Memorial of St. John Vianney

     Today, we celebrate the memorial of St. John Vianney, patron saint of priests.  He is an inspiration to all priests, not because he barely got through seminary, but he dedicated himself to Christ and allowed Christ to use him for the sake of the salvation of those he was called to serve.
     Today, we have the opportunity to remember those priests in our lives that have dedicated themselves to the priesthood.  Those priests that we got along with and those that we do not.  Those that have hurt us and those that have healed us.  Those that we will never forget for the genuine example of service and humility and those that are still diamonds in the ruff.  Of course, every priest is human and we will not like every priest we come in contact with and we might not even agree with his theology or liturgical practices.  However, he is a priest that hopefully knows himself well enough to know his failings and humble enough to apologize when he messes up.
     If I have learned anything in the last three years is to be honest with those entrusted to me.  Have I annoyed some, yes.  Have I angered some others, oh yes.  Have I been true to Christ, by the grace of God.  I have found when I have messed up, I try to email or call the person and apologize and clear the air.  Does it take away the facts of the situation, no.  However, it allows the other person to know that I am aware of my humanity and my mistakes and I am trying to work on it, one day at a time.
     The flip side of the coin is that parishioners want to give words of thanks when things go well, and say thank you when I go to anoint their loved ones or preside at their funerals.  This is where I find fulfillment, in the receiving and dispensing of the sacraments.  Christ uses me as an instrument of his grace.  A fact that St. John Vianney was focused on and espoused.  God transforms lives and I am invited to be his instrument.  Nothing better in the world!
    Thus, please...please...please....pray for your priests, whether you like them, agree with them, or adore them.......We are human beings and we will make mistakes, however by the grace of God, we continue to serve as his instruments.

Change: An invitation out of Mediocrity

As you read in the last blog post, I am assigned to St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church, in Sun City, AZ.  While most of my parishioners qualify to be my grandparents, great grandparents and even great great grandparents (for a few), there has been one entertaining theme through my last year which is they do not like change of any sort.  I do think there are several reasons for this that are to be considered and respected. 

First, they have the experience of many years of trial and error.  Second, they are used to certain routines and the possibility of confusion is possible if the routine is changed causing anxiety for them.  Third, they see no issue with what they are doing so why do we need to change things. 

While routine is good for the balance of our lives, routine can lead us into a state of mediocrity where we no longer examine what we do, why we do it, or even if we should continue doing it.  This state of mediocrity can slip into our spiritual lives and we start to plateau in our relationship with God but also with our relationship with Church.  This struggle of balance and routine needs to be monitored and we need to continuously evaluate if we are growing in love of God and others or not.  If we are not growing, then we need to shake things up and adjust the routine.

This evening, we are beginning a five week series on the mass and it's biblical foundations.  As part of the series, we will be introducing the new mass parts and I will be talking about the history of the change and the process that the Church has gone through to come to this momentous occasion.  I will also be exposing the parish to the new translations of the Eucharistic prayer and a few other fun things so they can hear what is actually coming and integrate the catechesis into our prayer life and begin the process of adjusting. 

For the new translation to take root in our spiritual life, we have to do several things on our part.  First, we have to be open to deepening our relationship and trust in Christ.  The Church belongs to Christ.  It is not mine, I simply am an instrument of God.  Second, we must be open to stretching our routine and cadence and not just throw out the translation as rubbish because we do not know a word, or dislike the gender of a few words.  Third, we must grieve the past.  This might not be obvious, but we have used the current translation for close to 40 some years.  This translation was used to bury my mother, celebrate my first mass, and my ordinations to the diaconate and priesthood.  Yes, it is what I know and have grown up with, however, the Church is not static and we are called to retire a translation that can be linked to very emotional and life changing events in our life.  Thus, emotions might run high as we move into this new chapter in our liturgical history.  The past will not change.  Those memories are safe, however, we do not know the future and we can only live in the present.  Thus, instead of cutting ourselves off from the grace of Christ and his workings in the Church, we move slowly methodically and openly work through his grace to grow to know and love what He has given us.  Thus, the reason for our series on the mass.  

If you ask me, I will tell you that I am excited for the change in the language.  It will be a transition. However, I think my own faith will grow as I allow Christ to speak to me through the new texts and will help our understanding and faith in Christ ultimately expand as individuals and as a Church, if we are open and not stuck in mediocrity. 

Time to restart the blog!

