Be a Saint

Edgar Beltrán, The Pillar, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time October 4, 2026

Is 5:1-7; Ps 80; Phil 4:6-9; Mt 21:33-45

This past week has been a “who’s who” of saints of the church
On Tuesday, we celebrated the feast of the Archangels St. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael
The only angels mentioned by name in the Scriptures

On Wednesday, September 30, we celebrated the Memorial of St. Jerome
A doctor of the church, that means he was a great teacher
Jerome was quite the curmudgeon
He had a temper, and was hard to get along with

Jerome is largely responsible for our Bible today
He spent much of his life translating the Holy Scriptures from Hebrew to Latin
Jerome reminds us, “Ignorance of Scriptures is ignorance of Christ”

On Thursday, the church celebrated the memorial of St. Therese of Liseaux
She is also known as the “Little Flower”
And she is also a doctor of the church, a great teacher
She is quite the opposite of St. Jerome
She was uneducated
She entered the convent when she was fifteen years old
And she died at the age of twenty four

Her autobiography, “The Story of a Soul” has touched many hearts
One quote I like from St. Therese is, “Without love all is worthless”.

On Friday October 2, the church celebrated the memorial of Guardian Angels
‘Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.” (CCC 336)

And today, we celebrate the twenty-seventh Sunday of Ordinary time.
But October fourth is also the Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi
In fact, today is the eighth hundredth anniversary of his death

St. Francis grew up wealthy
But he had an encounter with Jesus, and it changed his life
He embraced a life of poverty
And spent the rest of his life preaching the Gospel to the world
“Preach the Gospel always, use words if necessary”

St. Francis loved animals
And that is one reason it is a tradition to bless pets on his feast day

In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus once again confront the chief priests and the leaders of the people
He tells them a parable, a story
The story of the landowner who planted a vineyard

Jesus is referencing today’s first reading from Isaiah
“The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel” (Is 5)
Jesus is using this parable to confront the leaders of Israel
About how they have rejected the prophets
And how they are rejecting Him, the Son of God
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone” (Matt 21)

I have built plenty of fence in my day
And my dad taught me that you had to have a good corner post to have a good fence
If the corner post goes down, the whole fence can go down

“The household of God [is] built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus as the capstone” (Eph 2:20)
St. Peter says we are all “living stones” in the house of God
If we reject Jesus, we reject love
Jesus confronts the leaders of Israel on many occasions
He calls them hypocrites
He says that they honor him with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. (Mt 15:8)

Last week Pope Leo visited France
Many people came out to see Pope Leo, the Vicar of Christ

France used to be deeply Catholic
France has been referred to as the “eldest daughter of the Church”
France is the home of many great saints
St. Joan of Arc, St. Therese of Liseaux, St. Bernadette are just a few

But in the past few centuries, France has slowly turned away from the church
France has become more and more secular
France has legalized abortion
France has legalized a law to assist with death

While in France, Pope Leo confronted this insult to human dignity
Hear what he to the caregivers and sick at Lourdes

“I know that for some of you, because of particular illnesses and, at times, terrible pain, your horizon may appear dark, uncertain and without hope. But no human law should ever make you lose the certainty of your dignity. On the contrary, it is precisely in the name of this inalienable dignity of the human person that we must reject the temptation to cause death under the guise of false compassion. It is impossible to regard causing death as something normal. What is legal is not necessarily moral.” (https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2026/september/documents/20260927-francia-accueil-notredame.html)

“What is legal is not necessarily moral”

Many of the leaders of France honored Pope Leo with their lips
But their hearts are far from his

But what about us?
Where are our hearts?
Are our hearts with the Sacred Heart of Jesus?
When we place our heart in the Heart of Jesus
We not only honor him with our lips, but with our lives
We can be a saint…

Wounds

A Facebook memory from 15 years ago came up today. It was from an Ag Blog that I wrote for the Journal Record based out of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The editor made a nice comment about this blog, and it was a nice memory (that I had forgotten). I’m guessing the world was in some economic turmoil at the time (aren’t we always). I wanted to put a picture of my Dad with a horse, but I didn’t have one on my computer. I like this one that Lisa took out at his pens.

