Dear friend,<\/p>\n
This week I will be gone for the annual Junior Clergy Retreat. I continue to serve as the Vicar for Junior Clergy in the Diocese. The Junior Clergy are the priests ordained ten years or less. This annual retreat offers time for prayer, relaxation and fellowship. The Diocese of Peoria is currently rebuilding the retreat center in Henry, IL. We will have our retreat this week at a retreat center in Springfield. The Diocese has about 25 priests ordained less than ten years. Please say a prayer for them this week. I hope to get some rest, pray some extra and offer some counsel\/advice to our younger priests. We scheduled Msgr. John Cippel as a retreat director. He is a priest from St. Petersburg, Florida and works with the Institute of Priestly Formation at Creighton in Omaha. This is the group that organized the Spiritual Direction Program that I completed a few years ago. The week promises to be a time of listening to the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n
This weekend the Church gives us three great readings to ponder. We could discuss so much about each of the readings. Just a few words about the first reading from Deuteronomy as I think it sets up the theme for the Mass. \u201cIf only you would heed the voice of the Lord, your God, and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this book of the law.\u201d Moses says these words to the Jewish people and then informs them that heeding the voice of the Lord results in a change or conversion. From time to time, I hear people say, \u201cIf I only knew what God wanted,\u201d or \u201cI wish prayer would be more clear.\u201d Every single day the Church reminds us at Mass that the Bible is God\u2019s direct communication to humanity. Moses encourages us with, \u201cif only you would\u2026\u201d as a call to realize that what we are all seeking in life, is fulfilled in the cooperation with the Will of God. The Bible is a simple communication from the Creator, saying this is the way I made you, and if you do these things, you will be fulfilled. Humans can feel sorrow, regret, anxiety, shame, disappointment etc; but, the Word of God is meant to encourage a grace-filled change of life that leads us to realize that everything we desire for fulfillment exists within the divine commands. May we all seek God\u2019s Biblical advice before we trust any other source in this world.\u00a0 I pray we all hear the voice of the Lord in the Scriptures and Eucharist at Mass this weekend.<\/p>\n
God bless,<\/p>\n
Father David<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"