And Now the Grieving Begins!

I was looking forward to many things last week -- in addition to the normal busy schedule that I and so many of you keep, I was looking forward to the return of our SNC students and then the packing up for team travel to Arizona for the Super Bowl. Well in addition to the Packer - Giants loss, I would end up spending the week engaging in loss on a different level as I would take part in the funerals of four different people close to our church community. Attention to the funeral details, the needs of the families, and creating funeral homilies would give the week a focus that I did not anticipate. The nice thing about it is that it took my mind off the loss at Lambeau. But now that life has slowed down just a bit, my thoughts are returning to life at the Frozen Tundra.

My Packer buddy, Schief, has a great mind for trivia -- among other things. Mark Schiefelbein is the Packer Director of Administrative Affairs. We get together quite frequently and we constantly entertain each other with useless TV trivia from the 70's including "Brady Bunch," "Gilligan's Island," "What's Happening," "I Dream of Jeannie," "Bewitched" ... ... ... you name it! Other people aren't quite as amused by this as we are! Finally this weekend we took a break from our trivia banter to discuss the past week -- and the week ahead: the week that could have been! Finally the sadness of the loss set in. But the feelings associated with last Sunday night cannot overshadow all the good that was achieved this past Packer Season.

Schief will be able to look back upon the year and remember all the details from each of the games. For me, they all run together. I tend not to remember the highlights nor the low lights from the season; however, what I do remember in particular is the weather in Chicago and last weekend in Green Bay -- with the wind burn to prove it. Aside from those starling memories, as I look at the year in review, I will remember the many people who made this year such a wonderful experience. While I am tempted to write about each individual and their contribution to the cause, I will not do so for fear that I will overlook someone significant -- all I can say is that the Packer organization is made up of some of the finest people I know. There is a friendly spirit there that certainly contributes to the Packer successes we've all enjoyed this past year. What happened on the field this year was indicative of what takes place there day after day behind the scenes. And before you know it, they'll be back at it soon, even better than ever!

But before next season starts, we have the Super Bowl on Sunday. In all actuality, I'm not sure what I'll be doing during the game -- perhaps rooting for the NFC, perhaps watching the Super Bowl just for the sake of the commercials -- only time will tell. While I do wish the game would have been a reprisal of the Patriots and Packers, I do realize how nice it is to sleep at night without the nervous anxiety that preceded the last several games.

So for a great NFL Packer season, for those buried from our church last weekend and for those travelling to and from Phoenix, we have many people to keep in our thoughts and prayers -- "Give it a shepherd's care!"

Father James Baraniak, O. Praem.

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Is This Cool, Or What?

Green Bay Packers, St. Norbert Green Knights, Notre Dame Tritons, West DePere Phantoms, DePere Redbirds, Antigo Red Robins: TAKE NOTE! Here's a website that totally rocks the athletic world -- albeit from a Roman Catholic perspective. Take a look at the sight, and at a later date, I'll give you an update on why I am posting this site. Stay tuned....!

www.catholicathletesforchrist.com

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The Conversion of Saint Paul, 1985, 2008

While celebrating the 12:20 NN Mass today, amidst the "Holy, Holy," I realized that today's feast marked the 23rd anniversary of my first stepping foot into the sacred halls of Saint Norbert Abbey. I attended the ordination of one of my Confreres -- for extra credit for a St. Norbert College theology class offered by the ordinand; I was completely blown away when Norbertine after Norbertine entered the church while singing with total gusto: "All Creatures of Our God and King." The rest is history... ... ... ...

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"Today the Ball is Ours, Matt!"

Thanks to all of you who submitted ideas for my Sunday homily -- be assured that I will be using the wisdom that came from each and every one of you. I'll give you an update later, once I finish today's wedding and prepare for the SNC Green Knight Football Banquet on Sunday. Remember, there is another team in town that wears the Green and Gold as well!

In the meantime, I believe Sister Sean Maire, OSF's preaching from last Sunday was the most succinct -- and most powerful: "Today the ball is ours, Matt!" Packer fans will be cheering Sr. Sean Marie and Sr. Anne Turba on Sunday. No doubt Sr. Sean Marie will have the perfect quip once again! I hope our dear Sister friends go 2 and 0!

Stay tuned!

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THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!

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YOU MAKE THE CALL: Hinting at the Need for Homily Help!

At the time of this writing, I am aware that the next Packer Mass will take place on Sunday, 20 January 2008 at 1:00 PM -- in anticipation of a 5:30 PM kick off. What is yet to be determined is whether that Mass will take place at 1265 Lombardi Avenue or at a hotel in Dallas. We'll find out later today!

