Admonish the Sinner: A Spiritual Act of Mercy; An Act of Love

It is sometimes hard to think of admonishing a sinner as an act of mercy, but, it really is one of the most loving things we can do with and for each other.

"Admonish" seems like a hard word; but calling someone we love back into a right relationship with God is a tough task! It is not about judging or condemning.  It is not about pointing out petty issues; it is not about being superior to another.  Rather, it is about calling each other to walk in the ways of righteousness; to follow in the ways of Jesus. To admonish another is to say in a very strong way, "I care about you-not only in this life, but in the next as well!"

We are all sinners; we stumble and fall, and sometimes we cannot see what keep us from the loving kindness and mercy of God.  We need each other to call us back; we need each other to empower us to "Come Home to Christ."

On Thursday, March 10th at 7:00 in the evening our St. Pius family will have the opportunity to celebrate together the loving-kindness and mercy of the Father in our communal reconciliation service.  In the Spirit of Mercy, I admonish you, my brothers and sisters, to return to Christ with your whole heart and mind and being.  It is in love, the love of Christ, that I, a sinner too, call you to come home.

Guest Blogger: Dr. Cheryl J. Fournier
PALF St. Pius X Catholic Church, Urbandale, IA

What Does the Pope Say about Welcome the Stranger

You may be like the [prodigal] son who left home, who sank to the depths, farthest from the Gospel. When you have the strength to say, "I want to come home," you will find the door open. God will come to meet you because he is always waiting for you-God is always waiting for you. God embraces you, kisses you, and celebrates. That is how the Lord is, that is how the tenderness of our heavenly Father is. The Lord wants us to belong to a Church that knows how to open her arms and welcome everyone, that is not a house for the few, but a house for everyone, where are can be renewed, transformed, sanctified by his love-the strongest and the weakest, sinners, the indifferent, those who feel discouraged or lost. (Excerpt from Church of Mercy by Pope Francis, page 31)

Year of Mercy Parishioner Highlight: Welcome the Stranger

This month I had the pleasure of interviewing Phil McGrath on the subject of welcoming the stranger.  Phil heads the Greeter and Newcomer Ministries at St. Pius and is a staple here known for his smile, strong hand shakes, and most importantly, his jokes. 

Phil is typically the first person you meet at St. Pius and his charisma is infectious.  You often leave an encounter with Phil feeling good about yourself. This welcoming nature of Phil's truly is a charism, his gift from God to serve.  What is most impressive about Phil is how empowering he is for others.  He directs the conversation to be about the other and he listens to what people say.   He compliments and remembers not only their name but facts about them with his amazing memory! Phil provides assurance to others that they are valuable and worthwhile to the parish.

After talking with Phil I reflected on how often I say hello to others and learn their names.  Some days I feel like I want to isolate myself from others, just come to church, do my duty as a good Catholic, and then leave.  But Phil encourages us to do more, because, as Phil points out, when we are a welcoming parish, people contribute and then the parish grows. When people are empowered, when they feel important, then they have the confidence to share their gifts to the parish, not just monetarily but with their time and talent as well. How amazing it is to have a parish full of life and vitality, where we build each other up to create a strong Body of Christ!

It is easy for us to get into the habit of isolating ourselves at church, in public, and even in our families, but maybe we need to consider how we reach out to others every day, even in the small ways.  How can you welcome someone today? How can you empower someone today? How you can build up the Church of Christ in the world?

God bless =)

Guest Blogger: Emily Schmid
SPX Music Ministry/Adult Faith Coordinator

Be a Saint of Mercy: Welcome the Stranger…like Mother Teresa!

As we look at the landscape of the world this month, perhaps no Work of Mercy is more relevant and at the same time also more challenging to embrace than the call to “Welcome the Stranger”!

Conflicts around the world, such as the unrest in Syria, have displaced millions of people from their homes over the last year. And the mass exodus shows little signs of stopping as refugees look for new homes around Europe and even the United States.

In fact, the U.N. Refugee Agency estimates that the number of displaced individuals has surpassed 60 million by the end of 2015 – the highest yearly number ever recorded!