Photo Credit Lisa Johnson Schultz

Wounds

My dad is a horse guy. He likes horses, and he always made sure that we had one to ride and call our own. When Teague and I were married, dad wanted Teague to feel like she was a part of the family. So, he bought her a mare named Dale.  Teague even got a new saddle to go with her horse.

One morning when I was feeding the horses, I found Dale with a hole in her neck big enough to stick my fist through. I guessed that she had hung it on a post or the fence. I loaded her into the horse trailer, and took her to the vet. He examined and cleaned the wound. He told me that the treatment of this wound would require me to peel the scab off the wound and spray it with medicine every day.

Peeling the scab off hurt Dale, so I had to go about slow and easy. The wound gradually began to close and heal. Eventually, it healed completely with hardly any trace of a scar or the huge hole that had been there. 

Throughout my life, I have been hurt and hurt others both physically and emotionally. I have found that healing can happen in all circumstances. But, as with Dale’s wound, it takes patience, time, and it can be painful. 

I wonder if economic healing would work the same way? 

Life’s not Fair

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time September 20, 2026

Is 55: 6-9; Ps 145; Phil 1:20c-24, 27a; Mt 20:1-16a

Mom is making dinner for the family

The trash is full and needs carried out

She asks Peter to “please take out the trash”

Peter replies sharply, “I took it out last time”

“Make Mary take it out”

“She never takes out the trash!”

Father had just walked in the house from work

He had been working cattle all day and was tired

He had heard the entire conversation

He looked at Peter and said,

“Don’t be a counter”

“Take out the trash for you mother”

“That’s not fair!” 

Peter yells as he is going out the door with the trash

Mom replies quietly

“Life’s not fair, Peter. 

LIfe’s not fair”

When we hear the story of the laborers in the vineyard

Our sense of fairness is offended

It’s not fair for the ones who just worked an hour to get paid the same as those that worked all day

But God’s ways are not our ways

“As high as the heaven are above the earth, 

so high are my ways above your ways

and my thoughts above your thoughts” (Is 55:9)

Jesus begins the parable with the words

“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner” (Mt 20:1)

The parable is about the generosity of the landowner

The Lord is generous

The Lord is kind

The Lord is gracious

The Lord is good to all

The Lord is compassionate

The Lord is just in all his ways

The Lord is holy in all his works

The Lord is near to all who call upon him (Ps 145)

God’s goodness and mercy are more than we can imagine

The workers that just worked one hour

Did not deserve a day’s wage

But God’s ways are not our ways

He is generous to all

The Lord will forgive your sins 

Whether they be great or small

Whether they be few or many

The Lord loves you

He loves you with an everlasting love

A love greater than we can understand

Life’s not fair

But the Lord is generous beyond compare 

Just Ask

This past weekend I served mass with Fr. Ryan at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Panhandle, Texas. This was my homily.

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time August 16, 2026

Is 56:1, 6-7; Ps 67; Rom 11:13-15, 29-32; Matt 15: 21-28

“...for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.” (Is 56:7)

In St. Pope John Paul II’s encyclical On the Eucharist and Its Relationship to the Church, he says, 

“I have been able to celebrate Holy Mass in chapels built along mountain paths, on lakeshores and seacoasts; I have celebrated it on altars built in stadiums and in city squares... This varied scenario of celebrations of the Eucharist has given me a powerful experience of its universal and, so to speak, cosmic character. Yes, cosmic! Because even when it is celebrated on the humble altar of a country church, the Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world. It unites heaven and earth. It embraces and permeates all creation” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 8) 

When St. John Paul II talks about celebrating mass “on the humble altar of a country church” I imagine country churches like Cristo Redentor in Gruver, Sacred Heart in Spearman, and St. Teresa’s in Panhandle.

Wherever the Eucharist is celebrated, “it unites heaven and earth.” 
Indeed this is a “house of prayer for all people.” 

“For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11)
I remember this verse from today’s second reading from a Deacon retreat I attended about 11 years ago
It convicted me
I cannot give back the gifts I have received from God.
I can either share them or leave them idle
Are you sharing your gifts? 

