Fr. Joseph Jenkins
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Here I am (Associate MD State Chaplain) at the Sacred Heart Knights of Columbus Council Filipino Food Fest with Romeo Paternoster (District Deputy #32) and Tony Salvemini (MD State Secretary). It was a lot of fun! It was a fund raiser for Sacred Heart Ladies Auxiliary.
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B24 crew of Sgt. Robertson. Standing Bob Fromkin, Don Ostrand, Evert Kron and Tony DeRose. Kneeling: John Kushner, Joe Kling, George Lawson, Charles Gill, Joe Kruger, and Bobbie Robertson. All survived the war but Bobbie.
John Kushner was a dear friend and a parishioner of mine at Holy Spirit Church in Forestville, MD. He was a daily communicant. Crippled, partially blind, he still loved to ride motorcycles. He was also an American hero. He was called to report back for active service when he was sick and in his 80’s. It took some arguing that the powers-that-be had made a mistake. No one had the qualifications he had, but they had neglected to look at his date of birth. Had they allowed him, he would have reported to serve. Whenever Andrews AFB had an air show they would call him because no one else knew how to repair the old planes. John was a Flight Engineer and had served 33 years in both fronts of WWII, Korea and Vietnam. He tells the story of coming back from a mission over Germany and the plane is shot full of holes. He held his best friend in his arms as he bled to death. In Vietnam they tied him to a boom and he would grab the wounded while a helicopter made quick passes through the sharp grass. It cut him like razer blades. He had about every medal you could think of. When I knew him, he was an old man who missed his wife Mary and regularly fed the deer outside the church doors. When consulted about lasers on the new planes he insisted that it was a mistake to place them in the nose. No one listened to him. He was an old man. What did he know? A few weeks later the technicians came back to him and asked, “Okay John, where would you put the lasers?” John shook his head, knowing that the poor pilots would be blinded by the light. He said, “There is only one place you can put the laser, in the belly of the plane!” Guess what, that is where they are… now. John is circled in the picture here with his gang from a B24. Miss you John. Rest in peace.
Birth: Dec. 24, 1922 / Death: Sep. 29, 2011 / Forestville, MD
M.Sgt., U.S. Air Force – John J. Kushner passed away on September 29, 2011. He is survived by his daughter, Teresa Kushner.
Spouse: Mary Sue Kushner (1934 – 2000)
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WHOA! This School Allows School Prayer, But Only For…
People are upset that Muslims are given facilities to pray in schools. I am more upset that we as Christians have so easily surrendered this liberty and have allowed the component of religion to be stripped from our lived culture and from the teaching of social studies. Freedom “of” religion does not mean freedom “from” religion. Such a mentality impoverishes us all and represents a sanitized or censored diversity. Removing the factor of religion falsifies history, as with Columbus, leaving us with charges of genocide, forced slavery, and greed but saying next to nothing positive about his faith and missionary mandate to bring the saving faith of Christ to the New World.
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The weather is certainly surprising this year!
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Mother Teresa’s nuns have a charism to tend the needs of the poorest of the poor. Friday, March 4, 2016, Muslim terrorists executed them.
Four nuns and ten civilians were killed. Msgr. Paul Hinder, apostolic vicar to Southern Arabia, spoke to AsiaNews about this morning’s “religiously-motivated” attack against the convent of the Missionaries of Charity in Aden, in southern Yemen. At 8:30 AM, the prelate said, “People in uniform stormed the compound where the Missionaries of Charity live. After they killed the security guard and all the employees that stood in their way, they came for the nuns and opened fire, killing four [sisters]. One (the superior) managed to hide and survive. Now she is in a safe place.” The victims are Sister Anselm from India, Sister Marguerite from Rwanda, Sister Judit from Kenya and Sister Reginette also from Rwanda.
The attackers seized Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil, a Salesian priest who lived at the facility. At the time of the attack, he was in the chapel praying. Overall, 16 people lost their life: four religious and ten lay people, employees of the community that also housed senior citizens and disabled people. Msgr. Hinder said: “We knew that the situation was difficult and that the sisters were running a certain risk. They decided to stay no matter what because this was part of their spirituality.” Groups linked to al Qaeda and jihadist militias linked to the Islamic State group are active in the country, which adds to the spiral of violence and terror.
