Pope Francis established September 1 as an annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation in 2015. It is also the first day of the Season of Creation or Creation Time. The Season of Creation or Creation Time, is marked throughout the Christian world from September 1 to October 4 (Feast of St. Francis of Assisi) and celebrates the joy of creation as well as encouraging awareness-raising initiatives to protect the natural environment. Let’s look at the message of Pope Francis from the World Day of Payer for the Care of Creation from last year. The message for 2020 had not been released by the time this issue of the bulletin had to go to press. Let’s recall some of the remarks that the Holy Father made on this occasion last year:

As he was finishing his address to a joint meeting of Congress on September 24, 2015, Pope Francis mentioned that he would finish his visit to the United States by taking part in the World Meeting of Families that was to be held in Philadelphia. Pope Francis has expressed great concern of the state of the family. He wanted it to be a recurrent theme of his 2015 visit to the United States and it remains a great concern of his in our day as well. Let’s listen in again to what he said to the Congress about the family:

Our Saturday morning book group has begun reading and discussing The Seven Storey Mountain, the autobiography of Thomas Merton, an American Trappist monk who was a noted author in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. The title refers to the mountain of Purgatory mentioned in Dante’s Divine Comedy. Pope Francis referred to Thomas Merton in his speech to the United States House of Representatives and Senate on September 24, 2015. Let’s look now about what he said about Thomas Merton on that occasion:

I continue the presentation of excerpts from the historic address of Pope Francis to the United States Congress on September 24, 2015. In today’s excerpt the Holy Father will discuss Dorothy Day. In his April 13, 2016 column in Crux, John L Allen, Jr. mentioned that one thing that fundamentally links Dorothy Day and Pope Francis is an expansive view of what counts as a “pro-life” cause, reaching out to include not only the unborn but also migrants and refugees, exploited workers, death row inmates, even the planet itself. Life itself must be protected at all stages, and against whatever threatens it.

I have been recounting the historic address of Pope Francis to Congress on September 24, 2015. Last week I mentioned the words Pope Francis spoke about Dr. Martin Luther King on that momentous day. Yesterday we had a talk by Fr. Robert Boxie that will hopefully be an opening to an important conversation for all in the parish. It might be good today to recall reflections by three of the predecessors of Pope Francis on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King.

I continue reporting the historic address of Pope Francis to Congress on September 24, 2015. At the time of the address Michael Sean Winters wrote in the National Catholic Reporter that Pope Francis’s remarks had an encouraging and challenging tone about them. In contrast to his visit to Bolivia where Pope Francis sounded like an Old Testament prophet when speaking to community organizers, here before Congress the words of Pope Francis were more like a parish priest who was encouraging his flock by beginning with what was good in their lives and pointing out where God was already working in them. Let’s continue to hear again some more of this momentous address:

I am continuing this series of columns that are presenting the historic address of Pope Francis to Congress on September 24, 2015. One news commentator at the time remarked that what could have been a light speech filled with platitudes about visiting the United States was instead filled with challenges to lawmakers, including the Pope’s desire to see the death penalty abolished, a call for Americans to welcome migrants, and a warning that the fight against religious extremism should not trample upon freedom. Let’s continue to read his words on that great occasion:

When Pope Francis came to Washington to canonize St. Junipero Serra on September 23, 2015, he was also invited to address a joint meeting of Congress the very next day. I want to present some of his words delivered to the House and Senate on that historic occasion. His remarks seem very pertinent for the situation in which we find ourselves today. Here is what Pope Francis said to the Members of Congress:

As we enter this holiday weekend, let us be thankful for the many blessings that we have. We certainly have our challenges. In many parts of the country, particularly in the western and the southern parts of the United States. In a recent letter to her constituents Delegate Bonnie Cullison of District 19 remarked that the scientists seem to agree that our risk of becoming ill through the COVID-19 virus will not really be minimal until 70% of the population is immune, primarily through a vaccine. While there is progress on a vaccine, with the needed clinical trials, it is still likely nine to twelve months away. In the meantime we need to take the necessary precautions to keep ourselves and our families safe—notably through washing our hands for at least twenty seconds, wearing masks, and maintaining social distance of at least six feet when we venture out in public.

