APRIL 27, 2014 WILL BE THE DAY BLESSEDS JOHN XXIII AND JOHN PAUL II WILL BE CANONIZED SAINTS.............

The Vatican announced yesterday that the Date for the Canonization of the soon to be new Saints of the Catholic-Christian Church, +Angelo Roncalli; and + Karol Wojtyla; more popularly known as Pope John XXXIII - October 28, 1958-June 3, 1963; and Pope John Paul II - October 16, 1978-April 2, 2005; will be held in Rome, next April 27, 2014.............tdp

WILL THE 113TH CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES REALLY SHUTDOWN OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ?,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Less than fourteen hours from now unless the Members of Congress can reach agreement on a Continuing Resolution to continue funding federal programs, the United States Government will be Shutdown to the detriment of the American People.  This shutdown will be nothing more than a political ploy that will hurt and diminish the everyday citizens of this country, while advancing the prerogatives of political parties and putative presidential candidates three years from now.  An actual Government Shutdown will likely last not just days, but for several weeks - potentially hammering vital benefits such as Social Security, Veterans Benefits and SSI Disability and Retirement support.  Are the Members of the House and Senate really so self interest focused that they will risk the stability of all Citizens to prmote themselves and compete with their rivals for higher office, power, and personal prestige ?  Shame on those who hypocritically serve themselves while pointing fingers and blaming others for the problems we face and obstructing and destroying the possibility for consensus, bipartisanship, and progress in addressing and resolving the critical issues confronting the USA, including universal health care and the federal budget deficit national debt.  With the primacy of Politics supplanting the priority for putting Principle first, which all Americans deserve of their governmental and public service leaders. as unlikely as it now seems let us hope a compromise consensus can be reached before 12 Midnight Eastern Time tonight.  Can they ?  Will they ?  My forthright question of ALL the Members of Congress is, why are you not getting the jobs you were elected to do, done ?  The latest of the hour underscores your dereliction of  duty in a  public trust that is not your personal property but instituted for the betterment the poor, middle income, and the affluent alike, one Nation under God, for, by, of, and with the American People.............Fr.  Troy David

PUTIN DECLARES SUPPORT FOR RUSSIAN RELIGIOUS VALUES.............

Speaking to the Valdai Discussion Group this week Russian President Vladimir Putin told them in order to preserve the integrity of  Russian Values that the retention of their National and Cultural Identity.  President Putin, not particularly known for espousing or promoting Religious and Spiritual matters, his address came as a surprise to his audience and much of Russia and the World.  I will blog further about what Putin said and why ? during the week ahead.............Fr.  Troy David

SACRAMENTO FRIENDS FETE THE SILVER JUBILARIAN.............

Joe Gibson, Ruth Rosenberg, Tammy and Victor Herrera, are among the guests who will join Msgr. Kavanagh and I, in feting Fr. Oliver Maher in Sacramento tonight, on the occasion of his Silver Jubilee of Priesthood and for being a truly wonderful friend, brother, and cherished servant of God's People in our lives.  It was the best way we could think of to allow the Silver Jubilarian to see and share the occasion of his visit to California this year ,with a good number of those who know him in Sacramento.  No matter how many attend, a very good time is sure to be had as we congratulate and celebrate with this truly commendable Priest of Jesus The Christ.............Fr.  Troy David

JUBILATING TOWARD CALIFORNIA'S CAPITAL CITY FOR A DAY AND A HALF.............

The Ossory Silver Jubilarian and I are heading North on Pacific Coast Highway 1 and the scenic view of the Ocean as we go SLO up to SAC for about a forty hour visit and a dinner tomorrow night with some of Ollie's Sacramento Friends for a a 25th Anniversary jubilation at the Riverside Clubhouse in Old Land Park.  Per his request a low key gathering to meet and greet some of the people he has met in Sacramento parishes and the wider community over the past 26 years and who respect and admire him as a Salt of the Earth fine priest and faithful.  Among our chief guests tomorrow evening is Msgr. Ned Kavanagh, who is a native of  Urlingford, County Kilkenny, Ireland where Fr. Oliver is currently ministering for the past two years as Parish Priest.............Fr.  Troy David

THE TV SERIES RETURNS OF MICHAEL J. FOX AND ROBIN WILLIAMS TONIGHT.............

