Deacon Jeff's Corner
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Thank you for visiting my page and taking time to reflect upon my thoughts.
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As you read this corner from me this weekend, I hope you will take a moment to pray for me. What’s so problematic for Deacon Jeff this weekend? Really nothing at all. However, God willing, as you read this, I will be on a silent retreat at the Jesuit House on Lake Winnebago in Oshkosh.
For those of you who have never heard of a silent retreat before, please allow me to give you a little background. There are several places to go on a silent retreat. The closest is the Jesuit House in Oshkosh and I personally happen to like it! Is it totally silent? No, but briefly here’s how it goes: After arriving on Thursday and getting personal belongings in your room, dinner is served. There you can meet and talk with others. There are usually around 40 men who come to each retreat. Following dinner, there is a brief talk from the director and an introduction of the priest who will be offering talks each day. There are usually four talks each day (about 30 minutes each), but it’s up to you whether to attend or not. Once the introductions are complete, you are silent for the rest of the time here including meals. If you are looking for something like salt or pepper at the dinner table, there is a spinning lazy Susan where you can get these items without asking. The only time you talk is at the daily Mass; you are allowed to pray out loud! Boring you might say? How can you stay quiet the whole time? I thought the same thing the first time I went. But what happens is that in the silence, God speaks to you! I’ve had so many wonderful things I’ve learned on these retreats, only because I don’t talk, and God can speak clearly to me! So please do pray for me, as I will be praying for all of you in earnest! I will see all of you for Holy Week!
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The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the Catholic Church, and for that matter the whole world is mourning the loss of a great man: Bishop David O’Connell. If you haven’t heard of him or of his tragic death, allow me to give you a brief description, understanding I never knew or even heard of Bishop Dave before his death.
Known as a passionate lover of the homeless, sexually abused, and a man of peace and deep compassion, Bishop Dave loved to walk the streets of Los Angeles at night to minister to all different types of people. You can only imagine what and who he might have encountered. Both social progressives and conservatives embraced this man. This is an incredible accomplishment in this society that is so deeply divided. He was able to meet virtually anyone where they were at in life with deep love and compassion, again another unique gift. He was trusted by gang members, as well as local crime fighters. It seems to me he was the face of Christ to so very many. Initially believing Bishop Dave died in his sleep, police easily determined he was murdered. The suspect is his housekeeper’s husband, who apparently was heavily under the influence of drugs when he committed the crime. He was arrested the day following the tragic killing of Bishop Dave. If you have a chance, read some of the articles written about him. I believe you will find as I did that Bishop Dave was a “one of a kind” man. He had the correct calling, and lived his call to the very fullest. Please pray for the repose of his soul, as well as for all those who depended on him for guidance. May God welcome him to paradise! - Deacon Jeff It is hard to believe we are already at the 3rd Sunday of Lent; we are closing in on the halfway point in this season soon! Since I have been gone for the last week in Florida, I thought I’d give you a few reflections on that time away from here. First of all, I certainly missed all of you and I missed the parish! I know everything here was running smoothly because you are fortunate to have one of finest parish staffs in the Diocese available for your needs/concerns. Second, I know at this point we have already exceeded our Bishop’s Appeal goal, which happened in only five weeks! Thank you so very much for your generosity and promptness! The only goal we need to accomplish yet is to get to 500 gifts. This should not be difficult, based on the number of registered parishioners we have here at Prince of Peace. More importantly, whenever there is a task to be done here, we all need to be a part of it; waiting for someone else to “take care of things” – especially financially – is not what God asks of us. God asks for us to share our blessings with others, so if you have not yet donated, please consider giving to the Appeal today! While we were on vacation, Mary and I attended Mass at St. Leo the Great in Bonita Springs, FL. This is a very impressive structure that seats well over a thousand people. The Mass we attended was almost at capacity! I realize they have many visitors attending Mass there, but I couldn’t help but picture Prince of Peace with every seat taken. The Mass IS Heaven coming to earth, and if we can understand and comprehend this, every seat should be taken on the weekend! How so very blessed each one of us is to be here! Thank you for blessing me with your presence! - Deacon Jeff
If you do not see me around this weekend, it’s because Mary and I are taking our first vacation since Covid-19 hit two years ago. We are coming back today, but since I have to write these corners ahead of time, I’m writing this before the vacation! Anyway, yesterday (March 12) is the third anniversary of the beginning of my assignment here at Prince of Peace. Even though I’m not here today, I can assure you a lot of different emotions are within me today. People ask me all the time if I like being here and if like what I do. It goes without saying that I love being here as your servant; all of you have changed my life in ways you will never know or could even imagine! Do I like what I do? Again, I love what I do here, but I will say this – it is a difficult job, and it comes like anything else with its’ many, shall I say – “opportunities”. There is never any boredom around here, and I could spend virtually all day every day here and not run out of things to do! Putting all those emotions aside, I can say one thing for certain: We are so very blessed to be here, there is no other place we would rather be than here at Prince of Peace! I am so grateful to every one of you for your care, support, and incredible kindness. YOU are my inspiration! Our staff here at Prince of Peace runs on three main principles, and in this order: 1) We are here to serve God, 2) We are here to serve the wonderful people of this parish, and 3) We are here to support and serve each other. If any these principles are not adhered to, we cannot serve God nor you in the proper way. I sure hope you can see these principles lived out when you are here, if not please let me know! Thank you for everything! - Deacon Jeff
As we enter this season of Lent, we usually have decided by now what we are going to “give up”. This is a very noble idea and a great way to offer a small sacrifice for all that Jesus did for us on the Cross. This year, however, I’d like you to consider doing something rather than giving up something. The activity I’d like for you to consider (if you’re not already doing so) is to pray the Rosary daily. This prayer for many is too repetitious, too long and too boring. Others believe because of the structure of the Rosary prayer and a tendency for our minds to wander that it cannot be an effective prayer. Yet, countless saints and even the Virgin Mary herself in many of her apparitions asks those she appears to that they pray the Rosary. If that is the case, there must be something very powerful about this prayer! The Rosary has also been described as a “weapon” like anything that comes to mind when we hear that word. How can prayer, and especially repetitive prayer like the Rosary be a weapon? Pope Francis has asked us to pray the Rosary for peace in Ukraine. We pray the Rosary for an end to Covid-19, and for healing for ourselves and others. The Rosary was instituted back in early 13th Century by St. Dominic, who saw the Virgin Mary in a vision and was taught by her how to pray. It is the one symbol that reminds almost anyone of a person’s Catholic faith. If you have never prayed the Rosary, we have materials to get you started. Even if you’ve prayed it in the past, try to make it a daily part of your Lenten observance. There is something special about this prayer and the more it is prayed, the more it will become a part of your life! - Deacon Jeff
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