May you keep in your prayers the soul of Fr. Jim Dubert, and his siblings and their families. Fr. Jim died unexpectedly last Monday in Ames. In the last two years or so Fr. Jim covered for me at weekend Masses and school Masses when I was on vacation. Likewise he helped out with Penance Services for our students and adult parishioners during the seasons of Advent and Lent. Fr. Jim’s passion for the Eucharist and our Catholic faith was so evident presiding at Mass, leading discussions, hearing confessions—and as friend to me. He retired early from full time ministry due to his health, but he never stopped serving for the good of the Church and individuals. “Eternal Rest Grant Unto Fr. Jim O Lord. May he rest in peace.”
Brothers and Sisters: . . .For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of the one Spirit. . . .Now you are Christ’s body and individual parts of it.” (1Corinthians 12:12-13, 28)
A common saying attributed to St. Francis of Assisi highlights our calling as individuals baptized into the one Body of Christ: “Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary use words.” As we begin Catholic Schools Week, we are reminded of the blessing of Catholic Education—especially our own Sacred Heart School—and too, our Religious Education programs—that instructs, promote, inspires, mentors, and “evangelizes” our Catholic-Christian faith. Catholic school teachers and staff instruct and ‘evangelize’ our faith alongside the coordinators and volunteers of our Religious Education program. Such is instrumental to our parish, each individual baptized into our faith community, especially our families. But the primary source of faith to be passed on comes from the parents. Always.
A study conducted by a parish discovered an interesting aspect of how parents ‘evangelize,’ educate, pass on our Catholic-Christian faith. It wasn’t so much what the parents said, but what they did. Their ‘teaching’ or passing on the faith is most effective by their lives of prayer, attending and participating in the Eucharist, volunteering in some manner at parish activities or community activities, how they treated others. Children and teenagers remember less of structured lessons from their parents than of what they did. How parents influence their children comes down to prayer—whether a meal prayer, prayers before going to bed, prayers shared for the wellbeing of others, and of course, prayers spoken together as family during Mass.
Participation in church or community activities, and how they treat others, provides teaching moments of faith for families. If children do remember what their parents said it was ‘how they said it’ that stuck with them. As the author James Baldwin reminds us, “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”
Personally, I was blessed to have the opportunity of Catholic education attending St. Joseph Catholic Grade School (virtually in my parents’ backyard) and Garrigan High School. Memories of Sister Rosemary, first and second grade; Sr. Agatha, third and fourth grade; Mrs. Monson, fifth and sixth grade; Mr. Pete Kapustinski and Sr. Joan in seventh and eighth; all provided ‘grist for the mill’ passing on the Catholic faith.
Looking back however, it was my mother’s insistence and teaching of our bedtime prayers, the meal prayers that dad led, and Sunday Mass seated in the middle pew that ‘evangelized’ a faith that carried me through periods when I drifted—and brought me back to the Eucharist. Though my elementary teachers and my parents are long since deceased, their actions formed the backbone of my faith, and I suspect, that of my classmates.
Thank you to the teachers and staff, the students and families who support Sacred Heart School; and during this Catholic Schools Week, thank you to our Religious Education directors, volunteers, students and families who share our Catholic faith. As St. Paul concludes in his letter to the church in Corinth—our second reading this weekend—“Now you are Christ’s body and individual parts of it.”
Every twenty five years the Church celebrates a Jubilee Year. 2025 is the Jubilee Holy Year, the 2,025th anniversary of the Incarnation of our Lord. Though our lives are busy, the Jubilee year can be a significant spiritual and social blessing for individuals, our parish, and the Church. Our Jubilee celebration every twenty five years has its origins in the 25th chapter of the Book of Leviticus. A year of reconciliation—healing if you will—pilgrimage, and coming home. Pope Francis has designated this Jubilee Years of 2025 as a time to renew ourselves as “Pilgrims of Hope.” More information from our diocese and the Vatican itself is forthcoming.
God Bless, Fr. Tim FYI: “I would rather have learning joined with virtue than all the treasures of kings.” (St. Thomas More)