80's TV superstars Michael J. Fox and Robin Williams, return to network series television tonight, Williams in 'The Crazy Ones', on CBS; and Fox, in the 'Michael J. Fox Show', on NBC.  Fox stars in a family situation comedy centered around him as a local newsman with Parkinsons Disease in real life actual condition.  Williams stars as a zany adveetising man with a grown daughter played by Sarah Michelle Geller, and the crazy antics they get up to, as the show's premise.  It has been nearly fifteen years since the onset of Parkinson's caused MJF to leave his second hit tv series, 'Spin City', his second consecutive successful along with 'Family Ties'.  RW was last in a tv series 30 years ago with the widely popular, 'Mork and Mindy', a spin-off of , 'Happy Days'.  Tonight they both return to television weekly, starting out with Premeire episodes going opposite each other head to head at 9 pm Eastern and Pacific; 7 pm Central and Mountain across most of the USA, on CBS and NBC.  Tens of millions are sure to be watching.  Will you ??.............tdp

WAS THE HISTORICAL JESUS A ZEALOT ?.............

A new book by Historical Jesus researcher Reza Aslan, which is already on the New York Times Bestseller List, asks and delves into the question of if the Historical Jesus was as the book is entitled a, "Zealot" ?  Described as an, "unorthodox, fascinating, look at Jesus"; Zealot: The Life And Times Of Jesus Of Nazareth, explores the question of whether The Christ of All Creation in His History as God Who Became Man was actually liasioned with the Zealot Party as the Lord and Savior of Humankind and the Universe.  I have my copy of the book ordered and will blog further about it once I have read and pondered it,  From what I have seen and heard about, "Zealot", this week it sounds like it will be an evocatively interesting read.............Fr.  Troy David

THE CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE 2013.............

POTUS 42, William Jefferson Clinton who on his post Presidency founded and is overseeing the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), with assistance from his married daughter Chelsea, and joined now by his wife former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, has been making the rounds of the media in the past few days.  With the CGI holding its annual meeting in New York City this week, two of Clinton's appearances have been on, "Late Night With David Letterman", and on, "CBS This Morning", with  Charlie Rose and Norah O'Donnell.  In both of these interviews he shared information and insight on a particular CGI process currently underway, the Clean Water Project which provides clean drinking water for peoples in second and third world countries.  This ongoing kind of post presidential role be it on the part of Clinton, the Presidents Bush, or Jimmy Carter, who established the model, as an alternative to racking hundreds of thousands of dollars in speaking fees and memberships on corporate boards prior to that time,  May the efforts being made in this way catapult more of the World's citizens to step up and deliver in addressing the real needs facing the nations around the Globe.............Fr.  Troy David

"BEGIN AT THE END", IS EXACTLY WHAT WE ARE DOING.............

My San Jose seminary classmate, Reverend Father David Mercer, Pastor of St. Thomas of Canterbury Parish in San Jose, entitled his Sunday Homily yesterday, "Begin at the End"; and I have posted it on my Facebook page for your consideration.  The I read it with its title, I thought how appropriately it applies to what Fr.  Oliver are doing during his nine day Silver Jubilee of Priesthood observance with me, which started at midday yesterday.  These days begin in Sacramento, where we stayed overnight and where we will end this visit of his to the Golden State as we move on today, to enjoy sights and sounds, south and north of the City by the Bay, but will return for our last night in SanFrancisco, just as we have several of the twelve times Ollie has visited me in California since 1987.............Fr.  Troy David

ON THE WAY TO VISIT ME AS WE CELEBRATE HIS SILVER JUBILEE IN CAL -I - FOR- NI- A !!!!!!!!!!!!!.............

My loyal and ever true seminary classmate, stellar, priestly colleague, and all but blood brother, Reverend Father Oliver Desmond Maher is in flight at this hour from Ireland. He is coming to California, journeying for the fifth time in the past eleven years of our 31 year association, out of consideration for my health and well being.  This visit is in celebration of his Silver Jubilee of Ordination to the Priesthood 25th Anniversary observance.  I was scheduled to have been there with him in Urlingford, County Kilkenny in June, but was unable to attend at the last moment.  Hardly missing a beat, he telephoned me within a matter of days after his celebrations in Kilkenny to suggest he might come over now to include me, just as he and Geraldine and Kevin Butler journeyed to California 17 months ago, on the occasion of  my Fr. Troy Jubilee 25 celebration in Sacramento. Kev and Ger's trip to to the States for the first time last year with Ollie which we had mutually anticipated happening for 22 years, was followed this summer by their son Neil's opportunity to spend four months in the greater Washington, D.C. area, from which he returned home to Ireland only yesterday - coincidentallly- given the silver jubilarian is flying out to the West Coast of the USA, today.  I eagerly embrace and profoundly appreciate Fr, Oliver's willingness to fold me into his milestone in ministry he is marking this year, by traveling across the miles to do so.  The icing on his Jubilee visit being it will be my first breakaway for more than doctor and hospital visits in eight months, that in many ways feels like its been eight years.  I plan not only to show Ollie the best and most memorable time I can for the next nine days holidaying in California, but maximize enjoying the normalcy of socially and spiritually replenishing body, soul, heart, and mind, spending this special time with him.  "Open up those golden gates, California here he comes", again !!!!!!!!!!!!  WELCOME BACK FATHER OLIVER DESMOND MAHER  25/50.............Your Brother in Jesus The Christ, For Life, Forever,  Troy David Powers

THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC PARTNERSHIP ON DISABILITY AND THE US BISHOPS PASTORAL STATEMENT 1978.............