In today’s Gospel, we see the Canaanite woman calling out to Jesus
Begging Jesus to heal her daughter
She is relentless
She is persistent
She continues to ask Jesus
Even when she is ignored


I used to work at Panhandle State University in Goodwell, Oklahoma
One day a colleague came to my office, she looked distraught, confused, frightened
She was a scientist
And I would classify her and her husband as Atheist/Agnostic

She shared with me that she had cancer
And she was in for a fight
She explained that she was assembling a team to help her fight
And she wanted me to be on her team

My role she said would involve the spiritual… and also humor
I met with her
Listened to her
Prayed with her
Laughed with her 
And cried with her

She had many spiritual experiences
She had a miraculous healing
The cancer was gone
We both gloried in the goodness of God
Her and her husband became believers in Jesus

She still texts me every so often
When she goes back for her yearly checkup
She asks for my prayers

One day we got together for lunch
I noticed how much different she looked 
Her hair was back, but different
Her skin color was healthy
There was joy and excitement for life with her family in her voice

At the end of our conversation, she explained that she was going back for her yearly check up
And she asked again for my prayers
I told her that I would pray for her
But I also told her that she didn’t need to ask, because she was in my prayers

She paused and then explained to me that one thing that she had learned during this journey was how important it was to ask…

As I drove down the road, I thought about what she said…
It is important to ask
It is important to ask our friends for help, for prayer
It is important for us to ask and petition the Lord
He wants us to ask
He wants to talk to us
He wants to be with us in our struggles and our blessings

Sometimes we have to be persistent like the Canaanite woman
Sometimes our prayers might not be answered in our time
Or they might be answered in a way we don’t know 

I decided that my friend had a profound thought about how important asking was
And then I thought of her name
Her first name is Deborah
Her last name is Ask…

Deborah Ask

“Then Jesus said to her in reply,
"O woman, great is your faith! 
Let it be done for you as you wish." 
And the woman's daughter was healed from that hour.” (Matt 15)

A Moment of Grace

© José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time August 2, 2026

Is 55:1-3; Ps 145; Rom 8:35, 37-39; Mt 14:13-21

Years ago, I help host a college retreat team 
One of the young men was asking me about being a farmer
I was telling him about driving a tractor. and that I had a lot of time to think
I shared that sometimes I would think of things that I shouldn’t have been thinking about

But a thought would come into my mind, “I shouldn’t think of that”
And I would try and pray or think of something else
The young man gasped and said, “That was a moment of grace!”
“That was a grace from God!”

I have thought about that quite often
How God is always drawing us to Him

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us
“Grace is participation in the life of God.’ (CCC 1997)
The Church describes grace in a number of ways: sanctifying grace, habitual grace, actual graces, special graces and sacramental graces. (CCC 1999-2003)

Grace is this gift that God is continuously offering us to help us in our call to become children of God (CCC 1996)

Today we hear of the feeding of the five thousand
Jesus has just heard of the death of John the Baptist, his cousin, the one who baptized him
I can only imagine how sad Jesus was
He wanted to be alone
He got on a boat

“But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns” (Matt 14:13)
As Jesus is coming into the shore, he sees the crowds, it was a big crowd
Jesus was touched
He had pity for them
He had compassion on them
And he begins to heal the sick


But they are in a deserted place and there is no way to get food
The disciples are being practical
They are encouraging Jesus to send the people home to get them something to eat
But Jesus loves these people
They were there for Him in His time of sorrow

He is going to feed them
He has the people sit on the grass
He takes the bread and fish
He looks to heaven 
Blesses the bread
He gives thanks 

The disciples give the food to the people
The people are fed 
And there is more left over 

A moment of Grace…

Listen again to this invitation to grace from the first reading

“Thus says the LORD:
All you who are thirsty,
come to the water!
You who have no money,
come, receive grain and eat;
Come, without paying and without cost,
drink wine and milk!...
…Heed me, and you shall eat well,
you shall delight in rich fare.
Come to me heedfully,
listen, that you may have life.” (Is 55)

“Listen, that you may have life.”
“The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.” (Ps 145)

We are nourished on the Word of God and the life of the Church
The Lord feeds us spiritually 
When we come to mass
When we pray
When we go to Confession
When we participate in the Sacraments
When we are a part of the life of the Church like the Jamaica
And the One Hundredth Anniversary Mass at Amarillo
In all these things, we are experiencing God’s Grace

In the second reading from Romans
Paul asks the question

“What will separate us from the love of Christ? 
Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?”