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Litany Composed by Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P. (MAGNIFICAT)
Offered at the 9:30 AM Mass at Holy Family 1-3-16
Throughout the ages, almighty God has manifested his unfailing mercy.
Oh infinite, divine mercy, you are:
Response: Lord, have mercy on us.
The command to take up our cross and follow Christ.
The invitation to discipleship offered to the rich young man.
The water and the wine applied by the Good Samaritan.
The words traced in dirt at the absolution of the adulteress.
The unique, longed-for voice of the Good Shepherd.
The hunger of the starving prodigal son.
The running of the father to reunite with his lost son.
The robe and ring of the forgiving father.
The certainty impelling the tax collector to pray in the Temple.
The guest who makes himself at home in Zacchaeus’ house.
The summons raising Lazarus from his four-day-old tomb.
The beauty awakening the five wise virgins.
The largesse prompting the poor widow in the Temple.
The gaze of love cast on Peter at the point of his denial.
The gleam of Christ-washed feet.
The friendship bestowed by the Son of God.
The dwelling place prepared for us in the Father’s house.
The Presence alive in the Last Supper Bread and Wine.
The offer to Simon the Cyrenian to help carry Christ’s cross.
The forgiveness to those holding hammers on Calvary.
The assurance of paradise to every begging Good Thief.
The priceless gift given to us in the Motherhood of Mary.
The saving blood and water pouring from the Crucified’s side.
What is greater than darkness, sending the women to the tomb.
Feast of the Epiphany
January 2 & 3, 2016
Celebrant: The Wisemen seek the child-king born in a Bethlehem stable. Their gifts signify a grasp of his identity and mission: Gold to express his royal dignity; Frankincense to express the offering he would make; & Myrrh to express his burial. The Magi receive in return an extraordinary gift: seeing the child whose love would one day be proclaimed everywhere. They see the Word made flesh and it alters their lives forever. Let me offer you 3 points for reflection: (1) Make the journey to Christ. It is a daily conversion of our mind and heart from sin to God’s goodness. (2) Offer Christ the gift he wants, our love. (3) Note how the Wisemen take another route to avoid Herod. Our life too has to change direction! We must move away from what destroys the reign of Christ in our hearts and move toward our true home, which is heaven. We have to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit so that we may walk in the ways of the Lord!
Adapted from Archbishop Lori
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Litany Composed by Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P. (MAGNIFICAT)
Offered at the 5:30 PM Mass at Holy Family 12-26-15
Throughout the ages, almighty God has manifested his unfailing mercy.
Oh infinite, divine mercy, you are:
Response: Lord, have mercy on us.
The angel’s announcement to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Fiat of the holy Mother of God.
The courage convicting Saint Joseph in his sleep.
The tidings of Good News to the shepherds in the fields.
The star guiding the Magi to the Bethlehem manger.
The tender will awaited by the long-suffering leper.
The healing of all those afflicted and sick.
The silencer of the storms at sea.
The expeller of demons.
The paralytic’s ability to walk.
The sight given to the blind.
The hearing given to the deaf.
The hundredfold sprouting from the well-sown seed.
The deliciousness of Cana’s wondrous wine.
The new beginning in Christ’s call, “Follow me.”
The multiplied loaves for famished multitudes.
The desire that moves us to change and become like children.
The thirst of the Samaritan woman at the well.
The garment’s hem within reach of the hemorrhaging woman.
The urgency dispatching the shepherd in search of lost sheep.
The buoyancy by which Peter walks on the water.
The life restored to the widow of Nain’s dead son.
The welcome given the sinful woman who washes Jesus’ feet.
The miraculous change promised us all in the Transfiguration.
Feast of the Holy Family
December 26 & 27, 2015
Celebrant: Our guide in prayer and the ways of mercy are outlined in Scripture. We read: “Be merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”
(Luke 6:36-38)
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Prayed on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (7:30 PM Mass)
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.
Response: We trust in You.