In 1982, the year I entered seminary formation for my native local Diocese of Sacramento California, the Roman Catholic Church in the United States of America founded the 'National Catholic Partnership For Disability', an outgrowth of the 1978 U.S. Bishops Pastoral Statement on Persons With Disabilities.  I have been aware of the Pastoral Statement and National Catholic Partnership for Persons with Disabilities, (NCPD) for several years since my Ordination to the Diocesan Priesthood for the Church of Sacramento and our 20 counties, having ministered in 10 parishes in 5 counties of the twenty, since May 2, 1987.  I have become even more familiar with both the National Disability Partnership and the U.S.C.C.B. Pastoral Statement expressing support for, the Inclusion and Empowerment of, the Disabled in the Catholic Church and Society of the United States, as I strive to preserve my active priestly ministry and resume working full time after a year and a half of being involuntarily and unfairly warehoused in a seniors residence.  In this column today I will blog about it and share insights into how it applies to me and other disabled and still able to minister priests, religious, deacons, and laity, who are Catholic-Christians in the nation of the USA.
When the American Bishops of the Catholic Church authored their Pastoral Statement on involving Persons With Disabilities with the GOAL of their Full Inclusion in the Church and Society, as is attested to at the top of the NCPD web page on Facebook, they were being prophetic in the truth and fidelity of Jesus, and Gospel Values.  They were also being trailblazers in the USA, as their 1978 Pastoral Statement on our personal, communal, and national, responsibility for advancing full and equal opportunities, preceded the enactment of the Federal Government's Americans With Disabilities Law passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by President George Herbert Walker Bush, in 1990.  So why is their any question about the exclusion or obstacles to to accessibility for the Disabled 23-35 years after these landmark accomplishments, particularly in the U.S. Catholic-Christian Church ?.  To give you an introductory preview of the U.S. Catholic Bishops Pastoral Statement on Persons With Disabilities, which I will blog about more extensively in the weeks ahead, let me quote to you from the first paragraph of that Document.

 "The same Jesus who heard the cry for recognition of the people with disabilities  of Judea and Samaria 2,000 years ago calls us, His followers, to embrace our own responsibilities for our own disabled brothers and sisters in the United States.  The Catholic Church pursues its mission by furthering the spiritual, intellectual,moral, and physical development of the people it serves.  As pastors of the Church in America, we are committed to a deeper understanding of both the pain and the potential of our neighbors who are blind, deaf, mentally retarded, emotionally impaired, who have special learning problems, or who suffer from single or multiple physical handicaps - to all those whom disability may set apart.  We call upon people of goodwill to reexamine their attitudes toward their disabled brothers and sisters and promote their well being with the same sense of justice and compassion that the Lord so clearly desires. Further, realizing the unique gift individuals with disabilities have to offer the Church, we wish to address the need for their integration into the Christian community and their fuller participation in its life."...NOVEMBER 16, 1978 - 1st Paragraph of the U.S.C.C.B. Pastoral Statement on Persons With Disabilites

Why then, are I or any other disabled priest, religious, deacon, or lay person, in the Diocese of Sacramento or anywhere in the Catholic-Christian Community of the USA, delayed or denied the opportunity to serve and share in the mission and ministry of our Church, in carrying out the Vocation we have received by virtue of our Baptism coupled with either ordination, profession, or personal commitment ?  We must continue to work and pray for the enlightened and wholehearted  preference of all Bishops and their staffs, for including and empowering those of us who are Disabled not unabled.   What Does Jesus The Christ expect the Church He founded, to Do ???.............Father Troy David Powers

POPE FRANCIS ON BRINGING THE CATHOLIC CHURCH INTO THE MODERN WORLD OF THE 3RD MILLENNIUM.............

