What’s God’s Original Plan for Marriage? 
 
“I am never going to marry. Marriage is difficult! It is marked by a lot of brokenness, unfaithfulness, misery, and unhappiness,” a young lady once said those words to me. She had witnessed several broken marriages in her family circle and those of her friends as well. In fact, her own parents are divorced. Indeed, marriage can be tough. I have known people who didn't take me seriously when I offered counsel on marriage. “Father, you are celibate, what do you know about conjugal love, about marriage,” a woman once said to me during an office visitation in 2001, barely a year after my ordination. What do I know about marriage? Nothing other than the marriage of my parents that I witnessed at the close view as their son. But still, I don't know the nitty-gritty of marriage. What I do see however in the public view are examples of broken marriages. Listening to Josh Groban’s song, Broken Vow, gave me some access to the emotional and mental agony involved in broken marriage vows: the sense of loss, the fear of loneliness, the notion of betraying and cheating spouse, etc. But nevertheless, the vows are meant to be fulfilled till death separates the spouse. 
 
Isn’t that what Jesus says to us in Mk 10:2-16? Conjugal love must be lived in fidelity to God’s original plan. The marriage vow is a lifetime covenant never to be broken. The Catholic church teaches from her understanding of the Bible and Sacred Tradition that marriage is indissoluble. Quoting from Genesis 2: 18-24, Jesus answers the question posed by the Pharisees, is it permissible “for a husband to divorce his wife?” by saying that "God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate” (Mk 10:6-9). In those words of Jesus lies the key to God’s purpose for marriage and how to sustain it. Once couples get the intention of God in their union-their eternal union and unity in God, they will get the clear message that God’s entrance into their union is the best way to sustain the union, hence, marriage's indissolubility. “Therefore what God has joined together, let no human being separate.” There is no room for divorce in a valid and licit reception of the sacrament of matrimony. As prophet Malachi said: “I hate divorce! Says the Lord God” (Mal 2:16).
 
There are of course valid cases for annulment if the marriage from the start never existed. Once that case can be established by the diocesan marriage tribunal, a marriage can be annulled. Nevertheless, in God’s original plan, a valid marriage commitment should be lifelong, no matter the difficulties that will be experienced. There are many ways to keep the marriage vow till death. There is counseling available but there is also the availability of God who binds a couple together. Go to God as a couple when things start going south. Don’t allow the wounds of distrusts and disappointments to fester before you fall on your knees together to seek the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God. At Cana, she interceded on behalf of the couple running out of wine, that is, joy. Praying the rosary together and with faith is a huge help in getting through the "difficulties” of marriage. 

Talking about praying the rosary, we are in the month of the holy rosary. Pray your rosary more intentionally for peace in our world and protection for the unborn who face the menace of abortion. In October, the Catholic Church in the U.S. celebrates Respect Life Month, and the first Sunday of October is designated as Respect Life Sunday. There are many resources on https://www.usccb.org/ to guide us through the observance of Respect Life Month. In our parish, we shall be praying the Rosary every Sunday in October after the 8:30 am mass at the Marian grotto. Please join us in praying for respect for all life from conception to natural death. 
 “St. Joseph, defender of life, pray for us!” 
 
-Fr. Bernard, OP
 

 
      
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
 
                                                                    All of us are Prophets!
 
Moses says to Joshua in the book of Numbers: "Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets! Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all" (v. 29). The vocation and mission of the laity in the Church and the world is essentially a prophetic one. The apostolic exhortation of Pope St. Paul II, Christifideles Laici (Christ's Faithful Laity), is very instructive here. We read in the exhortation that it "intends to stir and promote a deeper awareness among all the faithful of the gift and responsibility they share, both as a group and as individuals, in the communion and mission of the Church" (2:30).  
 
In the New Evangelization dispensation of the Church, the apostolic mission is not a prerogative of the clergy and religious alone; it is the task of every Catholic. Exclusivity must yield to inclusivity in this regard and context. Joshua was fighting for the sustenance of the exclusivity club, but Moses and Jesus in the Gospel of Mark argue for extension and openness to others. On the one hand, John makes a case against a man doing deeds in the name of Christ but does not belong to the exclusive group of appointed followers of Jesus. The Lord, on the other hand, encourages a somewhat broader and enlarged vision of those who have the access and right to promote his mission: "Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me" (Mk. 9:39). 
 
Haven't we at some point been very closed-in? We have, at some point or another, directly or indirectly, encouraged and cultivated an opinion of exclusivity politically, socially, economically, racially, and spiritually? Haven't we toyed with the idea that the grace and spirit of Jesus are restricted to only us? But in a more subjective and limited way, have we not in some way limited the task of evangelization to only a select group in the Church-clergy and religious? That needs to change. All of us baptized Catholics are filled with the Holy Spirit and so summoned and sent to proclaim the Good News of Christ's redemption to all. The world and the Church need more prophets-witnesses in words and deeds to the Gospel. Just as Moses could not do it alone, so is it impossible for clergy and the religious to do it alone. All hands must be on deck to get Jesus into the mainstream of society and our parishes. In the spirit of Moses, how glorious would it be if all Catholics were prophets? And indeed, we are. 
 
One of the ways you can sharpen your prophetic tools and be a more efficient prophet is to have a good knowledge of the Bible. The parish Bible study just began on September 21. There are eight weeks of bible study as a parish. Have you considered joining your brothers and sisters in this worthy and noble task? Biblical proficiency is one of the ways we can fulfill the goals of Pope St. John Paul II's exhortation in Christifideles Laici; for the lay faithful to become prophets of the New Evangelization in the Church and the World at large. Please, Sign up! 
 