Oops.... I did it again.....Of course, things are busy. Things will always be busy. I remembered that I had a blog so I thought I would start using it again.... Currently I am in my third assignment at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church in Sun City, AZ. I have been here since April of 2010 and is my longest assignment yet. I work with a great pastor and all is going well. Things have really been interesting and I will be blogging more on what is happening in my ministry and life. So for the first big update, I placed the following note to the parishoners last week to update them and stop some rather entertaining and untrue rumors that were floating around my parish.

A note from Fr. Arthur

Greetings from the clean desk of the Parochial Vicar!!! Over the last several months, many parishioners have commented to me that I did not look well or that I was pale at times. The truth is they were right. I have had issues for several years and in May I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. This disease is a lifelong autoimmune disorder that attacks the digestive system. I have been receiving treatment and will continue to, so that we can mitigate the symptoms and I can live a full active life. As I continue to adapt my life and diet to this new reality, I ask for your prayers and patience. I look forward to continuing to serve you here at St. Elizabeth Seton. May God bless you and know that I am praying for all!

In Christ,

Rev. Arthur Nave, Jr.

Parochial Vicar

St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church

So to say life has been easy, not so much, to say life is manageable, definately. To say life is amazing and a gift, DEFINATELY. Every day is a gift from God to serve and honor him. More to come in the next few days.

Fr. Arthur

Long Time, no update, blah blah blah

So, It has been quite a while since I blogged on what I have been up to. I will not try to cover every detail, for there is not enough room in cyber space..... First and foremost, I was ordained a priest!!!! One amazing day made possible by the grace of God and the sweat and generosity of so many people. Eight months have passed and I do not know where time has gone. For my inner drive, it is strong and moving me toward army chaplaincy. Of course I still have at least one more year before I could go, however, I do feel that I am being called into this ministry.

On the home front, I finally am getting myself organized and doing my second through of my stuff getting rid of the not needed and surplus. My bedroom was tamed last weekend and I found the top of my desk in my sitting room earlier this evening. I am enjoying the purging and simplifying process as part of my Lenten journey.

In the area of scouting, I am working with a team to put together a JLT weekend for catholic scouts to help them integrate their skills and knowledge as scouts with their faith. It is off to a great start and my team is amazing.

Well, I do have to get some work done, so I will write more soon.

In Waiting

Several of my friends have been giving me a hard time because I have not blogged in a while. There has been a lot going on and my focus was getting out of seminary and getting ready for ordination. Thus a quick rundown on what I have been up to over the last several months.
April: Week in Louisville, KY for the National Catholic Committee on Scouting (NCCS) Biannual meeting where we did some planning for training committee and I also sat down with Fr. Dennis and Tony our committee chairman where we did some initial planning for the coming year. I also went to New York to see the pope and was gone for four days. The last weekend of April I went to Columbus, OH for the ordination to the diaconate of three of my diocesan brothers who will be ordained to the priesthood in a year if all goes well.
May: On May 3, 2008 I graduated from Mundelein with a M.Div. (Magna cum Laude). May 4th I headed home and got back on the 6th. Since being home, I have been sorting through stuff, cleaning, planning the first masses, visiting with family and friends and praying for my upcoming ordination which is just 14 days away! Thus, I have been quite busy but once I get to July I should be able to start blogging again. My next post will be a mid June post reflecting on the ordination weekend. Until then keep praying!
Deacon Arthur

1st assignment

It is official.....The Bishop announced the new assignments for the soon to be ordained priests for the Diocese of Phoenix. I will be assigned to St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Avondale, AZ. Please pray for me and for the community of St. Thomas Aquinas as we begin our journey together in just a few months.
In Christ,
Rev. Mr. Arthur Nave, Jr.

4th Sunday of Easter A

Rev. Mr. Arthur Nave, Jr.

In our Gospel today, Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd. What is he trying to tell us about himself, our faith, our church? Let us begin about thinking about what a shepherd is. The shepherd is the one that protects the sheep from thieves, wolves, even themselves. A sheep is an animal that does not think very often. However, the sheep is very obedient and knows the voice of it’s shepherd. The shepherd can call and the sheep will come, only to the voice of their shepherd. Thus, you can have sheep mixed together and if you call, your sheep will follow you and not someone else. This analogy is important to reflect on. Christ, is our shepherd. He calls us each by name and we should go to him. He protects all those that have come to him. He leads each of us in our individual faith journey. Christ gives us the model that we are called to follow. Thus, the truth is that no one can get into the church without going through Christ. In Baptism, the gate to his pasture is opened to us. From that point on, deep inside our soul, we are marked as belonging to Christ. Our true identity is found in him alone. Every Sunday, we hear his voice calling us to come and worship. Every Sunday he nourishes us in his Word proclaimed at mass and in the Eucharist, his body, blood, soul and divinity; so that we can go out and live as he has called us to live. However, this is not the only calling that he has given to us.

