And the Church says "AMEN"

Br. Maximilian, OSB a native Philadelphian, finally has jumped on the Steeler Bandwagon and was excited to show it at yesterday's college pep-rally.

BISHOP ZUBIK TAKES ON WAGER WITH GREEN BAY BISHOP FOR SUPER BOWL

PITTSBURGH—After winning his wager with Archbishop Edwin O’Brien of Baltimore on the Steelers-Ravens game, and abstaining from the AFC Championship game, Bishop David Zubik has come to an agreement with Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay on the Super Bowl this Sunday.

If the Pittsburgh Steelers win, Bishop Ricken will make a personal donation to Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh. “If the Packers win,” Bishop Zubik said, “I will make a personal donation to Catholic Charities Green Bay.”

In addition, Bishop Zubik said, “we have wagered a wide variety of local foods from each region to be personally donated to a food kitchen in the diocese of the winner.”

Archbishop O’Brien of Baltimore gave a generous donation to Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh after the Steelers beat the Ravens. Despite having won his bet, Bishop Zubik made a similar donation to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

The Super Bowl has an interesting side story for Bishop Zubik. A Pittsburgh native, Bishop Zubik spent four years as bishop of Green Bay before returning to Pittsburgh in 2007.

Does that mean that he was a warm spot for the Packers in the upcoming game?

“I have great love for the church of Green Bay,” Bishop Zubik states. “That does not extend to the Packers in the Super Bowl. Go Steelers!”

Feast of the Presentation

FROM: saintvincentarchabbey.org

"Lift up, O gates, your lintels!"

Never has the city of Jerusalem been so open. The gates are flung wide open; the lintels are lifted high; the portals couldn't be more accessible. Why all the excitement? The King of Glory approaches; his brightness is at the gate. Suddenly he comes to the temple; the one for whom we have been waiting. He comes as a messenger of the LORD to prepare the way before him. He is coming, the messenger of the covenant, who we desire, for whom we long, for whom we wait. Yes, his arrival is eminent. However, who will endure his coming? Who will stand tall when he arrives? This King of Glory is too bright for us to ignore. His glory shines into the depths of our dark and dreary lives. This brightness burns. This glory purifies. His coming changes everything. No longer do we have any excuses. Finally and definitively our sacrifice is made pleasing. The sacrifice of our broken hearts and the desires of our dried up tears is purified by the light of his glory. Indeed, it is transformed and united to his broken body and poured out blood offered on the cross outside the gates of the city so that all who pass by might catch a glimpse of the glory. A glory that refines like fire and purifies like love. Such is the King of Glory in all the brightness of his cross.

The Lord Jesus is the King of Glory, yet he himself was tested through what he suffered. This King on Calvary did not cling to his glory. He willingly sacrificed this glory; he emptied himself of glory, so that the children of blood and flesh might not be subject to slavery all their life. Christ, the Eternal Son of the Father, in becoming man became capable of suffering and death. This Divine Person took on our human nature so that he might be able to help those of us who are being tested even now. As the Letter to the Hebrews explains, the Lord Jesus came to help the descendants of Abraham not the angels. He became blood and flesh like his brothers and sisters; he became like us in every way but sin so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest. This priesthood is eternal like Melchizedek of old. In Christ, the New Melchizedek, we have a share in the one pure sacrifice that expiates the sins of all the people, in every generation, among all the nations. Indeed, we offer with Christ a pure sacrifice of praise, and we offer to Christ a pure sacrifice of praise because his glory has touched and transformed us into a living sacrifice of praise by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit and for the glory of the Father, now and always and ever and forever!

When the days of our Christmas/Epiphany celebration are completed, we gather with blessed candles burning bright. We lift up our voices in praise and welcome the King of Glory. In this feast of the Presentation of the Lord Jesus in the Temple the liturgy reminds us again that the mystery of the incarnation does not fade like some Christmas decoration. This great mystery lights our way through Lent into Easter/Pentecost glory. At the gates of the New Jerusalem we meet the King of Glory who will become a sign that has been contradicted and is still contradicted. Not every heart is full of the bright glory of the Incarnate One. Not every heart is open to the purifying love of the King of Glory. As it was true for the Theotokos, so it is true for us. Simeon spoke a word of prophecy to the God-Bearer, and we who now bear the mystery of the Christ will also benefit from his words. "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted, and you yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." Indeed, it is the shattered, pierced and broken hearts that alone can be purified by the light of the King of Glory. This share in her suffering, which is a share in her son’s suffering, is not a waste of time and energy. With the Great High Priest, who enters his temple today, we offer to the Father of Glory a living sacrifice of praise. Such is the true joy of our life and the only dignity of our love, pure and undefiled.