Pope Francis has not ignored this issue. Rather, he has embraced it and made it and emphasis of his papacy. Recently acknowledging that “Welcoming the Stranger” is not always easy, but necessary if we are to fulfill our Christian obligation. Saying, “Nations must find the right balance between two serious and binding obligations: protecting the rights and safety of one's citizens and ensuring assistance to and acceptance of migrants.”

But there is fear and uncertainty when we open our homes and our countries to strangers. We make ourselves vulnerable. Perhaps we look the other way and pretend it’s not an issue?

So who do we turn to? Who can model for us this “balance” that Pope Francis speaks of when welcome strangers?

How about, soon to be canonized, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta!

We know her story well.

Young Gonxha Agnes left home at the age of 18 years old to be a missionary (1928). She joined the Sisters of Loreto and was shortly after sent to India to teach in an all-girls school. She loved her work, her sisters and her students, but something was still missing. Then in 1946 during a train ride to her annual retreat, Mother Teresa had a conversion. She would later call this her “call within a call”, to radiate Christ’s love on all souls.

This is exactly what Mother Teresa did! She was granted permission to start a new religious community called the Missionary Sisters of Charity. Their charism…to serve the “poorest of the poor”…the strangers whom no one else would dare love and care for.

Through her work, Mother Teresa was focused on being a witness to the joy of loving, celebrating the dignity of every human person, embracing the value of doing little things faithfully and with love, and showing the worth of a friendship with God!

And if you spoke to the millions of strangers who Mother Teresa and her Sisters of Charity welcomed, I know you would find that her work is exactly the example we need to embrace those whom the rest of the world chooses to ignore!

If you want to learn more about Mother Teresa, her work, her life, and the Missionary Sisters of Charity, click her:http://www.motherteresa.org/. Also feel free to stop by our Middle School Religion classroom to see our 2nd class relic of Mother Teresa (a portion of her habit)!

As we reflect on our Christian call to Welcome the Stranger, may we each find strength in Mother Teresa’s response to love those that others are afraid to love - Sounds like she knew a thing or two about Welcoming the Stranger!

Blessed Mother Teresa…Pray for Us!









Blogger: Joe Tallman, 
Middle School Religion
St. Pius X School

In the Year of Mercy: Love God, Love Others, Make Disciples, Restor All Things in Christ

As the Catholic Church throughout the world begins to celebrate the Year of Mercy, I cannot help but ponder how we do that here at St. Pius X.  Mercy is something that is rooted in who we are as a community of faith.  Yet, I must ask, do we see mercy in ourselves, in our words, in our actions?

The word mercy has its roots in the Latin, Misericordia; miserere, “to pity” and cor, meaning heart.  When we consider heart-pity, we come to another way of looking at situations and people all around us.  Our hearts look with loving-kindness on those who are suffering, whether that is in body or spirit, and often times the suffering they endure is both in body and in spirit.

Pope Francis has called us all in this next year to look with loving-kindness, with mercy, on all we encounter.  Additionally, he has asked us to focus on the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy as we interact with each other and reach out to those in most need among us.

As I consider our parish mission statement, “Love God, Love Others, Make Disciples, Restore All Things in Christ,” I cannot help but see a natural connection to the Year of Mercy as well as the Works of Mercy.  When we love God, our very posture is one that restores dignity to others.  We seek to see every other being as another “made in the image and likeness of God.”  Our very encounter with each other ought to be in response to the love of God in our hearts.

Love others, showing others the goodness and kindness of God, perhaps especially when it is difficult, is what each of us is called to in response to the baptism we share.  When we became new creations in the waters of baptism, we clothed ourselves with Christ, and in doing so, we took it upon ourselves to be as Jesus for others.  Our acts of loving-kindness; feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, bury the dead, counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish the sinner, pray for the living and the dead, comfort the sorrowful, forgive offenses, and bear wrongs patiently, are indeed the ways we show not only our love of others, but also our love of God.  

Our actions ought to draw others closer to God.  The way we live and interact with each other ought to be a sign and symbol of life, of love, of faith.  We are to be the Good News seen and heard through our words, our witness, our living. Living as disciples, that is, as people who choose to follow in the way  of Jesus, who live what we believe, and strive to grow in our relationship with Jesus, others will be drawn to us even more.  Thus, by our witness, we make disciples; we call each other to greater growth and love of God and other people, and through our efforts at building relationships, we invite others to join us in the journey.

