THE CALL OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD TO SERVE.........

The 4th Sunday of Easter in our Catholic-Christian tradition is focused on the Risen Jesus as the Good Shepherd of souls, who benevolently tends to the sheep of His flock. Jesus the Good Shepherd is the prototype for all earthly shepherds, those in the fields actually watching over lambs and sheep in the world and the pastors of the people of God in the Church. Good Shepherd Sunday also opens Vocations Awareness Week during the 4th Week of Easter. Whether we are single, married, professed or ordained, every person has a vocation, that is a call from God to serve by the lives we lead. Marriage is the vocation most people choose and it is the vocation that forms and shapes future priestly and religious vocations. The Church in the world and specifically in the Diocese of Sacramento needs an increased number of vocations to the priesthood and religious life from within our very own diocesan family. In our 123 history, the Sacramento Diocese has produced from native born, locally grown priests, only a sliver of the vocations we have needed to minister to the People of God in the parishes of these 20 counties of Superior California. When I was ordained a priest 22 years ago, in the 100th anniversary year of the Diocese of Sacramento, there had been fewer than forty native born priests ordained for the Church of Sacramento. Today, more than two decades later there are still only fewer than seventy American born priests in our diocesan presbyterate. Jesus the Good Shepherd is not calling fewer locally grown vocations in our Diocese, the deficiency is in the response to the invitation. Families and parishes must do much more to promote and produce priestly vocations. As strong as God's Call was in my own choice of a priestly vocation, without the support and encouragement of my family, parish priests and fellow parishioners, I could have easily followed another vocational path. What is your family or parish doing presently to tend the lambs that may well be the next locally grown, native born, priestly vocations to shepherd God's People in the Sacramento Diocese ? The challenges we face of identifying with, and understanding the priests who serve us and the priests ability to appreciate our culture and model of church, will require that we step up and cultivate the priests we need from within our own houses of God.
The Good Shepherd is calling. Will you answer His call ?.........Fr. Troy

EMMAUS : THE ROAD TO THE ETERNAL EASTER.........

3rd SUNDAY OF EASTER

After the Resurrection Narratives in John's Gospel, Chapters 20 & 21, my favorite Easter gospel story is the Road To Emmaus, Luke 24:13-35. From my childhood to the present day, each Easter Season whenever I hear or read about the journey of the two anonymous disciples, my heart burns with zeal just as theirs did. What starts as an eager passage of two believers from town to village, becomes a profound conversation with the Risen, but as of yet unrecognized Glorified, Christ. Our Gospel Proclamation on this 3rd Sunday of Easter is essentially the follow-up to the Road to Emmaus event. Speaking to them of the necessity the Christ had to suffer, He shows the disciples His wounds and proceeds to help them understand the Scrptures, so as to be able to begin to appreciate the meaning and purpose of the Paschal Mystery. Sharing a meal together representative of the Eucharist, this exchange underscores the primacy of the Word of God in the lives of believers. The insight for us as Jesus' followers here and now, is that we experience the fullness of the Paschal Mystery, His Passion, Death, and Resurrection, from both the table of the Liturgy of the Word and the table of the Liturgy of the Eucharist. That is why Sunday Mass is the essential link we have to discovering the presence of the Risen and Redeeming Jesus in our midst. May you take that redemptive presence with you into the 3rd week of Easter ahead.........Fr. Troy

EASTER: HIGH HOLY SEASON OF 50 GLORIOUS DAYS........

THIS IS THE FULL TEXT OF A PARISH BULLETIN COLUMN FOR THE 2ND SUNDAY OF EASTER, THAT WAS ONLY PARTIALLY PUBLISHED. I SUBMIT IT FOR YOUR READING ENJOYMENT IN ITS COMPLETENESS. tdp



The Easter joy we as Catholic-Christians possess during these 50 Days is a truly glorious experience of the New and Risen Life of Jesus the Christ. Alleluia !, is not only the operative word on our lips, but the paschal song in our hearts. The Church as the Body of Christ in the world, must be the leaven of holiness and righteousness transforming the human experience. Sadly, fallen human nature and the selfishness of sin continues to compete with the Paschal Mystery, as evidenced by the evil and violence we have recently witnessed in Oakland, Pittsburgh, New York, and in Tracy, California. The Risen Christ did not endure suffering and death to perpetuate killings and murder, but to free God's People from sin and death. And so as His disciples we must pray, work, and minister, for the conversion of sinners and the abolition of all vestiges of evil and violence in the world. And our efforts cannot be aimed just at non-Christians or unbelievers. There is alarming need to do so, in the Church as well as well as outside it. When a Sunday School teacher is charged with the heinious taking of a young girl's life, it should be a wake up call to all Catholic-Christians to set our lives on the paths of "sincerity and truth", Paul the Apostle admonishes us to follow. If we are to be true to the Risen Jesus as our Lord and Savior, then we must fully practice what we profess by doing, more than speaking, and advancing the call to holiness in our everyday lives. May our affirmation of the Paschal Mystery help us succeed in eradicating the evil and violence that pierces too many hearts.........Fr. Troy

WELCOME TO MY NEW BLOG...INSIGHTS INTO LIFE + FAITH BY FATHER TROY POWERS

This is the premiere edition of my new blog, which is now the place my parishioners, friends, and fellow believers, can find my weekly Sunday columns, on the theological, scriptural, sacramental, liturgical, ecumenical, and social gospel, messages I wish to share with you. I have entitled my blog, "INSIGHTS INTO LIFE AND FAITH", BY FATHER TROY POWERS, and it is my intention to proceed here in the same manner I have until now written my Sunday Bulletin columns.

By way of introduction I am Reverend Father Troy David Powers, age 52, a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Sacramento for 22 years. A native of South Sacramento, I attended these public schools in Sacramento: Woodbine Elementary School, Charles Goethe Junior High School, Luther Burbank Senior High School, Sacramento City College, and California State University Sacramento. My undergraduate education major was Political Science/Government, with a minor in History, and my concentration was in the American Presidency.

I attended two theologates, St. Kieran's Seminary, in Kilkenny Ireland, and St. Patrick's Seminary, in Menlo Park, California. I received a Certificate in Theology from St. Kieran's and a Masters in Divinity, from St. Patrick's seminaries. Ordained to the Transitional Diaconate on April 19, 1986, Ordination to the Priesthood at the hands of Bishop Francis Anthony Quinn, took place in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacramento in Sacramento, on May 2, 1987.

Having served my Deacon Year in St. Joseph's Parish, Auburn; I have served in 10 parishes to date as a priest, Holy Family Parish, Citrus Heights; St. John the Baptist Parish, Folsom; Holy Rosary Parish, Woodland; St. Joseph's Parish, Yreka; St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Oroville; Our Lady of Lourdes, Del Paso Heights/Rio Linda; St. Rose's Parish, South Sacramento; Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Philomene's Parishes, Arden/Arcade.
An Associate Pastor/Parochial Vicar in the Citrus Heights, Folsom, Woodland, South Sacramento, and Arden/Arcade parishes, I have served as Pastor of the parishes in Yreka, Oroville, and Citrus Heights.

This priestly and pastoral experience, united with my naturally inquiring mind make me want to share my thoughts with you in writing, in a timely, meaningful, and pertinent manner. Thank you for taking the time to read my offerings now and in the weeks to come. "Insights Into Life + Faith", is here to help you on your personal and communal journeys to grow in your relationship with the Risen Jesus and the Church, and the faithful and fervant discipleship Jesus the Christ is inviting you to share.........Gratefully Yours in the Redeemer of Humankind, Father Troy...