The answer is nothing can separate us from His love
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities,
nor present things, nor future things,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8)

Jesus is still multiplying the bread
He is still feeding His people
He loves us
He loves you
He is constantly calling to us to come closer to Him

His Grace is here
His Grace is with us in many forms
Are you watching? 
Are you listening? 
Are  you participating?

Do you hear His call?
His invitation

To this moment of Grace…

Are you wise?

NYC – Metropolitan Museum of Art – Death of Socrates

The Death of Socrates
Jacques-Louis David (French, 1748-1825)
1787

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time July 5, 2026
Zec 9:9-10; Ps 14: Rom 8:9,10-13; Mt 11:25-30

They called him a gadfly, a trouble maker
He went around the town asking questions and embarrassing others
He was getting the attention of the youth
And they were listening to him

Socrates lived in Athens, Greece
His friend had asked the Oracle at the Temple Delphi if there was anyone wiser than Socrates
The Oracle said no one in Athens was as wise as Socrates

Socrates was surprised
Because he knew he wasn’t wise
So, he began to question the poets, politicians, and scholars to find someone wiser than he
He discovered these men were not wise, even though some of them thought they were wise

So, Socrates concluded that the reason the Oracle proclaimed him wise was because he knew that he wasn’t wise

Today, Jesus exclaims, “I give you praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones.” (Matt 11:25)

“Jesus is heartened by those who accept him-- simple, humble people who do not trust in their own wisdom, and do not consider themselves to be wise and understanding.” (The Navarre Bible, 86)

He promises to give us rest
But how can we rest when he calls us to carry the cross? 


The fourth Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary 
The carrying of the Cross
Simon of Cyrene is made to carry the cross of Jesus
Jesus couldn’t carry the cross alone
Simon of Cyrene was there to help him

I don’t have to carry my cross alone
I have Jesus and His Church to help me

A yoke is designed to help the oxen shoulder the load easier
A cross is not designed to be carried 
It is bulky and hard to drag
The yoke of Christ makes our burden light

Jesus is calling us all to come to him
He will give us rest
So let us all take up His yoke and lighten our load
“For [his] yoke is easy, and [his] burden is light” (Matt 11: 30)

The Humility List

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
2 Kings 4:8-11; Ps 89; Rom 6:3-4, 8-11; Mt 10:37-42

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matt 10)

Jesus doesn’t mince any words
He tells it like it is
Being a follower of Jesus is a radical commitment 
Jesus is calling us to love him more than our families 

He is asking us to take up his cross and follow him
To lose our life
To die to ourself

How do we do that? 
How do I die to myself? 
When Jesus says our discipleship involves the Cross, what does this mean for you and me? 

St. Paul encourages the disciples at Philippi to:
“Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,
each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone for those of others.
Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,*

Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.

Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,

he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.” (Phil 2:3-8)

Have the same attitude as Christ Jesus
Who humbled himself 


So how do we become like Jesus? 
How do we become humble? 

The other day I was on my walk around town
And I came upon a woman working in her yard
I stopped and said hi and we visited a little 

She shared we me that she was teaching a Bible class at her church
She shared with me that she really liked Mother Teresa’s prayer of humility 

Although, I had heard of the Litany of Humility
I had not heard of this prayer of humility by Mother Teresa

So, I googled it….
I didn’t find a prayer, but I found a list
Saint Mother Teresa’s Humility List

Here it is:
1. Speak as little as possible about yourself.