Go Steelers

As the Summer home of the Pittsburgh Steelers for over 40 years we are proud of this year's AFC Championship team. Here is a video about Steelers training camp at St. Vincent Archabbey and College. Go Steelers and bring a 7th Super Bowl Victory back to Pittsburgh!!!

Conversion of St. Paul

From: saintvincentarchabbey.org

"You nations glorify him!"

Saul was trying to destroy this new Way; soon he poured himself out to proclaim Christ, the Way, Truth, and Life. Certainly he was not a convert in the sense that he ceased being a Jew to become a Christian. Rather, Saint Paul always saw himself as a Jew. After his encounter with the Risen Christ, he saw himself as a truly faith filled and obedient Jew. Saint Paul knew in his heart of hearts that the LORD is faithful and kind toward his people. He also knew that the People of God are a people of purpose, God's purpose. From the beginning the LORD called a people to himself so that all peoples could hear the Good News and come to praise and glorify his Name. The LORD did not destroy his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in order to establish a new covenant with the Church. The LORD fulfills his covenant with our ancestors in the faith by offering us a new covenant in the Blood of the Lamb. This is the truth that Saint Paul suffered to preach to the ends of the earth. In the first reading we hear of a disciple named Ananias who approached Saint Paul while he was still blind and gave him new sight. Then, he began to proclaim Jesus the Lord of every person and all the nations. As Saint Paul had been commanded, so too, all the apostles were commanded in today's gospel to preach the Gospel and baptize all the nations. This, too, is our heritage and our mission. We cannot sit back on our laurels and ignore the fact that most people have not heard the good news. What will it take to awaken us? Do we have to fall to the ground or see a blinding light?

It is the zeal of the Apostle Paul that could be blinding in today's celebration. We are not very comfortable with religious zealots. We hear of them in the media, and they are roundly mocked and flatly condemned. Those who are a little too excited about God or God's Word are often shown in news clips as wide-eyed and dangerous. Not someone you would want your children to meet and befriend. Saul was zealous for God and the Law of God. It was just this zeal that moved him to seek letters of certification so that he could put followers of Christ into chains and punish them for turning away from the ancient ways. Any zeal that affirms violence is a deadly zeal. This kind of zeal is deadly, and it is this kind of zeal that was converted in the heart of Saul. Saint Paul went from death dealing zeal to life giving zeal. Such a miracle could only happen when he saw the Righteous One, and heard his voice. Note well, the Acts of the Apostles does not say that Saint Paul saw the face of the Risen Christ. It says that, "...about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice..." To see a great light and hear a thunderous voice is enough to conclude that the Lord Jesus appeared to Saint Paul, only if we listen closely to the dialogue. Saint Paul was blinded by the overwhelming light; a light of truth that he heard during this conversation with the Lord Jesus. From the voice of the Master, the Apostle learned that the Body of Christ is composed of many members. What one member feels the whole body feels. This blazing truth would be repeated in Saint Paul's preaching throughout his apostolic ministry. This great mystery, hidden from ages past, is now to be preached to the ends of the earth. It is the very longing of The Father for his family to be one in Christ, The Son, that transforms Saul’s murderous threats into Saint Paul’s good news. Such is the influence and impact of the Holy Spirit upon this religious zealot, and if we are honest, this is the very transformation that most threatens us. No one wants to be labeled a dangerous zealot by the media or by those we love most.

In the blinding light of Easter the Lord Jesus appeared to the Eleven and commanded them to "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature" Only in the light of the risen Christ can one hear and trust such a command. This is an impossible task. Without the commission of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit no one could fulfill such a command. Only gradually did the Eleven come to understand and fulfill the Lord's instruction. These Eleven who were so commissioned were in the previous verses reprimanded for their lack of belief in the resurrection. The very ones who were most hesitant to believe are called to spread the Good News. Saint Paul, too, was slow to believe that the Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of all the hopes of Israel. Saint Paul was more than hesitant; he was violently opposed to this proclamation. Yet, after the brilliant light and the strong voice of the Lord Jesus, Saul became Saint Paul. Not only will the Eleven and Saint Paul proclaim the truth of the Gospel, they will also work signs and wonders like the Master did to reveal the power and compassion of the Father whose Kingdom is Near. Those who hear and repent, who listen and believe, these will be saved in baptism. However, if they do not believe, they will be condemned. Those who do not want to be saved, those who do not want to be forgiven, those who do not want to be healed, will not be. No one, not even God, will force us to believe. Our faith comes from a heart delighted with the voice and the brightness of the Lord Jesus. It is this joy that moves us into a lifetime of faithful response. This is the conversion of Saint Paul that must become our apostolic witness.