As the journey unfolds, as we encounter all that is around us, as we come to know God’s loving-kindness in our relationship with God, with others, with our community, who we are and what we do, we restore all things in Christ, who came that “we might have life and have it to the full.”

This jubilee year is perhaps, a time for us to live into our mission.  A time for sharing the love of God; witnessing to loving-kindness, and restoring to Christ all that has been given to us, namely, hope, peace, joy, love, in a word, mercy.

Blogger: Dr. Cheryl J. Fournier, SPX Pastoral Associate for Life-Long Faith Formation

January Work of Mercy: Bear Wrongs Patiently

This month I had the honor of speaking with St. Pius parishioner Terry Nielsen.  I had met him casually through his service to the parish and him stopping by our office, but this was the first time I had a chance to meet with him one on one and listen to his story. His name came up with the staff for this Work of Mercy because they had heard him tell stories about being a police officer and knew already some of his stories of mercy.

One thing that struck me about Terry was something Terry said off the camera  He mentioned how normal it was for him to be around those who were in prison since he lived in the jail with his brother, a sheriff, who had adopted him as a young boy.  Terry would take prisoners their food.  As he described his level of ease working with people who, in societies mind, warranted some level of caution to be around, it occurred to me that God had shaped Terry for his service from a very young age. This was his charsim, his gift, his ministry and God was preparing him all through his life.

This month I encourage us all to not only bear wrongs patiently, but also see how God has been forming us from the beginning to be an example of mercy.  What gifts do you already posses that incline you to mercy?  When we recognize our God given gifts, it can surprise us to see how natural mercy can be.

God bless!

Blogger: Emily Schmid, SPX Staff

Be a Saint of Mercy! Bearing Wrongs Patiently…like Maria Goretti

Maria’s story is one that resonates with Catholics young and old. Probably because we wish we could be as faithful as she was!

Maria’s early life wasn't all that different than the normal life of most rural Iowans in the early 1900's. Maria’s parents and older siblings farmed, while she stayed at home and cared for the younger children. Life was not easy, but the simple life brought many joys. But her joyful and carefree life was interrupted by hardship when Maria’s father died when she was only nine years old.

Out of necessity life changed quickly. Maria’s mother moved the family in with a family friend and his 20 year old son, Alessandro. Maria’s second great hardship came when older Alessandro began to show interest in Maria. But each of Alessandro’s advances was quickly rejected by Maria, who had a deep desire to live a pure and chaste life. But Maria’s rejections only seemed to fuel Alessandro’s desires. So Maria did all she could to never be alone with her older admirer.

One day, when Maria’s mother and older siblings were working in the fields, Alessandro approached the twelve year old Maria as she completed her daily chores around the house. This time Alessandro didn’t stop when Maria objected to his advances, rather, this rejection quickly turned into a deep and dark rage within the young man. As Maria fought off his advances, Alessandro let his rage show. He drew his knife and stabbed helpless Maria 14 times, leaving her for dead.

Maria's third great hardship came as she suffered from her wounds for the next 24 hours. But as great saints so often do, Maria did not allow her hardships to dictate her life. During her suffering Maria received the Body of Christ and forgave her murderer. Maria died that day in the presence of her mother and siblings.

Ultimately, Alessandro was found guilty of murdering Maria and spent the next 30 years of his life behind bars. In prison, Alessandro came to see the faults in the way he was living his life. He had a dream, in which, Maria appeared to him, showering him with lilies (a symbol of purity). After his release from prison, Alessandro went immediately to Maria’s mother and begged for her forgiveness.

Maria was canonized a Saint in 1950 by Pope Pius XII. Both Maria’s mother and Alessandro were in attendance at the ceremony.

For the first time ever Maria's major relics were publicly venerated here in the United States as her incorruptible body traveled from New Jersey to St. Louis during 2015. They called this event the Pilgrimage of Mercy! You can read more about this great saint here: http://mariagoretti.com/

As we reflect on our Christian call to Bear Wrongs Patiently, may we each find strength in Maria’s response to her hardships and suffering. May we all be Saints of Mercy like Maria!

Saint Maria Goretti…Pray for Us!

Guest Blogger: Joe Tallman
Middle School Religion
Saint Pius X School