In his first major sit down interview with the mass media after six months as the Successor of St. Peter and Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Roman Catholic Church, published by the Jesuit Magazine, America; the Italian publication, La Civilta' Cattolica;  and fifteen other publications around the World, Pope Francis has admonished the Church about obsessing on select dogmas such as Abortion, Gay Marriage, and Contraception, and the need to focus on Mercy towards all persons, underscoring that the Church must be a larger inclusive community not a small chapel of select members.  Focusing on  Healing the Church and the divisions in Humankind, the Holy Father spoke openly about how often the Catholic Church has, "locked it self up in small things, in small minded rules",  Pope Francis declares the necessity to minister with pastoral sensitivity towards all people with affirmation for the dignity of the human person. Catholics, other Christians, non Christian religious believers, and Atheists, without exception, as creatures of a loving, compassionate, embracing, God.  Pope Francis as the Servant of the Servants of God is not being either radical or  reactionary in the words he spoke and pronouncements he made in this 12,000 word interview with the Italian, American, and global media, instead he was being inclusive in reaching out to the faithful and unbelievers alike, building bridges of reconciliation, renewal, and reform, for the Universal Church in the World of the 21st Century, so as not to become a museum of the Catholic Church of a former time and place.  God fortify Pope Francis for the duration of his leadership as the Vicar of Christ to honestly solidify Gospel Values by challenging all of us to Live and Share the Truth of God's Mercy and Love with the, "New Balance", of which this Holy Father speaks.............Fr.  Troy David

WAITING NOW THREE WEEKS MORE HEADING INTO FOUR FOR AN ACTIVE MINISTRY PLACEMENT AND ASSIGNMENT FROM THE DIOCESAN ADMINISTRATION.............

After spending the past year and a half patiently and perseveringly waiting for a positive and proactive placement and assignment in active ministry again, and having had the first productive and optimistic meeting to achieving that goal occur just three weeks ago, twenty two more days of inaction have elapsed and I still erroneously sit here on the sidelines of a senior citizens residence when I am far from being elderly or retired.  And why ?   Just because I happen to be in a wheelchair after a below the knee amputation of my leg ?  I have been a physically disabled person all my life and it has never vanquished me from attaining a fine education from elementary school to graduate school, through two theologates, the transitional diaconate, ordination to the priesthood, and more than a quarter of a century of active pastoral priestly parish and diocesan ministry, in sixteen different placements and assignments from September 4, 1961 until March 12, 2012.  From my first day of Kindergarten until just fifty three days short of my Silver Jubilee Day as a Priest of Jesus Christ and the first presbyteral ordinand in the second century of the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento California.  How is it in the minds and  hearts of the Diocesan Administration that I changed from being a productive priest and pastor, to being thought of as a burden and liability rather than an asset, between January 22, 2011 - the date my right leg was amputated below the knee; and March 12, 2012, when I was forced into this retirement community / assisted care facility and not allowed to  return to the the parish rectory of my pastorate; as though I am a leper, to be outcast and ignored ?  These are not only my questions but the concern of increasing number personal friends. parishioners, and community leaders, who are perturbed with the insensitivity being shown to me and my valued ministry for what is an indefinitely protracted period of time on the sidelines in this geriatric residence.  If you are one of those who believe as me, my doctors, and others do, that my being warehoused in MMT is unwarranted, and a waste of my capabilities, please let Bishop Soto know.  Until I receive a new placement and assignment that recognizes and affirms that Father Troy David Powers is disabled - not unable - to continue the public ministries of presiding and preaching at at Sunday and daily Masses, administering the Sacraments, and teaching the Catholic-Christian Faith, I will feel incomplete.  With Good Faith God's Will For Fairness, Justice, and the Opportunity, to  resume Full time Priestly Ministry in this, my Native Sacramento Diocese.............Fr.  Troy David

ORGANIZING FOR THE SACHEART AUTUMN 2013 DADS GROUP SESSIONS.............

With the 2013-14 R.C.I.A. ministry at Sacred Heart Parish in East Sacramento underway as of last night with thirteen prospective catechumens, candidates, and sponsors, in attendance for a thoroughly welcoming, informative, and introductory, overview presentation led by our R,C.I.A. / Adult Faith Formation Director Rita Spillane, I returned to my quarters at MMT reveling in the wonderful first session of the new Parish Year it was which begins my 30th year of involvement with the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, and proceeded to turn my attention to the necessary preparations parishioner Tom Davenport and I need to make in coming days for the Autumn Sessions of the SacHeart Dads Group, which I have agreed to continue facilitating starting up again next month.  After three half to five months of anticipation for these two parish ministries to resume again, I feel as enthusiastic as I always have at this time of year since I became a catechist in 1976.  My prayer tonight as I conclude this day is that every priest, deacon, religious, faith formation director, catechist, and lay minister, participating in Religious Education and Faith Formation are imbued with just such an ample infusion of God's Spirit.  Alleluia !!!  Amen !!!.............Fr.  Troy David

MONDAY'S MASS SHOOTING @ THE WASHINGTON D.C. NAVY YARD.............

