A Slave of Love to Mary and Jesus

Total Consecration involves a vow of love so complete that the term "slave" is used. Some very distinguished Catholic writers have been "completely turned off" by this phrasing and approach, considering it to be distasteful and offensive. Interestingly, today's second reading at Mass was from Paul's letter to Philemon and concerned the matter of a slave (Onesimus) that was imprisoned with Paul and who had converted to Christianity. I happened to proclaim this reading to St. Louis Church at the 10:00 am Mass this morning myself, and I had to wonder how this reading impacted the mostly African-American congregation.
I should note, though, that as a white person, I felt uncomfortable presenting this reading. The American history of slavery has been horrifically ugly and violent, especially in its after-effects like continuing segregation and racism.
I just read a review of The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration and found myself unnerved by the continuing legacy of slavery through Jim Crow laws, and the harsh and terrible discrimination not only in the southern US, but also after the great migration, in the north US.
So there is definitely a lot of punch and bite in using a term like "slave of love to Mary and Jesus" in being consecrated totally, as I am now doing (for the ninth consecutive year). It is a total abasement and oblation of self to God, something so deep and profound that I can barely grasp it. Sin is ugly, and requires warfare to address it and conquer it, and total abandonment to Jesus and Mary.