The last time I offered a Mass on the occasion of the National Football Conference Championship Game was at the Hyatt Regency -- San Francisco Airport Hotel in Burlingame, California on Sunday, 11 January 1998 -- the Solemnity of the Baptism of Our Lord. Next week the liturgical celebration will be the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

At that Mass, the Green Bay Packers will hear the same prayers and readings as will the faithful of Old Saint Joe's as well as the faithful around the world. Here's the Good News that will guide the team next Sunday:

First Reading

The Prophet Isaiah 49, 5-6

I will make you the light of all nations

so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth!

Psalm 40

Here am I, Lord,

I come to do your will!

Second Reading

First Corinthians 1, 1-3

The grace and peace of God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you!

The Holy Gospel

Saint John the Evangelist 1, 29-34
This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!

Given all that is on the line next Sunday, I'll need a few different perspectives -- a few different voices -- to help me with the homily that reflects both the Word of God for next Sunday as well as the situation at hand. Here's your opportunity to be heard!

If you have any ideas of what I should include or address in the homily, feel free to write back. Don't be shy in doing so! In fact, I am sure that my Mom will fill me with plenty of ideas for homiletic assistance. Because we tend to be of "one mind and heart," she may not be adding a new perspective to what I already have in mind. So, again, feel free to offer your ideas here or at my SNC address. Just remember, I prefer to have my Sunday homily finished by Thursday, because: "A bird that's hatched on Saturday does not fly very far on Sunday!"

Good luck -- and thank you in advance!


Father James Baraniak, O. Praem.

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THE SOLEMNITY OF THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD

While at Evening Prayer tonight, I heard Father Tim Shillcox's gentle voice whisper across the Oratory, offering up the very kind prayer, "For Jim on the anniversary of his First Mass." Tim took me a bit off guard, because it wasn't even in my mind -- not even once -- today. I was gearing up those thoughts and prayers for this Sunday, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the conclusion of our Christmas Season. Tim was correct, however: the Feast 15 years ago took place on 10 January 1993. That first prayer that I offered as a priest for the faithful that gathered at Saint Mary in Antigo is the prayer I offer for you this weekend:

"Almighty, Eternal God,

when the Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan,

you revealed him as your own beloved Son.

Keep us, your children born of water and the Spirit

faithful to our calling.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, forever and ever."

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ANTICIPATING SATURDAY: Catching Packer Fever!

Over the past couple of weeks, people have been asking how preparations for Saturday's Packer Mass and game are going. Mike Woods, a reporter for the Appleton Post Crescent recently asked me the same question. Given he's a better writer than I, I use his words here. The picture above was taken by my good friend, Jim Beiver, the official Packer photographer. Again, the article appeared in Thursday's issue of the Post Crescent, written by Mike Woods.

Green Bay Packers Players Believe in Prayer's Power
Players look to God for guidance, not gifts

By Mike Woods Post-Crescent staff writer


GREEN BAY — Come Saturday morning, thousands of card-carrying members of the Green & Gold Brigade will take a moment to pray.

Pray for victory.

At precisely 11 a.m. on Saturday, exactly 4½ hours before the Packers host Seattle in an NFC divisional playoff game, several members of the Green Bay Packers will gather either at Lambeau Field or the Radisson Hotel, and they will pray as well.

Their prayers will likely be far different than yours.

"My prayers are that God will bless my hands, increase my territory and allow me to be a blessing to my team,'' Packers defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila said. "I pray for protection for me and my teammates, but ultimately I wrap it up by saying that, 'God, I just pray you're glorified through this whole thing. And ultimately, let your will be done. If that means us losing a game, so be it. If it means winning a game, so be it. If it means being hurt, so be it.'''

The Packers are made up of men from various cultural and religious backgrounds, but in its simplest form they are a parish just like any other in the Valley, made up of parishioners with the same wants, desires and concerns as their fan base.

But, while religion and sports mix, they've often been strange bedfellows. You will see athletes thank God following a great play or significant win, and praise him for blessing them and enabling them to experience such success.

It's not a stretch, then, to wonder about the team in the other locker room and logically ask, why isn't God a fan of their team?

"I do believe that God is sovereign and he does orchestrate or know what's going on, yes,'' said Packers defensive end Aaron Kampman, the acknowledged spiritual leader of the team. "Do I think that God cheers more for one team than the other? No.

"I think that our ways are on his ways. So the outcome of a game, while very, very important, could be part of his plan to achieve something. But a loss could do that. It's a lot bigger than trying to put God in a box for the NFL playoffs. It's the other way around. Everything filters down from God.''

Rev. James Baraniak, the Roman Catholic priest who has served as the team's chaplain for the past 11 years, said his job with the Packers isn't substantially different than any other group of parishioners to whom a priest or pastor might minister.