2. Keep busy with your own affairs and not those of others.

3. Avoid curiosity.

4. Do not interfere with the affairs of others.

5. Accept small irritations with good humor.

6. Do not dwell on the faults of others.

7. Accept censures even if unmerited.

8. Give into the will of others.

9. Accept insults and injuries.

10. Accept contempt, being forgotten and disregarded.

11. Be courteous and delicate even when provoked by someone.

12. Do not seek to be admired and loved.

13. Do not protect yourself behind your own dignity.

14. Give in, in discussions, even when you are right.

15. Choose always the most difficult task.

When we are humble, we put ourself last
We put Jesus Christ first
And we love our neighbor

We use our gifts for the Glory of God
We take up the Cross of Christ
And follow him…

Counter-cultural

Cropped and straightened by JD; original photograph by Fennec., CC BY-SA 2.0 DE https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/de/deed.en, via Wikimedia Commons

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ June, 7, 2026
Corpus Christi

Dt 8;2-3, 14b-16a; Ps 147; 1 Cor 10:16-17; Jn 6: 51-58

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ also known as Corpus Christi

A few years ago, Teague and I were touring Germany about this time of year
One Thursday, our tour guide told us that it was a national holiday in Germany, and that many of the stores would be closed
The holiday was Corpus Christi

The feast of Corpus Christi is normally celebrated on Thursday following Trinity Sunday
I found it interesting that Corpus Christi was still being celebrated as a national holiday in Germany
The nation of Germany has become secular
The majority of the nation doesn’t practice any type of religion
So, I found it interesting that Germany still observed a Catholic solemnity as a holiday

It shows how strong and lasting culture can be
At one time Germany was a very Catholic nation
Catholic feast days were observed by the entire nation
In fact, the feast days were observed all over Europe
Today, many Europeans are Catholic in name only 
And do not practice their faith.

The United States is not a Catholic nation
The Feast of Corpus Christi is transferred to Sunday in the United States so more people can participate
The American culture is not Catholic
Christmas is the only Catholic feast I can think of that the American culture recognizes

It is hard to be Catholic in the American culture
The American culture conflicts with Catholic culture often

Here are some examples:
Catholics are expected to work on Holy Days
School lunchrooms only have a meat option on Fridays during Lent
Track meets are run on Good Friday
To be Catholic in the United States is to be counter cultural

We can’t change the culture of America overnight
But we can influence our own culture
We have our own culture here at Sacred Heart and Cristo Redentor

We have fish frys during Lent
We sing traditional hymns in our masses
We pray the rosary before funerals
We celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe
We have the the Mexican dance groups, Guadalupanas, Men’s group, Charismatic group, and have had other organizations throughout the years
We have the Jamaica fundraiser
This church building and the art and decorations are part of our culture

These help us remember
Remember where we came from
It’s important for us to remember our ancestors
Those who came before us
Those who built this church

The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is coming in one week
This is the feast day of our church
We should come together and celebrate this day

For over twenty years, I have seen priests try to bring the parish together and celebrate this day
But not many people come
I want to encourage you all to come to the feast
Come to the mass 
Come to the dinner after, and celebrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ
Celebrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Spearman

Cristo Redentor is a part of Sacred Heart of Jesus in Spearman 
Cristo Redentor is a fruit of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
I encourage Cristo Redentor to come and celebrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus

As we celebrate today the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
We remember Jesus
We remember that Jesus is always present 
We can see His presence in the Eucharist 
We remember that Jesus is present in the most Holy Body and Blood
“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life,” (Jn 6)

To believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is to be counter cultural
To believe that Jesus is present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist is Catholic

We remember, we celebrate, we believe… 

Be Thou My Vision

Carl is an old friend from college. I still remember him telling me my favorite joke about the three legged dog that walked into the bar. The dog looked at the bartender and said, “Barkeep, all I want to know is who shot my Pa?

Carl called me last fall. He had been going to the Catholic Church. Carl was Catholic, but hadn’t really been to church in quite some time. Anyway, he and his wife had been attending his local church, and his wife was going to OCIA, which stands for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. His wife was Confirmed and came into the Church this past Easter Vigil.

During these past few months, Carl has called or texted a few times to tell me about their journey and all the things he has learned. It is always a blessing to hear from him, and how God is working in his life.

Towards the end of Easter, Carl called me and said, “Winger, I’ve got a story.” It began with him riding around in his pickup listening to Catholic radio. I asked him to write it down, so I’ll let him tell it….

