Dear Friends in Christ,

In our Gospel for today, Jesus is in the district of Caesarea Philippi. At Caesarea Philippi there is a massive wall of rock that is well over 100 feet straight up and about 500 feet wide. The city of Caesarea Philippi was built on top of this enormous rock. This is the setting or the backdrop for this critical exchange between Peter and our Lord.

So in the district of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:13b-16)

Dear Friends in Christ,

Happy New School Year! Saint Mary Help of Christians Catholic School began its new school year this past week! What a joy it was to walk around campus and witness the excitement of students and staff. Please pray that all our school students, families, and staff will have a year filled with growth, both academically and spiritually.

Our parish school plays a critical role in the formation of our youth. We are educating the Catholic leaders of tomorrow. I would like to take this opportunity to update you on the state of our school as we begin this new year.

Dear Friends in Christ,

Today, Peter's experience reflects situations that, more often than not, we also eventually undergo. Who has never, ever felt, at least once, that the world was crumbling around himself and then decided to let it all go and surrender to despair? Under these circumstances we must humble ourselves, revive our faith and exclaim along with the psalmist: “Show us, Lord, your mercy; grant us your salvation.” (Ps 85:7)

In ancient times, the sea was where the evil forces dwelt, the kingdom of death, a threat for all people. By “walking on the sea” (Matt 14:25), Jesus is telling us that through his death and resurrection He defeats the powers of evil and death that threaten and seek to destroy us. But often our existence is like a fragile boat, tossed around by the stormy waves of the sea of life. We hope and pray that we will safely reach the shore.

Dear Friends in Christ,

Today, the Gospel speaks of the Transfiguration of our Lord on Mount Tabor. After Peter's confession, Jesus started to say that it was necessary for the Son of Man to be condemned to death and that He would rise on the third day. This passage of the Transfiguration of Jesus has to be placed within this context. Anastasius Sinaita wrote that “He, who had donned our miserable goatskin tunics, is today dressed with a divine dress and a dazzling light wraps him up as a robe.”

Dear Friends in Christ,

“When the Church cares for the sick, it serves Christ himself in the suffering members of his Mystical body. When it follows the example of the Lord Jesus, who “went about doing good and healing all” (Acts 10:38), the Church obeys his comment to care for the sick (see Mark 16:18) (Prot. No. 1501/72, Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship)

The Catholic Church teaches that anointing of the sick is one of the seven sacraments instituted by Christ. It is mentioned indirectly in Mark 6:13 and specifically commended to the faithful by James the apostle: “Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” (James 5:14-15)

Dear Friends in Christ,

From July 10^th to July 13^th, I was privileged to attend the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology Conference in Wheeling, WV. The theme for our week was “Journey to Holiness.” Our speakers included Dr. Scott Hahn, Dr. John Bergsma, Dr. Ralph Martin, Dr. Lawrence Feingold, and others. About 250 priests attended from 38 states. There was also a U.S. priest who came from Vladivostok, Russia, and a British priest from the Diocese of Leeds. It is always so very special to be with brother priests and to learn from sound Biblical theology. There’s no doubt but this conference will help me to be a better priest.

Dear Friends in Christ,

So, here’s my story….or part of my story…I have been blessed over the years to be able to travel, first through the U.S. Army, later through my business and then as a priest. I have travelled to about 35 countries around the world. I have been blessed to be in Rome and other parts of Italy four times in my life, twice as a Protestant and twice as a Catholic, but never as a priest. And since Italy is one of my favorite countries, I really want to go back to Italy again, but this time as a priest.

Dear Friends in Christ,

For a Christian, strength is found in weakness. Our teacher is Jesus Christ, and he wants us to learn from Him to be meek and humble of heart. The world may brush the simple aside and call them ignorant, but Jesus’ prayer to his Father teaches us to value the greatness of the little ones among us. God himself chose them to be preachers of His Holy Gospel.

Dear Friends in Christ,

We had an exciting event last Thursday in the life of our parish and school! Bishop Fabre was here and blessed and led the groundbreaking for the STEM Center at Saint Mary Help of Christians Catholic School. It was moving to see students from the school out there with hardhats breaking ground as well! What a marvelous and incredible event for our parish and school! Here are some critical details about our new Center.

Dear Friends in Christ,

“The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead.” (Para 2447, Catechism of the Catholic Church)

So, burying the dead is a corporal work of mercy. All faithful Catholics certainly deserve a proper Catholic funeral Mass and burial. All too often, in my short time here, I see that faithful Catholics are not offered a funeral Mass. I don’t know all the reasons for why that happens, but I do know that a Catholic funeral Mass is the highest form of prayer that can be offered for a deceased loved one. Why would a person not want that for someone they love?

Dear Friends in Christ,

This weekend our secular world reminds us to honor, love and pay proper respect to our fathers. They, along with our mothers of course, gave us life. We look to them to help us in life, to teach us how to work, how to be a good citizen, how to love our country and most importantly, how to love our God and those who surround us.

My dad, Woodrow Charles Wilson was born on June 25th. He died on May 11, 1977, but if he were alive today, he would be 110 years old on the 25th. My father was not overly affectionate, but we always knew that he loved us…all nine of us. We grew up poor, but we were never hungry. I learned many things from my father. He taught me to be honest in word and in deed. He always emphasized that we should not be prejudiced against people of a different race and treat them equally. My father did not practice his Seventh Day Adventist faith, but he always would take us to our church, Bethany Lutheran Church and he never spoke against the faith.

Dear Friends in Christ,

June is known as the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus principally because the solemnity of the Sacred Heart is celebrated during this month. This year, the solemnity falls on June 16. The date changes each year because it is celebrated on the Friday after the Corpus Christi octave, or the Friday after the second Sunday after Pentecost. The feast dates back to 1673, when a French nun who belonged to the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary (Visitandines) in eastern France began to receive visions about the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Dear Friends in Christ,

As I write this, I am attending the 50th Anniversary of my graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. I must tell you that it’s hard to believe that it’s been 50 years, but I don’t think that both my driver’s license and my birth certificate are incorrect!

I don’t know the exact number, but we have over 550 classmates that are back for our reunion out of about 944 that graduated in 1973. Thank God for nametags or otherwise we would not recognize one another. In our lives, a lot of water has gone “under the bridge” or “over the dam” as they say. 115 of our classmates have died and we will have a special memorial service for those who died within the past year. I will have the privilege of praying the benediction at that service.