An ordinary Monday morning in Washington D.C., began yesterday with no hint of the senseless act of violence that would destroy the lives of twelve persons and devastate their families, colleagues, and our nation.  Yet again, the United States is inflicted by an act of mass murder - an action increasingly unusual to this country with a laxity of gun laws regarding thorough background checks for those persons in legal possession of firearms.  Monday's perpetrator, a 34 year old U.S. Navy reservist and independent contractor employee, discharged from active day in the Navy in 2011, had been treated for mental illness which included hearing voices in his head and was cited for misconduct while in the Navy eight times according to news reports.  Why then could he walk into a gun store over the weekend and purchase the rifle he used on Monday to wantonly massacre twelve other people ?  Weak, if not existent at all background checks, are much of the reason.  So are the National Rifle Association and other over zealous gun rights advocates whose influence over the Congress helped defeat a National Background Check Law in April, in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut; and Aurora, Colorado; mass killings last year.  How much longer will we ignore or obstruct doing more to prevent these tragically unnecessary deaths.  Countries with stricter laws limiting access and uniformly enforcing background checks in order to purchase assault weapons, including the United Kingdom and Australia, have very few mass shootings while the USA has contended with fifty or more during the past five years.  For those legitimately concerned with the Second Amendment Right  to Bear Arms in the U.S. Constitution, let us ask ourselves, did the Founding Fathers who authored and enacted our Constitution intend by the words THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS so as to maintain A WELL ORDERED MILITIA- the oblivious, unregulated, access to, and use of , weaponry they hardly envisioned ?  I do not think they did.  The ravages of mass shooting Americans are being caused to endure argues for redirecting our local, state, and national, consensus to more effectively eradicate such  violence in this the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.............Fr.  Troy David

GINGERLY TAKING IT ONE STEP THEN ANOTHER FOLLOWED BY OTHERS.............

Eighteen months ago when I was thrust away from my pastorate Our Lady of Lourdes Parish on the northeast side of Sacramento and into the gerontology central of Mercy McMahon Terrace in East Sacramento, being told I needed to be here and not in a parish because I am in a wheelchair and have to stand and walk in order to celebrate Mass at an altar; one of the other essential disconnections I was made to endure has been distancing me by twice in the proximity from my physical therapist Quinn McArthur, with whom I was making increasing progress at learning to walk safely and successfully with my prosthetic leg. Thus the further progress I have made has been limited to my own efforts, and therapy I received at Mercy General Hospital and Sutter Roseville  Medical Center for two weeks this summer along with the subsequent outpatient home health therapy that followed.  For the past month and a half I have been back to practice walking on my own in my quarters at MMT.  Returning to weekly therapy with Quinn whose facility borders Carmichael and Citrus Heights,will cost me a few hundred dollars a week in taxi fares, as the Diocese has made no provision for the cost of my transportation, yet have stated I am a, "burden" to priests and parishioners if I depend on them for transportation or other accommodation.  So I am trying my best to increase my capacity to walk as normally as any amputee is capable of walking.   But I will continue to do it gradually and cautiously, knowing full well the detrimental setback a fall, or an infection would cause.  It is nearly three weeks after the meeting that please God, will lead to my return to full time  ministry befitting of a priest in his mid fifties, who can preside, preach, administer sacraments, catechize, and contribute to R.C.I.A. and Adult Faith Formation regardless of whether I am sitting or standing, in a wheelchair, or out of a wheelchair.  To be dealt with otherwise as though I am burden, tarnished commodity, or disqualified from priestly pastoral ministry, is unfair, unjust, discriminatory, and unChristian. With Hope Filled Expectation in Jesus The Christ For A Fair, Just,Non Discriminatory, Catholic-Christian Response From The Powers That Be In Diocesan Administration.............Fr.  Troy David Powers

CATECHETICAL SUNDAY 2013 - "OPEN THE DOOR OF FAITH"..............

