Sunday Catholic overload, and other Sunday stuff

No homily today; I needed the break.  Still, I find myself very reflective on what is a truly beautiful Sunday morning.  Now understand that I truly find every Sunday to be beautiful because it's good to have that one day each week where the focus is God, faith, Church. family.  This is an exceptionally beautiful Sunday though because it really is the first Sunday in a long time where we experience a taste of autumn.  I awoke at 6 this morning to a temperature of 48 degrees, coupled with little humidity.  At sunrise, I walked outside to take it all in and view the beauty of a hard days work the day before; not by me but by a friend.  You see while I was in New Orleans as part of my diaconate ministry and then in Covington assisting at the vigil Mass, my friends and wife were working in the yard.  Little did I know the depth of the work done; trees cut, old fencing removed, acres cut and wonderful vegetable plants put in the ground for our winter crop.  It indeed is a beautiful morning.


As a Catholic I wonder today how many of us are aware of the Catholic overload we are experiencing this very day, even all weekend?  Sunday alone is enough to excite the engaged Catholic.  Today at Mass we will hear yet another Gospel parable about a vineyard.  Jesus teaches us today that we are to accept the kingdom of God, accept His Son as our Savior and then use the produce of the vineyard as our best effort to give back to the Father!  Wow, right?  For many faithful Catholics, to hear this Word then be fed by Jesus Himself in Holy Communion is and should be the highlight of each and every week of our lives.  Yet this Sunday gives us all this and so much more.  It is the first day of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops in Rome which will tackle issues related to families and marriages and divorce and remarriage and even annulments.  There is much anticipation about this Synod; of course some of it is unrealistic and unfounded.  Still, under the leadership of Pope Francis, guided by the Holy Spirit, the Bishops and others are in Rome and will have a conversation perhaps long overdue.  The universal church also has the remembrance of Saint Faustina today, the apostle of the Divine Mercy devotion.  She was gifted with visits of Jesus who brought the world Divine Mercy through this wonderful Saint, by the way, a favorite of Saint Pope John Paul II.  For the local church and in other areas of America and Bavaria, today is also the feast day of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos.  This gentle Redemptorist priest came to America and settled in New Orleans where he would die from yellow fever because he ministered to those suffering from the disease.  Long after his death a miracle cure of a local woman, Angela Boudreaux would be the cause of his beatification and continued efforts for his canonization.  And this Sunday is Respect Life Sunday and all over the country concerned citizens will stand in peaceful protest against abortion in living life chains.  Our local life chain is in Slidell, across the lake from New Orleans on the east side of the Northshore.  Yep, this is a Catholic overload Sunday.


Since it is autumn, we can't ignore the frenzy that is football.  Now I must admit, I do love football and I am a long suffering Saints fan and LSU Tiger fan.  Admittedly, recent history has tempered the word suffering because both the Saints and LSU have been very, very good in the last decade.  My goodness in a little more than 10 years I have witnessed LSU winning 2 national championships and the Saints winning the Super Bowl.  These are huge football realities that I need to fondly recall lately because 2014 has been a huge football bust so far.  The Saints are the most curious disappointment, picked by every expert to be great, they are stinking up the joint.  For LSU, picked to be in a rebuild mode, we are just now realizing how bad this season will be, especially the possibility of no wins in the SEC.  Lots of OUCH!  But it is football.  It truly is not life but we have made this a huge part of life.  I am so concerned how football, and anything else for that matter, can be given priority over faith and family.  Sometimes I too fall victim to this, at least in the amount of time given to football or trying to rearrange schedules.  Now I will always watch Saints and LSU football, but no longer at the expense of faith, family and my ministry as Deacon.


For today, I think I will rejoice in another Sunday, take in all that this Catholic Sunday has to offer and enjoy the weather and the surroundings on this truly autumn day.  By the way, I probably will watch some football, but later, much later!