As I recall, I was in the ranch truck heading to Fredericksburg to get feed, most likely coming from our ranch in Harper. I always listen to EWTN, the Catholic station, during the 12:00–2:00 p.m. hour. It has filled the void left by Rush Limbaugh.

A children’s story came over the airwaves — a story about Saint Bega. It ran for several minutes and told of her devotion to God and her interaction with angels. In the background, there was a melody playing softly, almost indistinctly: a violin and harp playing a haunting tune.

It struck me as beautiful.

Several times, I tried to identify the instrumental using the Shazam app on my iPhone, which can recognize songs by listening to them. At least five times it came back as “undiscernible,” perhaps because the music was so faint. Finally, it caught the tune: “Be Thou My Vision.”

I was delighted. I had never heard that hymn before.

I looked it up on my Amazon Music subscription and listened to various artists until I found the version I recognized — the instrumental by the Webb Family.

At the end of the day, back home, I told my wife, Rhesa, about the song. She, a former Baptist, had never heard it either. I told her how beautiful and haunting it sounded to me and said, “I would like that played at my funeral.”

Of course, she looked at me a little sideways.

I then asked her, “Do you think Amy Vorhees, the music director at Saint Mary’s, would know and play this song at a Mass if requested?”

She replied, “You can only ask.”

The week went by. One day I even tried to play it on our piano. I have no musical training, but I managed to bang out a few notes from the opening riff.

Sunday came, and we were headed to the 9:00 a.m. Mass — running a little behind, but still manageable.

We arrived at our front gate, where we can either go left or right toward Fredericksburg. Going left is a bit longer but fully paved. Going right is paved for a while and then turns into a dirt county road. Rhesa had just gotten a new car, and it was spotless.

We sat at the gate briefly discussing which way to go. Finally, I said, “We’re running a little late. Let’s go right. It’s a little dusty, but not bad since we recently had rain.”

So we headed right.

About a mile up the road, we saw a large whitetail buck tangled in our fence, completely suspended off the ground by his antlers, which were caught through the wire. We stopped, and I tried briefly to help him. He was very much alive — struggling and kicking.

Our ranch hand lives nearby, so I contacted him, explained the situation, and asked him to bring a rope.

At first, we decided to continue on to Fredericksburg. But another half mile down the road, I had the feeling he would need help getting the buck free. I told Rhesa, “I need to go back and help.”

We turned around. Rhesa dropped me off and headed back to the house to get another rope.

Shortly thereafter, help arrived. After a brief struggle, we managed to free the buck. He was fine — his antlers a little messed up — but he ran off.

A few minutes later, Rhesa returned, and I got back in the car. By then, though, it was too late to make Mass in Fredericksburg.

We discussed what to do. Rhesa suggested, “Let’s just go to the 11:00 Mass.”

I replied, “That’ll take up most of the day.”

Then she said, “Why don’t we just go to Saint Anthony’s in Harper? It’s closer, and we can still make the 9:00.”

Agreed.

We headed to Harper.

When we arrived, a friendly parishioner greeted us and mentioned that, because it was Mother’s Day, they were having a fish supper and Mass had been moved to 9:30.

We took our seats in the pews and waited. The Rosary was prayed, and then Mass began at 9:30.

The entrance procession began with a hymn. But the very next hymn played in that little church in Harper, Texas, was “Be Thou My Vision.”

I sat there in total amazement, looking over at Rhesa and thinking about how the Holy Spirit works.

When I heard Carl’s story, I just laughed. I told him a similar story that Teague had with a song that she had been thinking about. Carl wondered what the odds were of all these things happening like they did. I told him that I had heard once that there were no coincidences, only God-incidences, and this wasn’t a coincidence. He asked me if he should tell his priest, and I told him for sure he should tell him.

Carl called a few days ago, and I asked him if he had told his priest the story yet. He said, “No, he hadn’t been to see him,” “but he said, “I know what he’s going to say.”

I asked, “What?”

Carl replied that his priest would say, “The Holy Spirit was with you that day!”

Discerning the Priesthood

This is my son Ryan, and how he discerned the priesthood. I am very proud of him.