With the new Parish Year underway today Catholic-Christians in the United States and elsewhere observe, "Catechetical Sunday".  Catechetical Sunday is the annual ministry day as we enter another year of Religious Education and Faith Formation when as a Community of Believers our parishes focus on the roles and responsibilities of the Catechists, who educate and form others.  Their vital contribution to the betterment of the People of God we are and possess the ability to be.  Having myself been catechized very well by the Sisters of Mercy and my parish priests, I very gladly volunteered as a Catechist for six years during my college and graduate school years in young adulthood before entering the seminary in 1982.  Through the past thirty one years as a seminarian, priest, Associate Pastor, Parochial Vicar, Pastor, Priest In Residence, and on Medical Leave, I have continuously catechized all age groups, especially dedicated to Adult Faith Formation.  The theme of today's Catechetical Sunday is, "Open The Door Of Faith".  In order to maintain and expand the fruits of our Discipleship in Jesus The Christ, it is imperative that you share in and support the Catechetical Ministry in your parish community.  Your active and faith filled participation will make an appreciable contribution to increasing the fidelity of our mutual formation in Christ.  I eagerly anticipate the first fruit coming out of  this Catechetical Sunday - the resumption of R.C.I.A., the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, at Sacred Heart Parish in East Sacramento on Tuesday evening.  Devote yourself to opening the doors of Faith and Formation during the 2013-14 Parish Catechetical Year.............Fr.  Troy David

POPE FRANCIS @ 6 MONTHS AND THE FAREWELL TO MONSIGNORS.............

As +Jorge Bergoglio. the former Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina who is now His Holiness Pope Francis arrives at the six month mark of his Pontificate of the Roman Catholic Church, his leadership and preaching thus far underscores a commitment for reforming and renewing the institutional Church to more faithfully and evenhandedly serve the People of God - particularly the poor, the marginalized, those with special needs,  the disenfranchised, and detached.  Pope Francis is also more than signaled his intention as the Vicar of Christ to make us as Catholic-Christians religious and spiritual cooperators including and with  all persons, whether they be Christians, non Christians, unbelievers, homosexuals, or atheists.  Dialogue and Mutual Respect for our common humanness, not self righteousness and ostracism are at the core of the Gospel values Pope Francis is leading us to embrace and solidify in our lives as members of the Body of Christ, the Church in the World.   Pope Francis is also calling for the abolition of Careerism in the Catholic Church that corrupts and diverts the mission and ministry of Catholic-Christianity for self aggrandizing gain instead of  the selfless service to God's People.  Kudos to Pope Francis for addressing the need to eradicate actions that preserve the prerogatives and privileges of the self seeking, but denigrate  and ignore the rights and opportunities of others within the Community of Believers and all others in the Family of Humankind.  Reports earlier this week this week in that light indicate Pope Francis has decided he will not confer the honorary title of Monsignor upon priests any longer.  Intended as a way of recognizing and rewarding the exceptional service of priests in the ministries they carry out, and usually conferred by the Pope upon the recommendation of a Bishop, the criteria for naming Monsignors can be subjective and unequal.  This is a change that will renew and refocus the Church, as not all those who have been appointed Monsignors are careerists; but Careerism is a likely cause for some priests to seek being named Monsignors.  May God continue to strengthen and sustain the  bridge building, reform dedicated, pastoral, spiritual, and administrative, Universal Church Leadership of Pope Francis and the courage of his convictions and vision for further authenticating the purposes and preference of the Catholic Cristian Church to promote and bring about the Greater Glory of God and the Common Good of ALL People.............Fr.  Troy David

DAY OF HOPE AND EXPECTATION.............

Even as my immediately forthcoming return to full time priestly ministry in and for the Diocese of Sacramento is being discussed and determined by Bishop Soto and the Priests Personnel Board, after spending a frustratingly and unnecessary year and a half on the sidelines in a setting that fails to define me and my presently or for the foreseeable future, today causes to look back over the last three decades and to  this date thirty one years ago.  That date,  September 13, 1982; was a day of boundless hope and brimming expectation for me and those I met then, as a first day,  first year, seminarian for the Sacramento Diocese, beginning my studies in Kilkenny, Ireland.  The high octane hopes and expectations  experienced that day fueled and followed me through the next five years at St. Kieran's Seminary and St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park as well as my Transitional Diaconate Year in St. Joseph's Parish in Auburn, California.  That positive energy and the power of ordination propelled me into priestly pastoral ministry over the following decade and a half.  The hopes, expectations, and optimism that led me into Holy Orders and  shaped my priestly. pastoral, ministry has been tempered by my health challenges and especially the conditional responses and uncertain support from the powers that be whom I vowed to work with and for as a Priest of Jesus Christ in the Catholic-Christian communities of the Church of Sacramento.  Through all this, despite much of it, I remain as a native Sacramentan, locally grown, internationally and domestically formed, Catholic Priest dedicated to carrying out my commitments to God and the Church, as an active ministry Priest for many more years to come.  Please God. enlightenment, inclusion, and empowerment, in assigning me and affirming  my ordained ministry will break through anew, beginning today in ending the warehousing and marginalizing I have been caused to endure and persevere through since March of last year.  In and For the Greater Glory of God and the Common Good.............Fr.  Troy David

WAREHOUSED @ MMT FOR EIGHTEEN MONTHS TODAY.............

