Theology on Tap, Cincinnat, Announces 2011 Line-up (and new location)

May 5 – FR. JORGE OCHOA


HISPANIC CATHOLICISM 101



May 12 – MSGR. EUGENE MORRIS

OUR LADY IN THE LITURGY



May 19 – FR. TED ROSS, SJ

CARDINAL NEWMAN: A SAINT FOR A TIME LONG OVERDUE



May 26 – MOTHER SERAPHINA, FDM

DISCERNING YOUR VOCATION IN A SECULAR WORLD



June 2 – ANNA MITCHELL

THEY FOUGHT ON BOTH SIDES: CATHOLICS IN THE CIVIL WAR



June 9 – MIKE AQUILINA

WHAT MADE THE MARTYRS: THE MASS OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS



This year’s series will be held in the main dining room at the Pig and Whistle Sports Pub in Hyde Park (2680 Madison Road), near Rookwood Commons. Doors open at 7:00, with the talks beginning at 7:30 p.m.



Adoration will follow at St. Cecilia Church in Oakley (3105 Madison Road).

Happy Easter

As those following the Twitter feed over there on the right, I've made my way to the 'Rents for a few days.  I made my way home on Holy Saturday and con-celebrated the Vigil at Sacred Heart in McCartyville, where I also celebrated Mass this morning.  For my Easter homily, I pretty much stole the ideas from Dr. Michael Barber, which can be found here.  I included a footnote in my homily notes, does that keep me from plagarism?

I've been running full steam over the last few weeks, hence the lack of posting, so I'm spending a few days up in the Northern Hinterlands, as they say, to catch up on some sleep and reading that was intended for Lent, but never gotten to.  Please pardon the radio silence, but enjoy the Easter Octave, celebrate the entire season and we'll check back in later.

Before I get totally kicked out

of my parents' will:

Happy Anniversary to my lovely parents who celebrated the start of their life together as husband and wife yesterday.

Better parents, a priest could not have.

Love you both!

Congratulations!

to our newest Lectors and Acolytes!

Fr. Binzer Named Cincinnati Auxiliary Bishop

Press Release from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati:

The Holy See announced today that Pope Benedict XVI has appointed the Rev. Joseph R. Binzer, Chancellor the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and pastor of St. Louis Church in downtown Cincinnati since 2003, as auxiliary bishop of Cincinnati. He will be introduced at a news conference at 10 a.m. today in the Synod Hall of the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains.

“I am very grateful to the Holy Father for appointing Bishop-elect Binzer to assist me in shepherding the Archdiocese,” said the Most Rev. Dennis M. Schnurr, Archbishop of Cincinnati. “He is an excellent administrator, but also a priest of great simplicity and compassion. His love of the Church shines through in his tireless service to the people of God. He is extremely well respected by his collaborators at the Chancery, by the parishes he has served and by people in general.” 

An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to a Catholic diocese or archdiocese to assist the diocesan bishop. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has not had an auxiliary bishop since the late Most Rev. Carl K. Moeddel retired in 2007. Bishop-elect Binzer succeeded Bishop Moeddel as vicar general, a post he will retain as auxiliary bishop. He will be ordained to the episcopacy on June 9 at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains.

“I am honored and humbled that our Holy Father would make this appointment,” said Bishop-elect Binzer. “I will do my best to continue to work under Archbishop Schnurr to serve the people of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati to the best of my ability.”

The Most Rev. Daniel E. Pilarczyk, Archbishop Emeritus of Cincinnati, warmly welcomed the appointment. 

“The announcement of the appointment of Fr. Joseph Binzer to be auxiliary bishop to Archbishop Schnurr is good news for the whole Archdiocese,” he said. “We have all admired his energy and dedication, his generosity and his kindness. I, together with countless others, wish him well in this new service to the Church.” 

Bishop-elect Binzer, a 55-year-old Cincinnati native, graduated from LaSalle High School in 1973 and earned a bachelor of science degree with a major in accountancy from Miami University. He worked for 11 years as a Certified Public Accountant before joining the seminary in 1988 to study for the priesthood. He was ordained in 1994.

He was associate pastor at St. Dominic parish in Delhi Township for three years, then earned a canon (church) law degree from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1999.  After returning to Cincinnati, he was resident associate at St. Bartholomew parish in Finneytown, served on the archdiocesan Tribunal, and was master of ceremonies for Archbishop Pilarczyk before becoming chancellor.  