Today I want to continue our reflection based on the 2018 Pastoral Letter issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love. To help us with this, I am going to use one of the handouts prepared by the USCCB as an aid to our discussion: “The Call to Address Racism in Our Hearts and Communities, which was copyrighted by the USCCB in 2018.

One of the spiritual practices that we have adopted since we have had to shelter in place during the coronavirus pandemic is to pray the Rosary on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays through Zoom conferencing. We have anticipated the recommendation of the Holy Father to pray the Rosary. His words are a great encouragement for us to continue our practice--which we intend to do until we are able to open the church again.

Christ is risen, alleluia! He is risen indeed, alleluia! Even though the Coronavirus pandemic continues, I have decided not to write about it today or in the next several columns. I have chanced upon a presentation of the history of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which celebrated its one hundredth anniversary in 1917. There are some little known facts about American Catholic history in its founding. It is worth telling some of those stories of that history in this column. It will be a good diversion for all of us.

Today is the Second Sunday of Easter and also Divine Mercy Sunday. The feast of Divine Mercy is based on the devotion to the Divine Mercy that Saint Faustina Kowalska reported as part of her encounter with Jesus. I should mention here that these apparitions would fall under the category of private revelations. The Church does not give any definitive teaching on the authenticity or nature of such apparitions. But the Church does study them carefully and, if the fruits of an event breathe of the providential designs, it approves the consequent devotions. The Bishops of the United States said in regard to certain approved Marian apparitions that these providential happenings serve as a reminder to us of basic Christian themes: prayer, penance, and the necessity of the sacraments. This same would be true in case of these apparitions to Saint Faustina. It would also apply to the case of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque who had a series of apparitions in the seventeenth century that were instrumental in promoting the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Christ is risen, alleluia! He has risen indeed, alleluia! Happy Easter everyone. I am actually writing this column at the beginning of Holy Week. At this time, the coronavirus pandemic has now infected 1.2 million people globally with 330,000 in the U.S., and 69,000 deaths worldwide. I suspect that when you read this, the numbers will be much higher. The Surgeon General, Jerome Adams, said that this pandemic rivals some of the darkest moments in U.S. history, including the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and the September 11th terrorist hijackings. Surgeon General Adams went on to say that it was not going to be localized. It will be happening all over the country. He wanted America to understand that.

On Friday, March 27, 2020, I was able to participate through communications media in the Urbi et Orbi message of Pope Francis. Urbi et Orbi is Latin for the following phrase: “For the city (of Rome) and the world. Usually this blessing would be given by the Holy Father at Christmas or at Easter. But as a result of the unprecedented manner in which the coronavirus pandemic has brought profound devastation on nations all over the world, the Holy Father prayerfully discerned that these extraordinary times need extraordinary measures. I hope that you have the opportunity to read it. If you don’t have access to his meditation prior to that very special blessing, please let me know and I’ll be happy to send a copy of it to you.

I am writing this column as the Coronavirus outbreak is in our midst. As a precaution the parish offices will be closed this week. The office staff will work remotely. I will be here to answer phone calls, but am trying to practice social distancing. I need to be prudent about such things as I am in the at risk category. I am now 70 (and as someone recently told me I am officially an old person) and have a somewhat compromised immune system owing to a necessary treatment of powerful chemotherapy for an aggressive cancer several years ago.

In his Message for Lent 2020, Pope Francis points to the pascal mystery - the mystery of the Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection - as the basis of conversion. Last week I presented the first half of that message. In today’s column I am going to present the second half of the Holy Father’s message for Lent.

I have been reading the Message of Pope Francis for Lent 2020. I think that it is quite good. For that reason, I want to share it with you. Because of its length I will share it with you in the next two columns. Here is the first part for your reflection and study.

On Friday, February 28, 2020, I went to Annapolis to testify against the “End of Life Options Act” (Senate Bill 701/House of Delegates Bill 643). Two weeks before that date I had sent out a Flocknote to those who have signed up to receive Flocknotes from St. Francis of Assisi Parish. When a couple of people encouraged me to use what I had written as a basis for testifying in opposition to the legislation, I prayed about it. After praying and coming to the conclusion that I should offer to do this, I contacted the appropriate officials at the Archdiocese of Washington to gain their permission for me do this

I want to continue listing some pointers on parish etiquette. These reflections were first presented by Barbara Budde in a pamphlet (which is no longer in print) for the National Pastoral Life Center. Today I want to make some suggestions about our children at Mass.