Today, September 12, 2013, is a full year and a half  hat I have been left on the sidelines of priestly ministry in the inappropriate and uncalled for setting of this retirement community, assisted care, short term stay, residence for which I am twenty to forty years too young, and where my priestly ministry, spirituality, and socialization, are not served or furthered.  Whereas were I carrying out active priestly ministry during the past eighteen months I would have publicly presided at more than 600 Masses, Sacraments, and other Priestly Ministries.  Involuntarily exiled, as I have been - the actual numbers of  what I have been permitted to do as priest in good standing, active and not retired, are : Publicly Presiding at just 1 Mass - my Silver Jubilee of Ordination to the Priesthood Mass.  A 25th Anniversary Liturgy celebrated in the Church of my Baptism in South Sacramento, not in the Parish Church in Del Paso Heights I was the canonical Pastor of on May 2, 2012.  I have been able to Preach only 4 times, thanks to the generous invitations of Monsignors Walton and Kavanagh, despite my decades of proven and effective ability as a preacher and teacher of the Gospel and Catholic-Christianity.  1 Baptism, 1 Marriage, and 1 Funeral, 2 Anoitings of the Sick and Dying, Concelebrating 33 Masses, and asked to join the Sacred Heart Parish R.C.I.A. and Adult Faith Formation Team and facilitate the Parish Dads Group,  42 Shared sessions.  All in all, merely a scant number of opportunities for public priestly ministry, when I am verifiably affirmed to be capable of doing so much more presiding, preaching, teaching, and sacramental ministry as an active parish and diocesan priest. Please God my further stay in the geriatric twilight zone of being unfairly warehoused will end VERY SOON and a productive and pro-active response will come forth from the Diocesan Priests Personnel Board and Bishop Soto.  In That Spirit Let Us Continue to Pray For Each Other.............Fr.  Troy David

FROM THE EAST ROOM PRESIDENT OBAMA STANDS AND DELIVERS ON THE SYRIAN TRAVESTY.............

Having picked up my dinner from the kitchen of MMT to eat in my quarters last night in order to follow my preferred customary practice of watching presidential pronouncements and other special event news coverage live from pre to post telecast, analysis, and commentary, President Obama's Address from The White House on Syria was my chief concern late into the night.  As for making the case the case for a measured limited response to the atrocious slaughter of 1,400 persons including 400 children, with the use of Chemical Weapons by  Syrian dictator Bashir Assad; the CNN Instant Poll taken only of viewers of the President's 15 minute Address found by a margin of 6% - 37% viewers feel the President made a Convincing Case for taking  action against Assad's regime.  But but 47% support the use of Force in the Syrian Travesty; while 50% are opposed to American intervention, even in a limited strategic strike.............Fr .Troy  David

AWAITING TONIGHT'S OVAL OFFICE ADDRESS ON SYRIA BY PRESIDENT OBAMA.............

American President Barack Obama addresses the Nation and the World from the Oval Office on the White House tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Pacific Time on the Chemical Weapons use travesty in Syria by President Assad on September 21, reported to have killed 1,400 of his people including 400 children by that act.  What President Obama will say about the strategic military reaction his Administration will make particularly in the light of yesterday's indication of willingness by Russia to monitor the gathering up of the Syrian chemical weapons to be turned over and destroyed by verification of the international community is of key interest and concern.  With the American public war weary after eleven years of strife in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, opposing even a limited,  no boots on the ground, measured strike against Assad's diatribe by a margin of nearly two to one indicated by today's NBC News-Wall Street Journal Poll showing 58% Opposed; 33% In Favor; and 74% of the respondents saying we should Focus on America and only 22% supporting the continued promotion of Democracy aboard.  It seems to me that for now President Obama is in a no win position politically.  The overwhelming majority of Americans do not welcome a military response to the Syrian Civil War crisis.  Yet a lack of effective action on his part is seen by a vociferous number of others as failure and weakness.  A sensitive, sensible, principled, presidential, act of governance is what is required above and beyond politics and popularity.  What the President of the United States announces tonight and carries out in coming days has to be a legitimately acceptable and constitutional action, in concurrence with the national security and well being of our country and the betterment of the global international community we are at the center of as the beacon of hope, freedom, equal opportunity, justice, and peace, for all humankind.............Fr.  Troy David

THE COST OFDISCIPLESHIP FOR YOU AND ME.............

