Gratitude to Fr. Gary, blog creator

Fr. Gary Bernhardt, OFM


We take a moment here to acknowledge with sadness the tragic death of Fr. Gary,  the generous creator of this blog site for our House of Prayer.   Over 6 years ago Fr. Gary took time to come and set up our Ava blog page here.

This past Tuesday,   August  26, 2014,  while on a fishing vacation with some friends on Lake Taneycomo in Branson, MO,  the boat in which Fr. Gary and his two companions were fishing,  hit a submerged tree and capsized.    The two other men were able to find something to grab onto, but  Fr. Gary was thrown into the water.   Without a lifejacket,  he ended up being in the cold water flowing from the dam at Table Rock Lake and he had floated 1/4 mile downstream before another boat was able to rescue him.   Emergency crews, after a long effort, did revive him and he was taken to the local hospital.  Fr. Gary was not able to overcome the ordeal and died later that evening.

We offer our condolences to the Franciscan friars of the Sacred Heart province in St. Louis, to  his parents,  Carl and Maggie Bernhardt, of Quincy, IL,  to  his sister and brothers, and their families,  and his many other family members and friends.  

Now, Fr. Gary, perhaps you can learn more tips on fishing from the great fishermen, Saints Peter, Jame and John.   Then again, maybe you'll be teaching them how to create flies for your fishing escapades with them in heaven.   Remember the lifejacket;  then again, maybe you won't need that there.

"Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual life shine upon him.   May he now rest in peace"

Pope Francis and Prayer to the Holy Spirit

This reflection is drawn from an address Pope Francis gave in a General Audience on May 15, 2013; the theme was "Be guided by the Holy Spirit."

Then,  as Jesus promised,  the Holy Spirit guides us "into all the truth"  (John 16:13);  not only does he guide us to the encounter with Jesus,  the fullness of the Truth, but he also guides us "into" the Truth -- that is, he makes us enter into an ever deeper communion with Jesus, giving us knowledge of all the things of God.   And we cannot achieve this by our own efforts.    Unless God enlightens us from within,  our Christian existence will be superficial.  The Church's tradition asserts that the Spirit of truth acts in our heart, inspiring that "sense of the faith"  (sensus fidei) through which, as the Second Vatican Council states, the People of God, under the guidance of the magisterium, adheres unfailingly to the faith transmitted, penetrates it more deeply with the right judgment, and applies it more fully in life (see Lumen Gentium,  # 12).

Let us try asking ourselves:   Am I open to the action of the Holy Spirit?   Do I pray to him to give me illumination,  to make me more sensitive to God's things?   This is a prayer we must pray every day:  "Holy Spirit, make my heart open to the word of God,  make my heart open to goodness, make my heart open to the beauty of God every day."   I would like to ask everyone a question:  how many of you pray every day to the Holy Spirit?  There will not be many, but we must fulfill Jesus' wish and pray every day to the Holy Spirit that he open our heart to Jesus.

WHAT PRAYERFUL SILENCE CAN DO FOR YOU!

 

(St. Francis of Assisi)

 

(This reflection by Fr. Kenneth Grabner, CSC,  appears in LIVING FAITH as the meditation for August 1, 2014;  the scripture text (Mt:  13: 54-55,57)  was the story of Jesus returning home to Nazareth and his towns people not accepting him;  Fr. Kenneth talks about how hard it is to let people be different than what we think they are;  it takes "prayerful silence" he says, plus more.)

 

SEEKING THE DEEPER MEANING - PRAYERFUL SILENCE!

 

Just when we think we know people, they say and do things that surprise us.   Then we realize we didn't know them as well as we imagined.  That seems to be what happened when Jesus returned home.   His hearers thought they knew him, and they weren't ready for anything new.

 

Maybe something similar happens to us.   We've heard Jesus' words so often that we don't expect to find anything new.  This has happened to me occasionally when preparing a homily.  I'd seen the Scripture text dozens of times.  What new insights would I be able to share?   All I could do was to sit quietly and ask God for his inspiration.  And in the silence,  God gave me a new understanding I had never seen before.   God's Word can touch us in many different ways.   Prayerful silence can reveal deeper meanings in Scripture that we would otherwise miss.