Christ calls each of us individually to follow him in our vocation whether that is to the single life, married life, religious life or into the priesthood. Each of these vocations are equally important and each we receive from the call that Christ gives us. We cannot force ourselves into a vocation or decide in an instant on what path Christ calls us to. Instead, it takes time, discernment and preparation to be able to come to the point of laying our life down to God in a vocation. The common thread between all four vocational calls is Christ. In our own vocations, he calls each of us to follow the universal call to holiness lived out within our own state of life. Today we celebrate the world day of prayer for vocations, where the church focuses our attention on Christ the good shepherd and on the call he has planted in our hearts. So often, this call given to us by Christ is ignored or not recognized. This is the great tragedy of the modern world. The society focuses us away from the voice of Christ into a life that spirals out of control. The key to all vocations, single, married, religious or priesthood is prayer and support. WE are all called to support each other in our vocations. Religious and priestly vocations flow out of our families. They do not just appear but are nurtured and supported within the family. This is why John Paul the second, emphasized that the family is the building block of society. Without solid families, we have no solid foundation to receive the call from Christ to follow him. We as a community have a responsibility to assist each other in building up each family so that our children will be able to hear the voice of Christ and respond to his call. There are some families that do not encourage religious or priestly vocations but only the married life. While all parents would like grand children and the family name passed on, my mother is getting thousands of grandchildren because of my spiritual fatherhood. The vocation to the priesthood and religious life is a call to step outside of society and to lay down your life for the flock, just as Christ laid his life down for us. This courageous act of love that some are called to must be supported by each Christian through prayer and encouragement. The Church in Chicago needs more Hispanic priests to work in the vineyard, what is our parish going to do about it? Are we going to foster those vocations here or turn our back on the needs of the church and all our Hispanic faithful? We cannot push our youth into one vocation or another but encourage them to find and discern the vocation that God is calling them to. We need all vocations for the church to grow, it is the whole communities responsibility to assist in the process. As we approach to receive the Eucharist today, let us pray for all those discerning their vocations, that God’s will be done in their lives. Let us also pray for those living out their vocations, that God will give them renewed strength in their calling.

3rd Sunday of Lent

The Woman at the Well
Rev. Mr. Arthur Nave Jr.

Readings: Ex 17:3-7; Rom 5:1-2, 5-8; Jn 4:5-42 or 4:5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42

The Gospel today focuses in on the Woman at the well. Who is this woman? First, she is a samaritan. Jesus is a Jew along with most of his disciples. This is a key cultural point to this gospel text. At the time of Jesus, as is seen today in Modern Israel, the Jews did not get along with the samaritans and vice versa. You could not even eat off the same plate or the same food as a samaritan, because that would make you unclean. However, Jesus interacts with this woman and ask for a drink of water. Her response is you are a Jew. For Jesus, this is the converstation starter. He then tells her that if she knew who He was, she would be asking for living water. She then asks,

“Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

For her, the eternal waters first only mean a new water thirst so that she does not have to go out to the well. For her, going to the well was difficult and embarassing. She had to go out to the well at noon because she does not want to deal with the ridicule of the village early in the morning or late at night because of her marriage status. Thus, if she went to the well at noon, no one would be there to bother her because of the scorching heat. However, this was not what Christ had in mind. She soon learned that this person she was talking to was the Christ that she knew would come and she believed. The beauty of the calling of Christ. In the preface from mass, we hear that Christ prepared the way so that she could come to faith. Each one of us has a path prepared for us by Christ that brings us to the eternal spring of Life.

Thus, what is this living water that Christ speaks of? This living water is the waters of baptism that the catechumens are preparing to be baptized in. These living waters, once given by baptism, cannot be taken away, cannot be destroyed. This living water within us is the font that our spiritual life flows from. These living waters lead us to Christ whenever we renew ourselves in them. These waters are what leads us to desire to be fed, nurtured and go out on mission for Christ each and every day. These waters of baptism do not just mark us, but cleanse us from all of our sin committed before baptism. In the case of the woman with five husbands, she is forgiven. She then takes up her baptismal call to participate in the priestly, prophetic and kingly offices of Christ and she goes and proclaims Christ to Sycar. Then all the people come out to see who this person that the village sinner is running around causing a stir about and many came to believe in him. How do we thirst for Christ? How do we share the eternal spring that we gained in baptism with the world? How do we nurture our eternal spring within us?

While, this is not the whole homily, it is the main thoughts and themes behind my ten minute homily that I gave this morning :)