Please Pray for Central High School...

Our hearts go out to the community of Central High School. To the students, teachers, parents, staff, and administration... know that we are praying for you all, especially for the MacDonald and Siler familes. (photo by J. Mies Cary-Knoxnews.com)

Welcome Back Irish!

As you probably already know, school starts promptly at 8:05 tomorrow morning, and as is the case each year, there are some new faces (about 150 of them) and some people that we'll miss seeing from last year. There are many new teachers that will bring new experience to Catholic, but many folks will be lost tomorrow so let's all be nice and help the newcomers out.

Please be sure to welcome any of our priests that will be coming and going each day, offering the mass for us in the midst of their already hectic schedules. This week, we'll have Fr. Bill McNeeley on Monday, Fr. Bill Gahagen on Tuesday, and Fr. Alex Waraksa on Wednesday; be sure to thank them when you see them and let them know we appreciate their presence.

Our First Mass of the Year at KCHS

Today, we celebrated mass for the first time this school year in the Holy Trinity Chapel during our annual Leadership Workshop. Monsignor Mankel came and offered the sacrifice of the mass. Some would look to the cheerleading squad to see an example of the greatest school spirit at KCHS, or to a member of one of our excellent sports teams. But to those who have spent more than four years on Fox Lonas or on Magnolia, our two Monsignors rank far above any cheerleader in showing their life-long support of our singular Catholic high school in Knoxville.

With the echo's of today's Gospel reading where Jesus hands the keys to Peter and proclaims him the rock of the Church, I sat and thought about Mnsgr.'s Mankel's tenure as student, teacher, priest, administrator, principal, superintendent, Vicar General, and spiritual director. Fifty-five years has passed since the day that then Xavier Francis Mankel entered KCHS as a freshman and a mere mortal. He has been standing watch ever since, participating in our growth through the years, and is steadfast as an icon of how to respond to God's call.

In an era when priestly vocations are down, and the crosses are being removed from classrooms around our country, we are growing. Statistically, our Diocese is experiencing a boom time as compared with the rest of the country, with multiple seminarians moving through their formation and towards ordination. KCHS now has it's first every priest become elevated to bishop just last year when our Fr. Vann became Bishop Johnson. Next week, there will be various pastors coming to offer the mass for us in the chapel; these priests will offer us over 150 years of preaching experience. Please continue to pray that we will receive a new bishop soon, and that he will assign us a new spiritual director to replace our learned Fr. Orr. -dpat

my favorite image from italy...

Of all the photos that I shot while in Italy this summer, and of all the beautiful things my wife and I saw there, this image trumps them all, and it should. It is St. Peter's at the Vatican and is the singular church on the planet that gives glory and praise to God with each nail, dab or mortar, frescoe, and piece of polished marble. We visited many churches while in Rome, but none even come close to compare with St. Peter's. This photo was shot in the evening around 7:30pm. The light only comes through the windows in the dome for a few minutes each day; it was a masterpiece to behold: God lighting His sanctuary for me. And so it's only appropriate to share it with you... Deacon Pat :)

Our hearts and prayers go to the Reyda family...

Our hearts are heavy this night as we pray for the repose of the soul of Ken Reyda, Mick Reyda's brother. Mick serves us all well in keeping us safe from harm as he handles Catholic's security throughout each school day. We join Mick and his family in praying for Ken, his wife Dina and their two children. It takes a special person to swear an oath to serve and protect total strangers, but that's what the men in blue do for us 24/7/365. When an officer leaves us like this, we all lose. Thank God we can have an ultimate hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, who lifts us up in hard times and gives us grace as we need it to make it through. Please join me in praying the rosary sometime this week for the Reyda family, who very much needs our powerful support through prayer. May God Bless Ken, in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy spirit, Amen.

Deacon Pat is in Roma, Italy!!!

Yesterday, as Ellie and I visited different sites here in Rome, we visited one of the many churches here devoted to Mary but this one was special as it entombed St. Catherine of Siena who was a great mystic, and doctor of the Church. She was largely responsible for convincing Pope Gregory to return the Papacy to Rome from France. She was consulted by Popes, Kings, and great leaders about all kinds of issues because people knew her to be close to God. Funny thing is she was a Doctor of the Church who was illiterate. How much more could we do, being able to read and write? Something to think about...

the passing of Leann Smith...

It was just three weeks ago, when I got a call from my Mom up in Chicago. She was crying and trying hard to tell me something. "Patrick, it's your Uncle Ed..." she said. My heart sank. My Uncle Ed was 59 and loved to hike in his hometown of Colorado Springs. He had gotten up early, left the house at 5am, and hit the trail at first light. He reached the summit of Stove-top Mountain around 8:45am and called my Uncle John to tell them that he'd made it. He sat down, at a hershey bar, drank some water, and then headed down the trail. there had been some dew that morning and as he walked across a steep part of the trail, he slipped and fell forwards. He skidded on his face and hands for a few feet and then dropped off a 40' cliff and fell to his death. Family immediately came to Colorado to pay our respects and hold one another from CA, OH, PA, IL, WI, NC, and MT.
There is no such thing as a good time to have someone suddenly taken away. While my own grief was intense, I had my faith in Christ to prop me up. I had a sure knowledge that my Uncle was swept up into the arms of Jesus at the bottom of that rocky cliff. Others in my family were not so sure. Some are even self professed Atheists, and they seemed to have the most trouble of all.
When I first came to KCHS, Leann was a person that I met immediately. She was the person that I received all the tax forms to fill out. She was very gentle and kind to me and answered my many questions about how to fill out my paperwork. She always called out my name as I walked by in the hallway outside her office; she made sure I said Hello daily and thanked me for what I was doing at the school. I know that many of you have had much closer relationships with Leann than myself...
We teach the students at Catholic all kinds of subjects, but the most important things we try to share with everyone is our deep love for Christ who is at the center of our school. All of the millions in college scholarships our students receive each year pale in comparison to just one student entering into heaven that might not have gotten there because of a conversation with a religion teacher, the making of a good confession, or something Fr. Orr said in a homily. Leann was surrounded by people of faith in the offices at KCHS and hen she felt poorly, she reached out to another KCHS friend to ask for help. This is a testament to what we have at Catholic; good friends, good faith, good times, and good memories, all centered on our risen Lord. May the faithful soul of Leann Smith rest in peace, and may we take each moment we have and give thanks for our time here on earth. Deacon patrick