Go to Confession

In confession, we take our sins before the Judgment Throne of God. There is no sin we can possibly commit which God is not willing and eager to forgive.  What an amazing concept to consider.  Acting in the person of Christ, the Catholic priest assures us of God's forgiveness every time he pronounces the words "I absolve you" after a good confession.  God pours out His Infinite Mercy, and our sins disappear.

By taking our sins to Him now, in this earthly life, we will receive nothing but infinite mercy and forgiveness.  If we do not, we will receive nothing but His justice when we die.  We deserve eternal damnation for our sins, but the Good Lord has given us the means by which we can be forgiven and sanctified in this life.

Confession remits our sins, clears our consciences, corrects our bad habits, strengthens our will, conforms us to Jesus, and makes us more submissive to the workings of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  How can we avoid this Sacrament of Love?

This mercy is available to every living person.  How have we chosen to respond to God's offer?  Do we presume upon it, or perhaps ignore and avoid it completely?

Jesus spoke about confession and His infinite mercy in a revelation to a Spanish nun, Sister Josefa Menendez (1890-1923).  In His words, we hear the voice of a Loving Father ready to embrace us over and over again:

"I am God, but a God of love!  I am a Father, but a Father full of compassion and never harsh. My Heart is infinitely holy but also infinitely wise, and knowing human frailty and infirmity stoops to poor sinners with infinite mercy.  I love those who after a first fall come to me for pardon... I love them still more when they beg pardon for their second sin, and should this happen again, I do not say a million times, but a million million times, I still love them and pardon them, and I will wash in My Blood their last as fully as their first sin.  Never shall I weary of repentant sinners, nor cease from hoping for their return, and the greater their distress, the greater My welcome...This is what I wish all to know.  I will teach sinners that the mercy of my Heart is inexhaustible... It is so easy to trust completely in My Heart!"

- Jesus to Sister Josefa Menendez, The Way of Divine Love, p. 377

Fr. Albert Marcello Ordained a Priest Forever!

This is a little late, but I finally received photos from Fr. Albert Marcello's ordination to the priesthood and First Mass. I met Al six years ago when he was still a college seminarian, and we have remained friends ever since.

Al was ordained on June 13 for the Diocese of Providence, RI. The following day, he offered his first Solemn High Mass (1962 Missal) at Holy Name parish in Providence with Bishop Fernando Areas Rifan in choir. Bishop Rifan is currently the Apostolic Administrator of the Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney, which is also called the Priestly Union of Saint Jean-Marie Vianney.

Please keep this dear friend of mine in your prayers!

Ordination:

First Mass:

Fr. Joseph Craddock preached the sermon.
Assistant Priest (in cope): Fr. Bill Ashley
Deacon: Fr. Martin Edwards
Subdeacon: Fr. Michael McMahon

Sacerdos in Aeternum!

New Bell Tower at Sacred Heart Church in Dunn, NC

From June 25 - June 26, 2009, Sacred Heart parish in Dunn, NC received its new bell tower.  The bell was donated by our mother parish - Our Lady of Guadalupe parish in Newton Grove.  On June 25, Fr. Paul Parkerson blessed the new bell before it was placed on top of the church.  The blessing was done according to the 1962 Roman Ritual for the blessing of a bell:

Exorcized salt is sprinkled on the bell:

The bell is blessed with holy water:

And is then incensed:

The bell is signed with the sign of the cross, and dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul:

The bell before it is lifted on top of the church:

The bell tower is lifted:

The tower set into place:

A video of the new bell tower in action after Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament on June 26, 2009:

YouTube Link

Latin Mass to be Offered Monthly in Wilmington, NC

Mass in the Extraordinary Form to be Offered Monthly in Wilmington, NC

Beginning in August, a regular Mass in the Extraordinary Form will be offered at St. Mary's Parish and Shrine in Wilmington on the last Sunday of each month at 7 p.m. The first of these, a Solemn High Mass, will take place on Sunday, August 30, with the Reverend Paul M. Parkerson as celebrant.

The forma extraordinaria, commonly referred to as the Tridentine Mass, is also offered in four other churches in the Diocese of Raleigh.   

Original Article

Prayers for Fr. Byers!

Out of kindness, please pray for Fr. George Byers of the Fathers of Mercy, who is returning to the United States from Lourdes after having served two years as a chaplain in Lourdes.  He is seen in the photo to the left offering a Solemn High Mass in the Lourdes Basilica.

Father Byers and I met in Lourdes in February 2009.  After a wonderful dinner and conversation at the Salus Infirmorum restaurant, we kept in touch and he set me up with a volunteer job serving the pilgrims and sick in Lourdes this summer.

A Scripture scholar and professor, please keep him in your prayers as he moves on to his next assignment!  Also be sure to check out the archives of his blog.

Solemn High Mass for the External Solemnity of the Sacred Heart

On Sunday, June 21, 2009, Fr. Robert Ferguson, FSSP returned to Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Greensboro, NC to offer a Solemn High Mass (Extraordinary Form) to celebrate the External Solemnity of the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  In January of 2008 (Feast of the Holy Family), Fr. Ferguson offered the first Traditional Latin Mass in this church in over 40 years.  The pastor, Fr. Fidel Melo, kindly invited him back this year.

As you can see, the church is perfectly suited for the Extraordinary Form, as the original high altar is still in place:

The entrance procession:

Celebrant: Fr. Robert Ferguson, FSSP.  