"In addition to me having mass, I do hear confessions, I take them through sacramental prep,'' he said. "We're like a very small parish. I deal at times with their children and their issues, if they're having a crisis with their girlfriend or boyfriend or other adolescent issues. I've done home blessings and marriage and baptismal prep.''

Baraniak said players rely on him just as the students do at St. Norbert College, where he serves as campus minister, or as the inmates do at the Green Bay Correctional Institute, where he serves as a sacramental minister.

"Just the one-on-one counsel,'' Baraniak said. "I guess I was very surprised these guys seek out their priests. I was really moved by that. They may be from different congregations, have different hues and colors, but I serve basically all the same human issues.''

Kampman leads a Bible study group on Thursdays in the team's defensive meeting room. On the eve of the game, a half-hour interdenominational chapel service will be held in the team hotel — usually led by someone associated with Athletes in Action — and then a full Catholic mass. That the mass begins 4½ hours before kickoff is a tradition handed down through the years.

The two services used to coincide but Baraniak said since Mike McCarthy, an Irish Catholic, has become head coach, the two are separated so he can attend both.

"He wants to hear what the team is hearing,'' said Baraniak, adding McCarthy uses bits and pieces from both services and weaves them into his address to the team each week.
"He pulls it all together so beautifully.''

McCarthy has also expanded Baraniak's role in the offseason, making sure he's present when the new draft choices arrive and also during training camp. The first is to help young adults deal with their newfound wealth, the second to offer support during the time when livelihoods are at stake.

So how does fostering a spiritual culture aid in a business known for its cold-heartedness?
"It's a small, intimate crowd,'' said Baraniak, who said home games bring about 20 participants (as some players attend mass at their home parishes) and road games bring about 40 to 45.
"These guys get to know each other through mass in such a way, when you are there and only 20 people are at mass, it's a pretty intimate moment and there is bonding there. There is brotherhood there, and Christ at the center.''

The experiences translate to the locker room and the field.

"In the end life is about relationships,'' Kampman said. "So whenever relationships are healthy or whenever they're at least worked on there's a genuine and authentic care for one another, and there are going to be opportunities for positive things to happen."

No one knows what will transpire at Lambeau on Saturday, but Kampman is sure of one thing: If you're looking for assistance from above at this point, you're either too late or just don't understand.

"This is my opinion, but I think if a person turns it up more, maybe they didn't understand the principles from the beginning,'' he said. "I go back to a verse in Colossians (3:23) that says 'Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as though you were working for the Lord and not for men.'

"To me what that means is applying that to all aspects of your life, my marriage, this job here, my parenting. Work at it with all your heart. Not for the external outcomes that men will give you but for your internal gratitude for what you've been given."

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THE EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD 1993-2008: 15 Years of "Giving it a Shepherd's Care!"

I am sure that Father Conrad's quip at this morning's 10:00 AM Mass had a ring of truth to it: some people may feel very blessed that I am without voice these Christmas Octave Days! It all started this past Saturday. I've been battling a cold for some time now, and the number of Masses coupled with other one-on-one meetings have taken a bit of a toll on my voice -- the Norbertines rejoice!

This past Sunday's Packer Mass at 7:30 AM went relatively well; but by the conclusion of my Sunday parish Mass at 10:00 AM, I was pretty strained, pretty weak. But trust me, I sound worse than I feel! ....It only hurts when I have to talk. As such, fearing that I'd only etch out another Mass for the faithful of Old Saint Joe's, I asked my buddy and mentor, Father Conrad, if he'd be willing to preside and preach at today's Holy Day Mass, New Years Day, the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. And I don't know about you, but for me, today's Mass was a very blessed nostalgic trip down a very cherished Memory Lane!

Sure, Father Conrad had plenty of rips on me -- as he enjoyed for six years at Lourdes and as Father Sal has enjoyed for the past four years here at OSJ. [Forever the martyr, I simply take it with no thought of retaliation!] But there were a few moments that made me tear up a bit -- on the inside, that is!

First was Father Conrad's opening words at Mass. Quite honestly, it did not mater what he said -- it was just the sound of his voice in the church that he served -- and pastorally led -- in the 80's during my SNC tenure. Even in my weakened physical condition these days, I felt immediately like a young 20 year old student all over again. From my concelebrant's post, I looked across the assembly and saw the Turba's, the Regan's, the Wood's, the Bolin's... ... all of these great people who have been long-term members of OSJ. There we were together, with Father Conrad to lead us in prayer. While it's been 18 years since he left us in this particular parish, it seemed as though he -- and we -- did not miss a beat together. It was a very good feeling, indeed.