Mercy of God, supreme attribute of the Creator,
Mercy of God, greatest perfection of the Redeemer,
Mercy of God, unfathomable love of the Sanctifier,
Mercy of God, inconceivable mystery of the Holy Trinity,
Mercy of God, expression of the greatest power of the Most High,
Mercy of God, revealed in the creation of the heavenly Spirits,
Mercy of God, summoning us to existence out of nothingness,
Mercy of God, embracing the whole universe,
Mercy of God, bestowing upon us immortal life,
Mercy of God, shielding us from merited punishments,
Mercy of God, raising us from the misery of sin,
Mercy of God, justifying us in the Word Incarnate,
Mercy of God, flowing from the wounds of Christ,
Mercy of God, gushing from the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus,
Mercy of God, giving to us the Most Blessed Virgin Mary as Mother of Mercy,
Mercy of God, shown in the revelation of the Divine mysteries,
Mercy of God, manifested in the institution of the universal Church,
Mercy of God, contained in the institution of the Holy Sacraments,
Mercy of God, bestowed upon mankind in the Sacraments of Baptism & Penance,
Mercy of God, granted in the Sacraments of the Altar & the Priesthood,
Mercy of God, shown in calling us to the Holy Faith,
Mercy of God, revealed in the conversion of sinners,
Mercy of God, manifested in the sanctification of the just,
Mercy of God, fulfilled in the perfecting of the saintly,
Mercy of God, font of health for the sick & the suffering,
Mercy of God, solace of anguished hearts,
Mercy of God, hope of souls afflicted with despair,
Mercy of God, always and everywhere accompanying all people,
Mercy of God, anticipating us with graces,
Mercy of God, peace of the dying,
Mercy of God, refreshment & relief of the Souls in Purgatory,
Mercy of God, heavenly delight of the blessed,
Mercy of God, crown of all the Saints,
Mercy of God, inexhaustible source of miracles,
Lamb of God, Who did show us Your greatest mercy in redeeming the world on the Cross, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who mercifully offers Yourself for us in every Holy Mass, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world through Your inexhaustible Mercy, Have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
V. The tender mercies of the Lord are over all His works.
R. The mercies of the Lord I will sing forever.
Let Us Pray.
O God, Whose Mercy is infinite and Whose treasures of pity are inexhaustible, graciously look down upon us and increase in us Thy Mercy so that we may never, even in the greatest trials, give way to despair, but may always trustfully conform ourselves to Thy Holy Will, which is Mercy itself. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Mercy, Who with Thee and the Holy Spirit doth show us Mercy forever and ever.
R. Amen.
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This past Sunday, May 17, I was 29 years a priest! Yippee!
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“We have the responsibility to consider others, including future generations.”
Why? God is out of the picture, so why care? No matter what we do, top scientists tell us that the universe is doomed. It is hard enough to care for ourselves and find happiness. Does it really make sense to care for others and generations unborn? We already abort half a million unborn children in the U.S. each year. If the living does not matter then caring about prospective people seems arbitrary and meaningless. Cold and honest atheistic logic cries out: “Maybe it would be better to let the poor and the defective die outright? If we eliminate the world’s refuse, then there will be more for us and the Western elite. We can make the world safe for endangered species by subtracting overcrowding populations of humans. Do we have any more right to the earth than the animals? Show me scientifically that we have an obligation to others and the future! Prove it or give it up. Our personal world might be better off if there were a few less mouths to feed.”
Anyway, we are all such hypocrites. Look at all the stuff we buy these days that comes from slave labor and where people are oppressed. If it is cheaper, it is better… that is today’s mantra. We take advantage of the poor and the worker. The host of Mythbusters can make up this commandment… but even his television show bobble heads and DVDs are manufactured in Chinese sweatshops. We can thus avoid paying local workers at all and pay others a non-livable wage. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer! Yeah, we really care about others… NOT!
As a Christian, I believe that every person has an incommensurate worth. All human life is sacred and we are called to be good stewards of creation. I believe that there is something immortal and lasting about every person conceived into this world. We are all God’s children and God loves you no more or less than he does me. I believe there is an order and a divine plan. It is important to play our part as instruments of divine providence.
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