A Blessed Lenten Season

Dear Mission Family, 

The Lenten season invites us to swim upstream like the salmon, taking us ever more deeply into the spiritual desert with Jesus, only to be refreshed by the baptismal waters.

This season of grace, God's very life is always in contradiction to those things and persons that keep us from being united, free and whole in prayer, joy and peace!

The scriptures give witness and testify to the beauty of God and how the Great Spirit touches each of us when we turn to Him. Bible characters such as John the Baptist and others point to the way of Jesus!

Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman is quoted as saying, "we can believe what we choose. We are answerable for what we choose to believe."

Let us ask ourselves as we quickly approach the end of the Lenten season, how can I capture deep within me the life and breath of Jesus? How might I cast my net of hope and anchor of peace? Let us go to God in prayer! It is not too late to experience a fruitful Lenten season.

 -Father Paysse

Celebrating Black History Month!

Our Lady of Africa, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Dear Mission Family,

February is Black History Month. It is a national observance for remembering important individuals and events in the history of the African diaspora.  The remembrance originated in 1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson. 

We are proud today to continue this legacy! We want to celebrate with our family and friends the contributions and gifts of our Black sisters and brothers.  With joy we can see how the Black Community impacts American society, Church and evangelization.

Let us in our Catholic Tradition raise consciousness and gently remind all people of every race to open their hearts to Christ and to remove racism from society and across the globe. 

Let us begin with ourselves, our attitudes and our lack of Christian charity. Let us pray to Christ to accept people as equals and coworkers in the field of evangelization. Allow the Spirit to fill us with grace so our actions and words reflect the dignity of all people as created in the image and likeness of Almighty God!

Visit us at www.blackandindianmission.org to learn about the witness of Black Catholics such as Mother Lange, Pierre Toussaint and Fr. Augustus Tolton to name a few.

Please pray to end racism! Education is a start!

Please consider making a donation to the Catholic Negro American Mission Board for Black Catholic Mission Schools. Go to DONATE on the homepage and help us to keep the doors open in our Black Catholic Mission Schools.

Let us stand in solidarity with all people. Let us offer prayers for reconciliation, healing and renewed relationships throughout society.

  -Fr. Paysse

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha a Saint!

Dear Mission Family,

If you have not heard, let me tell you the good news!  Pope Benedict XVI has signed the official documents to declare Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha a SAINT. Yes, in the weeks to come the canonization date will hopefully be announced by the Vatican.  And WOW, it will be full steam ahead with many, many plans, projects and programs to be secured.

The Bureau of Catholic Indian Mission Office is responsible for the official USA pilgrimage to Rome.  Although we don’t have a date yet, I have been busy with preliminary plans and hope to share the upcoming events soon.  Also, I am depending on our mission family and friends of Blessed Kateri to share the word and to encourage others to join our pilgrimage and to participate in our global celebration.

As I reflect on this joyous occasion in the life of the Church and for our Native American community, I am reminded of the beautiful spiritual gifts of Blessed Kateri and the collective gift of our American Indian sisters and brothers.  

The Native American spirit continues to move forward unfolding a garment of renewed appreciation and gentleness that comes to rest on the hearts of all who embrace “Saint” Kateri!   Like Mary, Blessed Kateri leads us to Jesus. . ."

“Let us give thanks to the Father for having made you worthy to share the lot of the saints in light.      

-Father Paysse

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Dear Friends in Mission,

As a young boy, the Christmas season was always a very special and holy time in the life of my home parish at Holy Guardian Angels.  We were taught by our pastor to have a great love and reverence for the Divine Christ-Child and to go often before or after Mass to make a visit to the manger.

In a real way, at that moment kneeling before the crib with Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I came to understand the importance of knowing God and all that He created in the world.  Like the angels in adoration around the baby Jesus, I too was in adoration and gave witness to his birth!

I guess because the guardian angels were our patrons in the parish and we were always reminded of their love and care for us, I took a special interest in their company and all their doings in the world. 

St. Luke, 2:8-11 tells us. “And in that region there were shepherds . . .  and an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. . . Be not afraid; for I bring you good news of a great joy . . .  for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”  It seemed to me that the angels had a special mission that required a unique skill in service both to God and humanity. And I was always curious to learn more.

In a real way each of you are angels because you continue the missionary legacy of the Black andIndian Mission Office.  When I travel to our American Indian reservations or Black Catholic communities, I am mindful of the many hearts that are united in prayer and sacrifice for the missions across the United States.  I see your presence at St. Peter Indian School in Phoenix, St. Augustine school in Washington, DC, at St. Michaels Indian School in the Diocese of Gallup and St. Peter Claver in St. Petersburg, Florida.  Like the angels, you have a special skill in caring and sharing that only you can give!

