Foot-washer

 On April 15 on this year (2019), the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris burst into flames.  As the fire was blazing on the roof of this remarkable church, imperiling the entire structure and the life anyone who entered, the chaplain of the Paris fire brigade, Father Jean-Marc Fournier, rushed in.  I want to share with you in his own words what he did and why: As soon as I arrived, there were two things that it struck me as absolutely essential to recover: firstly, the invaluable treasure that is the Crown of Thorns, then, of course, Jesus, present in the Blessed Sacrament.   Everyone understands that the Crown of Thorns is this precious, extraordinary relic, but the Blessed Sacrament is our Lord made flesh... you'll understand it's difficult to see someone you love perish in flames. He describes standing alone in the cathedral "surrounded by flames, fire and smoldering objects falling from the ceiling" as he rescued this relic and the consecrated Eucharist. [1] ...

  Given to the Syro-Malabar community of Louisville, Apr 7, 2019 (4th Week of Lent) at Holy Family Catholic Church for their Easter preparation retreat.   Thank you for the introduction friars, and the invitation to speak today.  I have known these Franciscan friars for at least six years and have greatly enjoyed their friendship and ministry here to you, to Bellarmine, and young adults.  They like to invite me speak, sometimes with not much warning. . One of my favorite Fr. John stories: I was travelling as a chaperone with him to Kerala for Christmas in 2013 along with a group of Bellarmine students.  We stayed at their gorgeous friary in Karukutty.  Kate and I went to morning mass with the novices there at 7am one of our first mornings there.  I was feeling a bit jetlagged from the long travel.  I listened to Fr. John read the Gospel, afterwards he said, “it is not our custom to give homilies at morning mass, so I would like to invite Ned to co...

  Catholic Schools Week Reflection,  February 6, 2019   During Catholic Schools Week last week, I was scrolling through my Facebook feed – Facebook, if you aren’t familiar with it, is like SnapChat but for old people—anyway, I was scrolling, and I saw two posts appropriate for today.   The first was from one of our Catholic grade schools in Louisville.   It had two girls in their uniforms holding a sign that read, “So Glad to Be in Plaid.”   The second was a very appropriate meme for our snowy week.   It read, “Some of y’all never endured an entire winter in a plaid Catholic school skirt and it shows.”   Today, many of you are wearing sweat shirts from your grade schools.   If you went to a Catholic grade school, maybe you are remembering the plaid jumpers and skirts that you wore for many years before coming to Mercy Academy.   Your grade school plaid skirt, and your Mercy plaid immediately identify you as a Catholic school s...

https://therecordnewspaper.org/couple-anticipates-deacon-family/ Kate Bulinski and Ned Berghausen played with their one-year-old son E.J. in their Highlands home Aug. 18. The couple is finding ways to balance their young family, careers and formation to the diaconate. (Record Photo by Ruby Thomas) By Ruby Thomas, Record Staff Writer As Ned Berghausen changed his one-year-old son in their Highlands home on a sunny August afternoon, he talked about juggling his family life and formation for the Archdiocese of Louisville’s diaconate ministry. Berghausen and his wife Dr. Kate Bulinski, a geologist, are getting ready to start their third year of formation for the diaconate this fall. Berghausen is a theology teacher and director of campus ministry at Mercy Academy. He said he’s “incredibly fulfilled” by that work. “It’s what I felt God called me to do,” he said. Yet, he feels called to something deeper still, he said. “I felt the calling to the diaconate is a calling within a calling,” he s...

 Published in the JagWire, Mercy Academy's alumni magazine. On September 22, we celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy, the anniversary of the day in 1827 on which Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy, opened the first “House of Mercy” in Dublin, Ireland.  Mercy Academy observed the day with a scholarship reception, a tribute to three of our Sisters of Mercy, and mass presided by Archbishop Joseph Kurtz. In his homily, the archbishop recalled one of the most beautiful lines from scripture, Psalm 85:11, “Mercy and truth have met each other; justice and peace have kissed.”   Other renditions of the first part of the verse have, “where mercy and truth meet.” That phrase would make a fitting motto for Mercy Academy. Before all of our wonderful academic, athletic, artistic and service programs, we are a “school of mercy.”   A place where we learn to forgive each other, to teach each other, to counsel, correct, and accept,   to be patient when we ...

A reflection written for Mercy Academy on Mercy traditions.  In this reflection, I am going to explore one of our Mercy rituals: praying the Hail Mary together on Friday mornings by joining hands and making a circle in the classroom.     On Tuesday, we celebrated the first mass of the year, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary.  We heard the first part of the Hail Mary proclaimed in the Gospel on the lips of Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin:  “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”  So, why do Catholics pray these words now?  We see in Mary what God did: a simple Jewish girl who said ‘yes’ to the terrifying, transformative path God laid before her.  Because of this she was chosen to become the Mother of God.  As she proclaimed, “He has looked with favor on his lowly servant / From this day all generations will call me blessed: / the Almighty has done great things for me / and holy is his Name.”  (NAB, Luke 1:46-...

Ash Wednesday Reflection. A reflection for an all school prayer service at Mercy Academy on  Feb 18, 2015.   What if you knew that you were going to die tomorrow? This last week we have gone through a riot of colors: red, lacy and a million shades of … pink for Valentine’s Day.   On Monday, a huge blanket of white enveloped us over what has turned into a longer-than-expected winter break.   Today brings us new colors, the purple of Lent (which is a symbol of repentance) and the dusty grey-black of ashes.     Ash Wednesday and Lent call us to remember our own mortality.   They are a reminder of the stark fact that we all, each one of us, are going to die.   If you are a teenager, you may not have given this much thought. You can be excused for feeling like you’re going to live forever. I sincerely hope that you don’t have much experience of death at your age.   It is worth considering, though, that how ever long your life is, it w...