But second was Conrad's conclusion to his homily. He quoted the conclusion that he wrote 15 years ago when he made the trek north to Antigo where he preached at my "First Mass." In all honesty, I cannot remember what I preached last Sunday, and here he quotes from one of the most blessed moments of my life -- 15 years ago! What a beautiful moment.

As we Norbertines gather for our annual Chapter meetings on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week, I will recall with great joy, my Mass of Ordination on Epiphany, 1993 -- 15 years ago. I will remember with great esteem all those who came to that ordination in the midst of an ice storm, and those who would invade Antigo the following Sunday, my First Mass in Antigo on the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord.

So as the retreat atmosphere allows me to do a little thinking and praying for all that has been and all that lies ahead, I'll be thinking and praying for all sorts of people who have influenced my priesthood over these past 15 years; in particular:

Jack & Jackie Baraniak

My parents -- My first teachers of the Faith, the ones who fostered my Vocation

Father Conrad J. Kratz, O. Praem.

Who preached and served as my Master of Ceremonies at my First Mass;

Who continues to inspire and challenge me

Father Rallen Stencil & Father Gery Meehan, O. Praem.

Who vested me a priest

Abbot Benjamin T. Mackin, O. Praem., of Happy Memory

Who presented me for Ordination

Bishop Robert Banks, DD

Who ordained me a Priest

David and Lynn Baraniak

My big brother and his wife and their children, Jolynn and Haley

Tim and Gina Koeppel

My sister and brother-in-law and their children, Nathan, Jessica, Nicole and Adam

Teresa Kelly

My sister and her children David and Katherine

The Administration, Faculty, Staff and Students of Willibrord Catholic High School of Chicago

The Administration, Factulty, Staff and Students of Abbot Pennings High School

The Administration, Faculty, Staff and Students of Saint Norbert College

The Faithful of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Family

The Faithful of Old Saint Joseph Church

The Warden, Guards, Chaplain and Inmates of Green Bay Correctional Institution

The Administration, Coaches, Players and Staff of the Green Bay Packers

AND MY NORBERTINE BROTHERS OF SAINT NORBERT ABBEY

It has been a fun ride! This cold I am experiencing -- and my loss of voice that I am dealing with -- gives me an opportunity to listen and think these days more than speak and act. As such, I'll be thanking God for each and every one of you as the week and year unfolds. However, I'll also be looking to the future this week, less I become too nostalgic. There's so much that lies ahead; I look forward to what God has in store for the future: a reminder that "God's flock is in our midst; give it a shepherd's care!"

A Blessed Epiphany to One and All!

Father James Baraniak, O. Praem.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR, 2008!

Every good gift comes from the Father of Light.

May God grant you grace and every blessing,

and keep you safe throughout the coming year!

May God grant you unwavering faith,

constant hope, and love that endures to the end!

May God order your days and work in peace,

hear your every prayer,

and lead you to everlasting life and joy!

And may Almighty God bless you and keep you!

+ The Father, Son and Holy Spirit: Amen!


Holy Father, Saint Norbert: PRAY FOR US!

--Pontifical Blessing for the New Year

Roman Sacramentary

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HOLY INNOCENTS: 28 December 2007: "Childermas Day"

I've always said that my sister, Teresa, gives new meaning to "Holy Innocents!" December 28th is her birthday, so I always keep her in mind on that day. But while travelling back to DePere after a few days with Teresa and my other family members for Christmas, I had something else on my mind that day.

You see, as one departs HWY 45 to junction with HWY 29 East, as you're approaching Shawano, you will come across an excavation site halfway between Wittenberg and Shawano. It's not highway construction, nor is it plowing the fields for potatoes or any other seasonal crop. Rather, it's an excavation to find the remains of Amber Wilde, the UW-Green Bay student who has been missing -- and feared dead -- since 23 September 2001.

Back in 2001, there were leads that Amber's body was deposited on a parcel of land close to 29 -- covered up and plowed over immediately amidst the Highway 29 expansion project, back then. I happened to be travelling on 29 the day of the search back in 2001. The traffic was slowed as police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, news satellite trucks -- and a hearse -- were all parked on 29 waiting for some sort of result. The results never came. Shortly before Christmas 2007, the search picked up again, but still with no results.

For the average traveller on 29 who has not been watching the news, one would never know what all that activity was all about -- but for us locals who follow the news, we're perfectly aware of how sobering and delicate this excavation continues to be.

So on this Feast of Holy Innocents, let's not only be aware of those little, innocent boys that Herod put to death in his fight against that first Christmas, but let's also be vigilant of those folks who have come into harm's way and who continue to remain missing this Christmas. May our thoughts and prayers be with them!

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