Thank you for your mission collaboration during 2011. Please share our mission outreach to Native Americans and African Americans with your family and friends.  Invite them to visit us at www.blackandindianmission.org .  

May the Christ-Child bless you and your loved ones abundantly during this Christmas season and  2012 bring “good news of great joy” to our families and missions across the United States.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Father W. Paysse

Executive Director

Advent calls us like the magi to follow the "star" that leads to Jesus

 My recent visit to St. Anthony's Mission School in the Diocese of Gallup, NM was a "magi experience" when I saw the smiling faces of the Zuni youth. They were like bright shining stars that gave a glow of joy, peace and a great sense of faith. . .  

The children and their teachers along with their principal shared a real treasure with me as I walked through the classrooms and school campus. Impressed and inspired as their hands went up like festive flags anxious to respond to their teachers questions and inquiries.

As we journey through this season of grace, as we prepare for the birth of Jesus, allow his spirit of love, joy, peace and reconciliation to shine brightly in our hearts and to permeate all whom we meet each day. Let us follow his Star, let us imitate the Zuni People, especially their children, blessings now and for future generations!
 
Advent blessings! 
Father Paysse  

God’s Bounty ~ Our Blessing

Dear  Partner in Mission, 

I saw it written, “God’s Bounty ~ Our Blessing,” and the phrase has stuck in my heart! 

Soon, we will be celebrating and giving praise to God for the multiple gifts that are ours. The Pilgrims and Indians set that stage for us long ago.  Today we gather with family and friends, around tables of plenty on Thanksgiving Day, to remember and give thanks.

But God’s amazing bounty encompasses more than the wonderful fruits and grains of the earth.  The First Sunday of Advent is November 27. We, the People of God, long for the coming of Emmanuel, God with us, taking on our human flesh. At Thanksgiving, through Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter,  we remember and give thanks for the birth , death and resurrection  of our Savior, Jesus Christ. With the eyes of faith we await His Second Coming.  Salvation, the sacraments, scripture and liturgy are among the bounty and blessings of our lives as Catholics.

Advent, 2011,  has been designated as the time to begin the implementation on the new translations in the Roman Missal. Yeees, change - any kind of change - can be difficult.  Yet,  Eucharist is always...a blessing by which the Church expresses her gratitude to God for all benefits, for all that has been accomplished through creation, redemption, and sanctification. Eucharist means first of all "thanksgiving."(Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 1360, adapted).

I’ve been praying with some of the Mass translations. I am inspired by new phrasing in the Concluding Rites. Pope Benedict XVI has made the words of sending forth after the final blessings more missionary. To site just two: “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord” and “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.”

Accept the challenge! Let us affirm and proclaim this ADVENTure in faith and thanksgiving!

GO SAINTS, GO!

Being a native from New Orleans, I am familiar with the song, "when the saints go marching in..."  Perhaps you are also familiar with the popular tune? In Nawlin’s, as we pronounce "New Orleans" we are familiar with the saints on the football field and in the hallowed field of the cemetery. 

As a boy, during this time of the year we would visit the grave sites of our relatives to paint the tombs, clear the weeds, bring flowers, candles and offer prayers.  We would also picnic on this sacred ground with poor-boy sandwiches, tasty local snacks and homemade root beer. The grand Louisiana oak trees stretched their two, three and five-hundred year old branches over our heads with canopy’s of lush foliage speckled with gray Spanish moss.

In the Christian life, we too are stretched, as we reach for the eternity that is within. The month of November reminds us to stretch, not with our arms or standing on our tippy toes, but stretch with the heart that dreams! The American Indian, Alaskan Native and Black Catholic communities offer us a glimpse of this "spiritual-stretch-of-the-heart" through their traditions, stories and myths. 

November directs us to the saints, sinners and all people from different cultures and nations.  Creator-Grandfather speaks to us through the beauty of the sky, a stream and the majestic flight of the eagle. God, with His many faces of black, white and red frees and breaks the chains of slavery and lifts our spirits through song, music and dance.  Jesus comes to preach the Good News to the poor, the outcast and those who suffer injustice. The Savior establishes a new relationship between God and His People and calls all to His new teaching of Life and Resurrection.

If we are willing to see with another’s eyes and embrace their world, we would then experience something new and beautiful within ourselves to share with our global family.

The month of November leads us to focus on all saints and all souls, all traditions and stories, all cultures and nations, all gifts and beauty.  We do not follow a dirge of mediocrity but a richness of spirit that unfolds the revelation of God for each of us.  Yes, let us sing, "When the saints go marching in. . . We are in that number, when the saints go marching in. . . ." GO SAINTS, GO!