100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Race!

I was fortunate to get invited to the Indianapolis 500 today. After the 8:00AM Mass for the 6th Sunday of Easter, I waited for Fr. Raymond who had the 8:00AM Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Anyway, he finally arrived and we were on our way. The weather was great for racing and the atmosphere was very exciting. Prior to the race, many of our service men and women processed down the track. I was very proud of them! Also, the new Auxilary Bishop Coyne of Indianapolis gave the prayer and eventually an amazing flyover captured everyone's attention. I believe it was a Stealth Bomber. Here is a clip (taken with my iPhone) of what we experienced: 



The day went by quite quickly because there were very few crashes and yellow flag delays for the drivers. Since it was Memorial Day, I decided pretty early on in the race to root for the #4 car with the National Guard advertisement  and a great rookie driver named JR Hildebrand. He did quite well until the very last lap when he unfortunately hit the wall and took second place. Congrats to Dan Wheldon who took the checkered flag. I came across the video of the finish since I was not able to see what happened at the track. Here is that video:



All in all, today was a great day! Mass at 8:00AM followed by an incredible Indy 500 Race. I was also so glad that our service men and women received so much encouragement from the race fans for all that they do for the United States of America. We are a blessed nation to be free. It was awesome to be able to be part of the greatest spectacle in racing once again. 


I also forgot to mention something else that happened today before the race. My nephew pointed this out to me because he watched some of the race from New York. Anyway, today a world record was broken. A life size Hot Wheels car made an incredible jump. Enjoy!

Memorial Day Weekend!

On Monday May 30th, 2011, our nation will celebrate Memorial Day. Memorial Day is the annual commemoration to the men and women who have died while in military service to the United States. Personally, I do not have immediate family members or friends who have died in the line of duty. My Grandpa Treas did serve during World World II, my Dad Jimmy served in the Navy, my other Dad Ray served in the Army National Guard, my Uncle Johnny served in Vietnam and a few of my cousins have served as well. Needless to say, I am very supportive of our military and anytime I find out someone has served our country in this way, I always make a point to thank them for their service. Just yesterday, at a wedding rehearsal, I met a man who had served in the Korean War in the United States Air Force.

I can say that I have a strong acquaintance with someone who served as a Navy Chaplain and did give his life in Vietnam. Servant of God Vincent Capodanno is a man who has encouraged me in my priesthood over the years through his own priestly example and ultimately with the sacrifice he made for the marines that he served. His cause for canonization is underway. He had served for some time as a Maryknoll missionary priest. Eventually, he felt the call from God to serve our nation in the marines to the soldiers in Vietnam.

Hopefully, one day soon, Fr. Capodanno will be declared Blessed Vincent Capodonno and then Saint Vincent Capodanno. He was known by his marines as "The Grunt Padre" because he met his marines where they were at and he shared with them that no matter what, they would be alright. The book The Grunt Padre by Fr. Daniel Mode is what helped me to get to know this holy man and priest. The video at the end of this post will give you more of an idea of the life Servant of God Vincent Capodanno lived and how he touched so many lives.

Thank you to all the men and women who have served to protect our freedoms as Americans. There are so many who are serving right now and who are in harms way so that we may be free. We cannot take their service and sacrifices for granted because they are not for themselves but for you and I. Also, we must never forget them and keep them in our prayers. Happy Memorial Day!

Enjoy these tributes to Fr. Capodanno found at the following website:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pgcXacm538

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN0m3ouB_YI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmSKiTulI68&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-qbDzwOv9Y&feature=related

Sore legs = It was worth it!

The 2011 Race for Vocations was a success. We had a lovely Friday evening with a beautiful Mass. Father Eric Johnson, vocation director for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, had a nice homily and Saint John the Evangelist Parish Downtown Indy was the perfect setting for the Mass for Vocations and pasta dinner. Many young adults, family members and friends of our team were in attendance.

This year was the 14th time I have run the Mini Marathon in Indianapolis. I was thankful to have run it and ran into many of my parishioners along the way. The difference this year was the cold I have been battling since Monday May 2nd but God helped me to finish my race. The Race for Vocations scripture verse that has helped our team members these last four years is from Saint Paul's First Letter to Timothy chapter 4 verse 7 "I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith." Thank you God and for so many people who prayed for me and all the Race for Vocations participants. We had a great day and beautiful conditions to compete. Also, the post race tent was filled with activity as many people stopped by to have a bite to eat, grab a drink and share stories of their races. Hopefully, a few more people will consider the vocation God is calling them too and maybe a few will decide to take a closer look at priesthood or religious life.

With all this in mind, and many sore legs of our over 185 participants, the 2012 500 Festival Mini Marathon/5K Race for Vocations is now less than a year away. Guess what? You can now get signed up for the 2012 Mini Marathon and 5K! Visit https://www.signmeup.com/site/online-event-registration/76281 Remember that the Mini fills up quick! Also, visit http://archindy.org/vocations/race.html to sign up to be on the Race for Vocations Team in 2012. God bless you and keep praying for vocations. Father Joshua

Happy Second Sunday of Easter - Divine Mercy Sunday!

Happy Second Sunday of Easter! Since 2002, this Sunday has also been called Divine Mercy Sunday. We are blessed as a Church as well because earlier today (Rome, Italy time) Servant of God John Paul II was declared Blessed John Paul II. That's right, his beatification was held in Saint Peter's Square in Rome. From the news commentary this morning, it was said that every pilgrim in Rome would have the opportunity to venerate Blessed John Paul II. There were like 1 million people in Rome for this amazing event. Thank you Dad for recording it for me. I can't wait to watch it with you.

Today's Feast is aimed at focusing our attention on one of the most wonderful attributes of Almighty God - His Divine Mercy. He is ever patient and merciful to us who struggle at times with sin and is always ready for us to return to Him with open hearts when we go astray and/or turn our backs on Him. 

At my parish today for Divine Mercy Sunday, we had the Sacrament of Reconciliation available from 1:00PM - 3:00PM. Then, we had a Hour of Eucharistic Adoration from 3:00PM - 4:00PM during the Hour of Mercy. During that time, we prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet and spent time in quiet prayer. What a powerful afternoon with Jesus and His Divine Mercy. Many people turned to Him for forgiveness and His grace. Thank you God!


My evening ended on Divine Mercy Sunday with another blessing. I was able to hang out with our youth group which I like getting to do when I am able. Our Director of Youth Ministry Paul (awesome guy with awesome wife and awesome son) brought in a wonderful lady from California tonight to talk to our kids. Jackie Francois blessed us with a beautiful message of God's love and her gift of music. I especially loved her song entitled "Your Kingdom is Glorious." If you are able, her album is available on iTunes. I downloaded it and have enjoyed it so far. Here is a video that was made a few years ago with Jackie singing this song:

God bless you and Happy Easter, especially Happy Divine Mercy Sunday!

Father Joshua