As chancellor, Bishop-elect Binzer oversees the work of the chancery office, dealing with issues of canon law, collecting and preserving parish records, assisting parishes and priests with matters of civil law, and maintaining files on priests and parishes. He also supervises the Office of Communications, The Catholic Telegraph newspaper, the archdiocesan archives, the Office of Religious, the Tribunal, the Vocation Office, the Permanent Diaconate Office, child protection, and the victims assistance coordinator.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 38^th largest Catholic diocese in the country, with almost 500,000 Catholics, and has the eighth largest network of Catholic schools in terms of enrollment.  The 19-county territory includes 214 parishes and 113 Catholic schools. 

For Bishop Elect Binzer, named today as auxiliary of Cincinnati. He will be ordained June 9.

http://press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/27182.php?index=27182&lang=en


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Location:Prayers Requested

Happy Anniversary...

April 2nd will be a long remembered day in the Universal Church: the day one of the longest, and most significant, papacy's in modern times came to an end with the death of Pope John Paul II.  This year, with the added expectation of his beatification in a month's time, even more excitement seems to be brewing than normal.

In the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, 'tis also a day of celebration, for this is the tenth anniversary of the episcopal ordination of our shepherd: Archbishop Dennis Schnurr.  What does one get for the tenth anniversary of an episcopal ordination?!?!

Congratulations, Archbishop Schnurr, ad multos annos!

Prayer, the Heart of a Vocation

My latest runs this week in the Catholic Telegraph: I was raised in a very small town, roughly 1,000 people all together, even including the surrounding countryside. To say everyone knew everyone would be an understatement! Despite the small size, and the fact that only 50% of the town is Catholic (Lutherans and Methodists make up the rest), my home parish has sent five sons to the seminary in the last 20 years. Two of us have been ordained, two were in the seminary and left, one is currently in the college seminary. A remarkable feat, which continues to stun me, even seven years after my own ordination. Whenever I mention this fact, people always wonder how this happened. ‘What’s the secret?’ There is no secret, but just a vibrant prayer life within the parish and it is based in two areas. First, my hometown has been blessed with excellent priests, who each brought his own gift to the parish. I vaguely remember Fr. Bastian, from whom I received my First Holy Communion. Fr. O’Connor brought about some changes introduced at the Second Vatican Council, taught me how to serve in the fifth grade, and was a constant, steady presence in the parish. Fr. Trick brought a vitality and joy to the parish, a quick wit and an ability to laugh with the best of them. Fr. Sloneker turned the focus of the parish to youth and the energy they bring to the parish. Fr. Lee has just recently joined up and has the enthusiasm of the newly ordained. But this is only part of the success. Even though my home parish is so small, there is a dedicated army of ‘adorers’ who spend at least an hour a week in front of Our Eucharistic Lord, present in the monstrance. From the close of the last Mass on Sunday at noon through Friday evening, at least one person (and usually two) is scheduled to spend an hour to watch and pray with Our Lord. In no mere coincidence, this dedication to prayer started roughly as this little vocation wave started to take shape. Because it is such a small community, everyone feels an obligation to keep Our Lord company: from the elderly who cover some of the early morning hours while everyone else is home asleep or the midday hours as others work, to students from school who walk over after school to spend an hour with He who created them. Moms and dads of young families take the late evening shift, after the kids have been tucked safely away. Others fill in as they can and are able. From the time this started when I was in high school to today, I know not to call my mother on Tuesday evenings, for she has to keep her hour at Church. As we continue our journey through Lent, we can use the discipline fostered in our prayer life to continue on into the future, instead of sliding back into old habits. Especially in periods of Adoration, we see Christ face to face, as it were, and encounter Him at a deeper level. During these times, are hearts are opened to experience the great love of Christ who came that we might have life through Him. In these moments, the initial stirrings of a vocation are heard, the longing of the heart is kindled, and the soul is strengthened to follow where ever God calls. For this, and so much more, whenever someone asks what they can do to support vocations, I urge them first and foremost to prayer before Our Lord during Adoration. It is a prayer time unlike any other. For a listing of times and locations of Adoration in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, see the ‘Resources’ tab at www.cincinnativocations.org.

Creating a Culture of Vocations in Catholic Schools

This morning, I was asked to address the Catholic school principals of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati on the topic of how to build a culture of vocations within our schools. I posted my remarks at the Vocation Office page.

Quick update

While stopping in my office to clean out emails and grab materials for this weekend....


The Teacher Retreat went very well, thanks for the prayers.