Deacon: Fr. Paul Parkerson (pastor of Sacred Heart parish in Dunn, NC)

Sub-Deacon: Fr. Eric Kowalski (pastor of Holy Angels parish in Mt. Airy, NC)

The Asperges.  The priest sprinkles the congregation with holy water as a reminder of our baptism.  A portion of Psalm 50 (one of the seven penitential psalms) is sung: "Sprinkle me, Lord...and I will be made clean.  Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow."

"Hear us, O Holy Lord, Father Almighty, Everlasting God; and vouchsafe to send Thy holy Angel from heaven, to guard, cherish, protect, visit, and defend all those that are assembled in this house. Through Christ our Lord. Amen."

The Confiteor during the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar:

The Gloria:

Fr. Ferguson preaching:

The elevation of the Sacred Body of Our Lord:

The elevation of the Precious Blood:

Happy Feast Day to all!

A Return to Lourdes! - "Montagnes Pyrénées, Vous Etes Mes Amours!"

Something miraculous always happens whenever I visit Lourdes.

I have been there two times.  During the first visit (in 2005), I received the definite call to the priesthood.  I made a second visit in February of 2009 after I was diagnosed with brain cancer. 

Fr. George Byers of the Fathers of Mercy has been "Blogging Lourdes" for the past 2 years.  As he served as a Lourdes chaplain for these two years, his blog shows the beauty and grace that can be found in Lourdes.

During my trip to Lourdes in February, I spotted a priest outside of the confessionals.  He was wearing a cassock and was praying the Holy Rosary, so I had to interrupt him and meet him.  This priest turned out to be the infamous Fr. Byers, and we had a wonderful dinner at the Salus Infirmorum before he allowed me to lead the Pater Noster during the Rosary procession that night.

A few weeks later, he introduced me to the "Day Pilgrim Guide" service - seminarians can come to Lourdes for the Summer to give tours of the sanctuary and local religious sites.  Fr. Byers set me up for this service, and I will be in Lourdes from July 4 until August 7 projecting my love for Bernadette and the Immaculate Conception.  

Please feel free to email me specific intentions to be delivered to the grotto of the Immaculate Conception.  I will gladly convey any prayer requests, as "Blogging Lourdes" lives on for one more month!

New Evidence Says Pius XII Helped Jews

NEW YORK, JUNE 15, 2009 (Zenit.org) - A foundation that promotes interreligious dialogue announced that it has more than 2,300 pages of original documents illustrating Pope Pius XII's efforts to help Jews in the face of Nazism.

Gary Krupp, president of the New York-based Pave the Way Foundation, affirmed this today in a statement to ZENIT, and stated that the documents from the years 1940-1945 will be made available to the public for research.

The president, himself a Jew, reported that these papers, found through the organization's private research, give "strong support to the argument that Pope Pius XII -- Eugenio Pacelli -- worked diligently to save Jews from Nazi tyranny."

This research, the foundation stated, supports the "undeniable conclusion" that "Pope Pius XII was a true hero" of World War II.

It concluded: "Quite possibly he saved more Jews than all of the world's religious and political leaders combined. Moreover, in the true spirit of heroism, he did all this with the direct threat of German rifles leveled 200 yards beneath his very windows."

Original Article

Bishop Burbidge Ordains John Victor Gournas to Diaconate

The Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge ordained John Vic Gournas to the Order of Deacon in a solemn ceremony, June 6, at St. Luke the Evangelist Church in Raleigh.

In his homily, Bishop Burbidge spoke of the support Deacon Gournas has received from his family, friends, diocesan clergy and faithful and from his fellow seminarians. “What a profound blessing to know that you are never alone,” Bishop Burbidge said. “You know you can depend on the powerful intercession of Mary our Mother who will walk with you each and every day,” the Bishop added.

Noting that the call Deacon Gournas received is “a pure gift from God,” the Bishop explained, “It is a call to imitate, as deacon and God-willing soon as priest, Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd who came to serve and not to be served.”

Deacon Gournas will serve a summer assignment as Deacon at Saint Catherine of Siena Parish in Wake Forest, before returning to Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary for his final year of Theology in preparation for Priesthood Ordination next June.

Original Article

Return From Retreat, and Navy Discharge

I am back from a fruitful retreat with the other Raleigh seminarians.  We spent four days at a country North Carolina retreat center with plenty of trails and time to relax.  Our bishop came for two days to celebrate Mass for us and to give talks about the priesthood.

I was finally medically retired from the Navy on May 31 - the last obstacle to entering the seminary.  The bishop accepted me as a seminarian for the diocese, and my application has been forwarded to the seminary to be reviewed by their admissions board.  If all goes well, the first day of seminary is on August 26.

Please pray for Vic Gournas who will be ordained to the Transitional Diaconate on June 6, 2009.  I got to know Vic on the seminarians' retreat, and I am sure he will be a blessing to our diocese.

Retreat

Please pray for the seminarians of the Diocese of Raleigh as we are on retreat this week.

"O Jesus, Eternal High Priest, I offer You through Your Immaculate Mother Mary, Your own Precious Blood, in all the Masses throughout the world, as petition for graces for all seminarians, Your future priests.

Give them humility, meekness, prudence, and a burning zeal for souls. Fill their hearts with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Teach them to know and love the church, that they may always and everywhere speak, act, and think with Her - the glorious spouse of Christ.

Teach them generosity and detachment from wordly goods; but above all, teach them to know You and to love the One and Only Eternal Priest.  O Good Shepherd of Souls, hear this my prayer for saintly priests. Amen."