Let me seize this opportune moment to thank all of you who have supported me in various ways to remain a prophetic voice for the Gospel and the Church. It has been Twenty-One years of priesthood, and with you, I say, Thank You, God, for your faithfulness. 
 
In Christ, 
 
Fr. Bernard, OP 
 

 
                                                                        What’s In It for Us?   
 
What’s in it for us? Those words express the minds of the disciples of Jesus as he taught them again about his coming passion. They still did not get what discipleship entails. The preoccupation of their minds is how to attain power, privilege, and prestige rather than selfless service to the Kingdom. Who’s on first? Who is the greatest? Being successful and ahead in the secular sense is all they care about when Jesus was preparing them for his passion, a model for them as his followers. Jesus reminds them: “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all” (Mk 9:35). Are we willing to be servants of all? Are we willing to be last in order to be first? 
 
A child is presented to the disciples as a symbol of how to serve. The child in the Jewish society is a nobody, no social status or importance is accorded the child. Yet from the innocence and trust of the child, we learn lessons of how to be a selfless servant for the kingdom of God. Are we willing to be childlike? If we want to be leaders at service, it is clear that the making of a good servant is dependent on detachment from preoccupation with self so that we become available to God to use us in the service of others. 
 
This is my goal as a priest as I celebrate my twenty-first anniversary of ordination to the priesthood of Christ on Thursday, September 23rd, the feast of Padre Pio, my spiritual mentor. Listening to Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all,” got me re-thinking how I am called to be a priest at the selfless service of the people of God. I am thankful to God for all his kindness, mercy and love in the past twenty-one years. I am filled with gratitude and joy.  
 
I echo the words of the Psalmist, “Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord; cry out to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with a song of praise, joyfully sing our psalms (95:1-2). I invite you to join me in celebrating my priestly anniversary at 6 pm Mass on Thursday and after as I “lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord (Psalm 116:13). Please, come thank God with me and pray with and for me to be a selfless servant of all. 
 
In the service of the body of Christ, 
 
Fr. Bernard, OP 
 

                                                                     Are You All In?

One of our own, David Abel, and his Stewardship team are organizing a spiritual and devotional conference at the Historic Star Barn Village on September 15 and 16 2021 and I am encouraging everyone to register to attend. Why? Not only because it is being organized by one of our parishioners and the venue is just across from our parish grounds, but also because it is going to be a period of grace. I have attended the past editions of the conference and I was enriched by all the presentations and prayers made available.
 
We need to continue to feed our souls spiritually and this is one great opportunity to do so. Attending retreats and conferences are ways of growing in the knowledge of Jesus who asked his disciples in the Gospel of this Sunday’s mass, “who do you say that I am?” (Mk 8: 29). When we continue our search, we come to a better knowledge of who Jesus is and are able to proclaim him more effectively to the world. Once we know who Jesus is, it becomes easy to yield All In, that is, to love him with our entire heart, soul, mind, and strength. That is what the conference promises. Please, avail yourselves of the opportunity of attending by going online to register. Our own Bishop Ronald Gainer will be celebrating the opening mass on Wednesday, September 15. It will be nice if we can turn out in large numbers to welcome him and let him know the great things we are doing here at St. Peter.
 
It is another anniversary of the tragic event that took place on September 11, 2001. Let us remember and pray for all who died in that ugly event. Let us honor the memory of all our heroic firefighters, policemen, and emergency medical officers who gave their lives. Let us pray for all who serve our local communities in this capacity.
 
In Christ,
Fr. Bernard Oniwe, OP
 

                                                               Ephphata-Be Opened! 

Included in the order of Baptism for children is a ritual called "Ephphata". It is usually at the discretion of the celebrant to perform or skip it. I usually include it in baptisms because of its special symbolic value. This ritual act, similar to what Jesus did to a deaf man with speech impediment brought to him while he was in the district of Decapolis as we read from Mark 7: 31-37 involves the celebrant touching the ears and mouth of the child with his thumb as he says, “May the Lord Jesus, who made the deaf to hear and the mute to speak, grant that you may soon receive his word with your ears and profess faith with your lips, to the glory and praise of God the Father.”It is important for our spiritual growth and life of faith to listen and speak. We need to be opened in this regard. Are our ears opened to the word of life who speaks to us in the Scriptures and prayers? Do we speak words of life to people we encounter daily? We should be opened to this act.
 
 There are a couple of ways we can make ourselves opened to God’s word. First, we have to admit that our ears are not always opened. Second, we have to be disposed to opening our ears to words of knowledge and light. We should pray daily to the Holy Spirit to open our ears to God who speaks to us every day in the Bible and in prayers. In addition, we should make efforts to listen frequently to others who have been gifted to speak words of encouragement and words that build to us. We should find time to go on retreats and attend conferences where words of inspiration can open our ears and loosen our tongues to speak of God’s love and mercy to others. This is contemplation and evangelization.
 
In this regard, I ask you to open up to the invitation to attend the Stewardship 21 conference at The Historic Star Barn Village from September 15-16. I attended previous conferences and was richly blessed. The theme this year is “All In: Love your Lord Heart, Soul, Mind, Strength.” I urge active participation of all of us at this conference that includes spiritual activities like Inspirational talks, Daily Mass, Adoration, and Stations of the Cross.
Let’s be opened to the voice of the Spirit that will be heard at this conference.
 
I want to say Thank You once again to the Council of Catholic Women and Men’s Club and all volunteers at the last Elizabethtown Fair. It was a successful witness to the joyful spirit of St. Peter Catholic Church to the larger E-Town community. I had a great time helping with selling funnel cakes and fries at the parish pavilions. Our parishioners are just lovely and joyful people, and I love them all. I encourage you to join these groups as they need new members to continue to do the great work they are doing for our church. Be open to the possibility.
 
In Him who Opens,
Fr. Bernard, OP