Registrations for Welcome Weekend went from 3 on Tuesday to I think 9 now.


You all are prayer WARRIORS!

Thanks!

Prayer Bleg

Starting tonight and running through Friday, I'm helping with a retreat for Catholic Grade School teachers here in the Archdiocese. Please keep the participants in your prayers, and send one up for me, too. One of hte team leaders came down ill and had to withdraw, so I get to step up and deliver a talk in his place. Theme is on God's love, so I should have that down pretty well, but don't really have the time to put it all together concisely. Help a Padre out!

I get back on Friday just in time for our annual Welcome Weekend out at Mount St. Mary's Seminary, where prospective guys are invited to visit the seminary for the weekend to see if this is where they are being called. The list is a bit short right now, but pray that those who do attend might be open to wherever God is leading them.

A reminder

from the Curt Jester

Hope Springs Eternal

Here it is, 4 short weeks till OPENING DAY! My latest missive runs in this week's Telegraph:


As a long, hard winter comes to a close, four words can always elevate my spirits: ‘Pitchers and Catchers Report!’ This simple phrase indicates the boys of summer are heading to the sunny paradise of either Florida or Arizona to work out the kinks that settled in during the long winter months. Pitchers are stretching out their shoulders, catchers hone the throw to second, and position players come into camp a few days later to adjust the timing on the swing and relay throws, practice fielding the slow bunt roller, and generally get into shape so that as April rolls around, Opening Day will dawn with the Local 9 in tip-top shape.

It is a hopeful time as off-season roster moves are analyzed, new players fit into the regular rotation, and the prospects of a playoff run are discussed by more talking heads than we care to acknowledge! As Spring Training winds down and the season heats up, some of that hope starts to be tempered by reality of a long and grinding baseball season.

As I was getting excited about the start of the baseball season and looking forward to another (hopefully) run by the Reds through the National League Central, I began to wonder about how this longing for a successful season parallels our longing for God.

Throughout our life of faith, we have a multitude of options in following God. During Lent, we have times to hone our mechanics, as baseball players do during Spring Training. We have that long drawn out season of Ordinary Time, in which if we get left behind by the front runners, it is easy to slide into temptations of backing off, taking it easy, waiting for next season, so to speak, instead of striving for excellence here and now.

As we turn to once again enter into the great season of Lent, perhaps it is time to ramp up our spiritual training regimen, so that we might be prepared for the long haul of our pilgrimage of faith. The three distinctive elements of Lent help give us the frame work of how to do so:
First: fasting, not just from sweets point of view, but from all those things that keep us from growing closer to God. What are those particular sins that you have confessed time and time again, yet might not want to really give up? How do they keep you from living to your fullest in God? These are things to offer to Him so that we might be a living sacrifice of praise before God in all things.

Secondly: prayer, as a priest, I notice that the attendance at Daily Mass during Lent increases, and what a wonderful thing that is! But do not let it stop just there, but rather use times of personal, private prayer; prayer as a family; or times of Adoration as ways to increase your involvement at Sunday Mass. To help enter into Mass more fully, preview the Readings that will be proclaimed, if possible, look at the unique prayers for the Priest on that Sunday, as well. What do these prayers say about what we celebrate during Lent?

Finally: almsgiving, as a natural outgrowth from our relationship with God. We do not give because the recipient is Catholic, but because we are. We give because we are thankful of the many gifts God has given to us, and we simply return them to Him.

Like the baseball player honing his skills for the long haul of the season ahead, training our hearts and wills through these practices in Lent helps to follow through with a successful season and summer ahead. Let us prepare so that we might hit Easter in fine spiritual shape so that we might also enjoy our pilgrimage through life to the promised land of heaven.

not a bad idea

After the Year for Priests, now it's time for a Year for Consecrated!

Something tells me....

I shouldn't reply to the following email received in the Vocation Office inbox this morning:

Dear Webmail User,

This message is from the Webmail Support team to all email users. We are currently carrying out an upgrade on our system, hence it has come to our notice that one of our subscribers Infected our Network with a worm like virus and it is affecting Our database.

We are also having congestions due to the anonymous registration of email accounts, so we are shutting down email accounts deemed to be inactive. Your email account is listed among those requiring update.

To resolve this problem, simply click to reply this message and enter your User Name here
(_____________) And Password Here (___________) to have your email account Cleared against this virus.

Failure to comply will lead to the termination of your Email Account.



Hoping to serve you better.


(Unknown Name)
Webmail Support