For His Friends

Last night I had my second last confirmation of this Spring season. It was at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Waimauma, which is led and pastored by Father Demetrio Lorden. There are several notable things about this mission. First, it is the only totally Spanish mission in the diocese. Most of our parishes are Anglos with varying per-centages of Hispanics. Our Lady of Guadalupe is almost 100% Hispanic, except for some Anglos who love the life and spontaneity of the liturgy there. Most of the parishioners of Our Lady of Guadalupe work in the agricultural fields and many live in the camps of eastern Hillsborough county.

Despite their poverty, an energetic Father Lorden in his time as pastor has given the parish a new parish hall/center and he’s not finished building yet. His predecessor, Father Philip Scott built a new Church on the site. Both men appeal(ed) to whomever to raise money to support the construction. Nearby Prince of Peace parish in Sun City Center has over the years beginning with Monsignor Diego Conesa been very generous to what remains their mission.

Although I am awful in Spanish, I love celebrating Mass for these communities and they are most forgiving when I try to preach in Spanish. The children almost all speak English but often their parents and their grandparents speak and understand Spanish only. Mexican Catholics love their children and family is second only to faith for them. Our Lady of Guadalupe is a strong figure of a poor virgin who came to be the Mother of the Lord and that alone is a symbol of strength to these people. They allow their children to have the run of the Church during Mass while they try to concentrate on their prayers and what is being said and sung. The liturgies are fully participative and alive. I had to overcome a good number of defense mechanisms in myself to over time become very comfortable with Hispanic liturgy but I am there now.

Originally there were to be 103 to be confirmed tonight but some always fail to show and there is the ever present fear of the Border Patrol of Homeland Security lurking somewhere (never on Church property so far, which I would resist if they did). These brothers and sisters are amazing at what they tolerate in order to feed their children. And they are equally amazing at what they endure to feed us, to put food on our tables at prices that are reasonable. Catholics need to think twice before condemning immigration, legal and illegal, for the latter keeps food prices down but at what expense to back, knees, arms and legs? It was a great celebration by noble people. The confirmandi were well prepared and genuinely welcoming.

Viva Mexico! Viva Nuestra Senora Virgin de Guadalupe! Viva Padre Demetrio!

+RNL

A live "baby Jesus" who needed a diaper change in the front pew just prior to his big moment. Oh, well!

I began my Christmas eve journey at an overflowing Church with well over 1200 men, women and especially children at St. Francis Xavier Cabrini Church in Spring Hill. One of the three largest parishes in the diocese, Cabrini serves an across the generations population of Catholics in Hernando County. During the proclamation of the Gospel the children acted out a pageant.  Then I shared with them my absolute best Christmas story which you will never be able to read here but hopefully will sometime attend a children’s Mass on Christmas eve somewhere before I pass on.

The children of the Gospel story pageant

Thanks to Father Richard Jankowski for inviting me and allowing me the honor to begin my own celebration of the Birth of the Lord Jesus at St. Francis Xavier Cabrini.

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This Christmas I will resume the practice that I have followed each Christmas eve and Christmas day since I arrived thirteen years ago save last year when I spent Christmas eve at Pinellas Hope. I will celebrate three Masses on Christmas eve in three of our five counties and one in a fourth county on Christmas Day. Here is the schedule for this year:

Christmas eve, December 24, 2008

600pm          St. Francis Xavier Cabrini, Spring Hill,   Childrens Mass for Christmas

830pm          St. Rita Church, Dade City,                    Mass in Spanish

Christmas day, December 25, 2008

1201am        Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle          Mass at Midnight

1000am        Womens Correction Facility                  Mass for those in jail, Riverview Facility

I actually am starting to write this entry at three o’clock in the morning, Friday, December 12, 2008. It is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and I am on my way to Plant City Stadium for Las Mananitas, the Mass and celebration which begins this most important day for our Mexican Catholic brothers and sisters. It is the earliest I have ever arisen for a pastoral activity and I am actually excited to join in the celebration of the Patroness of Mexico and the Patroness of the Americas.

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Estoy escribiendo este blog a las tres de la mañana del viernes, 12 de diciembre. Es la Fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe y estoy de camino al estadio de la Ciudad de Plant City para celebrar Las Mañanitas; la celebración de esta misa es el comienzo de este día tan importante para nuestros hermanos católicos mexicanos. Este día ha sido el día que más temprano me levanté para una actividad pastoral y estoy muy ansioso de unirme a la celebración de la Patrona de México y de las Américas. (more…)

I am getting plenty of opportunities lately to practice my Spanish. This morning I celebrated Mass acknowledging forty years of the Spanish Cursillo movement in the Diocese of St. Petersburg. Within days of the official creation of the St. Petersburg diocese, there was the first Cursillo week-end in Spanish. English language cursillos followed about a year later. In the ’70’s and ’80’s the Cursillo movement was quite active and many women and men rediscovered the beauty of their faith during these week-ends of prayer, reflection, Eucharist, reconciliation and support. (more…)