Today our 8th grade parishioners are engaged in the second day of their Luke 18 retreat. I trust that their souls are full of many things as God’s grace fills each of them with hope and love. Having time alone with God, apart from the daily activity of our routines, is a true grace. Such times allow us to enter a bit more deeper into the mystery of God. Enfolded in this mystery we are able to discover our true selves as God understands us. Whether the retreat is half a day, a whole day, a weekend or 8th days, such a time strengthens our willingness to participate in God’s action because the retreat gives us more time, focused time, to reflect and just to be. When was the last you and I gave God and ourselves this gift of time?

8th Graders: In my prayer today I have felt the Lord’s grace pouring into your lives in a very positive way. Enjoy this time with God and each other. I am with you in my prayers.

This evening our 8th grade parishioners begin their LUKE 18 RETREAT. This annual retreat is a powerful moment in the life of our young people. It is a moment for each of these wonderful young people to draw closer to Christ. With the use of large and small group dynamics, talks by members of our High School Youth Group and the faith-filled witness of a dedicated group of adult parishioners, our 8th graders will hear the invitation to cling to Christ and to become his committed disciples throughout their lives. To see the moving response of our young people to the message of Christ is incredibly inspirational. The LUKE 18 RETREAT is one of the many ways that we as a parish minister to our young people.

Please join me in praying for our 8th graders this weekend. Likewise let us be grateful for these wonderful young people in our faith community. They bring us hope for a bright future as a parish.

To my 8th Grade parishioners: I am very proud of each one of you. You are a blessing to me and to our parish community. I am with you in prayer and spirit this weekend. Have fun, walk with the Lord, and know that you are a bright light of joy and hope in the life of our parish community.

Yesterday evening my sister showed me a silicon bracelet with the words A COMPLAINT FREE WORLD imprinted on it. One wears it on the right wrist until they find themselves complaining about something and then they place the bracelet on their left wrist. No matter if the complaint is justified or not, if you wear the bracelet, you commit to make this a complaint free world. At first I thought this was some stupid, sappy sweet way of making me, and others, feel bad about ourselves when we complain about something, because as we all know, our complaints are always justified, right?

Well, this morning, as I was praying one of the Resurrection texts from the Holy Gospels, it dawned on me just how true this silly little bracelet is. If you think of it, only God has anything to complain about. He abundantly blesses us and many times we are ungrateful for these blessings. Many times God answers our prayers and we never say thank you. How many times we are able to enjoy God’s comfort through beloved family and friends, but never truly acknowledge the sources of these. Yet, even in our ingratitude God never stops loving us and He never complains about us.

In our day and age, it seems like complaining about everything and anything has become an Olympic-scaled activity. In all of our necessary busyness we can easily, quickly and often forget just how blessed we are. During this Holy Easter Season Christ invites to practice gratitude and to make our lives and our world A COMPLAINT FREE WORLD. May I, and you, have the courage to do so. I think we just might be more joyful. It is certainly worth a try. I know one thing, that I am getting me one of these bracelets.

It was announced this morning in Rome that our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has named the Most Reverend Robert J. Carlson, Bishop of Saginaw, MI., to the office of Archbishop of St. Louis. As of yet, a date for his installation has not been announced. The naming of a new archbishop is a cause for joy.

The Office of Bishop is most important in the life of the Church as the Bishop serves as the chief shepherd of the local church. He brings Christ to us through his ministry and through his prayer. We look to him to be our guide as we walk ever deeper into the heart of God. I look forward to meeting and working with the new Archbishop. Please join me in praying for him.

Prayer for the Bishop
Heavenly Father, in these trying times when the spirit of the age threatens Christian values, give our new archbishop Robert J. Carlson holiness of life and wisdom to direct and guide our archdiocesan family so that we may grow in your love. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

When was the last time that you began a conversation with gratitude? This is a question that I often begin my nightly examen of conscience with. I ask this question because it can be so easy to see the negative or be pulled down by the criticism, etc. I believe that the Lord wants us to live life out of gratitude.

In today's Responsorial Psalm the Church has us repeat seven times that the Lord's "mercy endures forever... his love is everlasting." This season of Easter, in which we celebrate our Lord's astounding victory over sin, suffering, evil, and death, is constantly pointing our attention towards eternity. Eternal life is the Father’s greatest gift to us. Because God’s love is everlasting, we have nothing to be afraid of. Our heavenly Father invites each of us a personal friendship with him through Jesus so that we can experience God’s everlasting love all throughout life. Eternal life is ours! This is God's gift to us! With this great gift we are challenged to see all of life as a gift and for these gifts we are called to be grateful. The virtue of gratitude helps is to be positive and to see the positive in all people and in all things for our hope rests in the Risen Jesus and the victory that we have gained through him. When we turn our attention to the many gifts God showers upon us, we begin to see the world as God sees it, and his joy and wisdom penetrate our souls.

Today's Psalm commands us to “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!" This holy Easter season, let's obey that command. Let's make a point of thanking God ten times a day for his gifts to us. If doing so doesn't deepen our friendship with Christ, and make life a more pleasant experience, I fear else nothing will.

PLEASE REMEMBER IN YOUR RPAYERS: Our 8th Grade Students in the Parish who will be making their LUKE 18 RETREAT this weekend. Let us pray that they open their hearts even more to the movement of the Lord in their lives. Let us pray also for those adults and young people who will be assisting the retreat that thier ministry may assist our 8th graders to grow more deeply in the Lord's grace.