On this 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time today's Liturgy of the Word at Sunday Eucharist speak to us about the price of believing in and following the Living and True God of the Universe as Catholic-Christian Disciples of Jesus The Christ.  My Diocese of San Jose seminary classmate, Reverend Father David Mercer has a very good homily today, which I have posted on my Facebook page for your consideration.  My own reflection were I preaching on the Cost of Christian Discipleship I give you as my blog column today.  On this 545th day of sitting on the sidelines denied the opportunity to preside and preach at public Mass, having endured and persevered through eleven years of health challenges, just as I have with my lifelong physical disability, I remain resolute.  Resolved and resolute in remaining in active ministry and not retiring early and walking away from the great need for productive priestly ministry my  native Sacramento Diocese faces presently and going forward. I can assuredly say the the cost of Catholic-Christian Discipleship is and can be high, very high, causing you and me to expend inordinate measures of endurance and perseverance at times in order to be true to our calling as friends and followers of the Lord Jesus.  I am having to do that, and find myself blessed with the affirmation and support of the People of God ranging from personal friends, former parishioners, and professionals in the community - Catholic and non Catholic alike, who value the contribution my priestly ministry makes to both the Diocese and the wider Sacramento community.  Most of these persons have known me well for thirty to forty years and longer.  So despite the heaviness of the personal cross of disappointment I have had to bear for the past year and a half, my Faith in God, in the ordained Priesthood of Jesus Christ in which I share, and my belief that it is the Divine Intention that I not shrink or surrender to the frustration of this involuntary exile, but push forward in the full expectation of resuming my daily and Sunday ministry opportunities VERY SOON, keep me anchored to pushing forward  My experience and insight causes me to tell you whoever and where ever you are with the inordinate crosses of frustration, hardship, disease, disability, injustice, or unfairness, you are contending with - not to give up, or give in, but push forward proactively with Faith in God and personal/communal perseverance.  Despite the afflictions of nature or other persons imposed on us as human beings, we have a God of All Creation, Who is the Lord of Our Salvation, and the Eternal Source of Love, Peace, Love, Justice, and Righteousness, for you, me, and for all, which makes the extremely high cost of our Discipleship and Faithful Witness worth paying despite and beyond the price exacted from us by temporal powers in this World.  Let us Pray for Peace + Justice and seek to live our Vocation from God to make everyday a better way to building the Kingdom of Everlasting Righteousness.............Fr.  Troy David

REVEREND FATHER PATRICK (P.V.) VINCENT LENEHAN REST IN PEACE.............

On July 2nd, which was the 120th Birthday Anniversary of my paternal grandfather, Sidney Harris Powers, who was born and raised in Cleveland County Arkansas USA; Reverend Father Patrick Vincent Lenehan, a native of County Galway Ireland; and a Catholic Priest of the Sacramento Diocese for over 55 years - died in Eire back to which he had retired a few years ago.  Father Lenehan was an Assistant Pastor at St. Rose's Parish in South Sacramento when he baptized me and my first cousin Velda Ford, on May 18, 1957.  This morning Bishop Jaime Soto presided at a Memorial Mass for the happy repose of Fr. Vincent's soul in Immaculate Conception Church at 32nd and Broadway in Sacramento.  I was one of seventeen priests concelebrating and commemorating the life and priestly ministry of  Father P.V. "Vincent" Lenehan.  God Grant Him Peace and Light in the Kingdom of Eternal Life.  Alleluia !!!  Amen !!!.............Fr.  Troy David

EMERGING FROM THE SHADOWS OF THE SIDELINES SEEMINGLY SOON.............

On this 77th Sunday in out of the ordinary time residing in involuntary exile as a 56 year old priest far from being retired yet made to live for nearly seventeen months now as though I am twenty to forty years older, in a retirement community as if I am an over the hill tarnished commodity being  set aside and put out to pasture; during which my perseverance and good faith have been sorely tested, at last thanks to love and support of the people in my life who know me best and the longest and whose belief in my effectiveness on ministering as a Priest of Jesus Christ and there vehement attestation that my continuing to be warehoused inappropriately and unnecessarily must end and the resumption of my full time ordained priestly ministry proceed to move forward, the Sacramento Diocesan Administration is starting to address this situation productively and affirmatively for the first time since March 2012.  My lack of further patience with anything less and the expectation and efforts of my loyal and supportive faithful friends and former parishioners to see me back doing the liturgical presiding and preaching and the sacramental celebration as well as faith formation I have consistently provided for more than a quarter of a  century, will continue until my return to parish life every Sunday and daily, where I truly believe Jesus calls me to be and please God for many, many, more years to come.  With Faith, Hope, + Love In Jesus The Christ Who Saves and Sustains Me and You, as the People of God.............Fr.  Troy David