THE BEST OF BLESSINGS TO YOU IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2015 - OBSERVING TODAY THE OCTAVE DAY OF CHRISTMAS THE SOLEMNITY OF MARY MOTHER OF GOD AND WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR PEACE..............

THE BISHOP OF TRENTON NEW JERSEY AMONG THOSE OF US WHO ARE DISABLED CATHOLICS FOLLOWING AMPUTATION OF HIS LEFT FOOT AND ANKLE BKA ON TUESDAY..............

AULD LANG SYNE AND THE YEAR IN REVIEW 2014..............

AL GREEN, TOM HANKS, PATRICIA RICHARDSON, STING, LILY TOMLIN, THE RECIPIENTS OF THE 2014 KENNEDY CENTER HONORS ON CBS BROADCAST..............

The 37th Annual Kennedy Center Honorees awarded on December 7th, will be broadcast tonight in a two hour Special on CBS Television.  This year's recipients are : Soul and Gospel Singer - AL GREEN.  New York City Ballet Ballerina - PATRICIA RICHARDSON.  Television and Two time Best Actor Academy Award Winner - TOM HANKS.  British Singer / Police Band Member and Solo Artist - STING.  Laugh-In, Movie and Broadway Comedienne - LILY TOMLIN.  Of these five talented entertainment icons a fantastic show of tributes is a certainty.  Stephen Colbert is the Master of Ceremonies.  The 2014 Kennedy Center Honors air Tuesday December 30th, at 9 pm Eastern and Pacific, 8 pm Central and Mountain Time..............tdp

DISABLED AND SPECIAL NEEDS PERSONS ARE BRAVE AND HAVE COURAGE NOT JUST @ CHRISTMAS BUT EVERYDAY,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Spending a few hours with the Handicapables last Sunday was the latest reminder to me forged over more than 50 years of the abilities, interests, and aspirations, of Persons with Disabilities and Special Needs we are capable of attaining if given the opportunity to do so.  I have known  and experienced this from the age of five and a half years old, when as a physically disabled child from birth. I was fitted with a left leg orthopedic brace which became my daily companion for twelve years.  I did not let my youthful challenges with a physical disability conquer me anymore than I will let my adult physical challenges of being a diabetic, kidney transplant recipient, and right foot below the knee amputee, vanquish me or my priestly ministry.  Despite the ambivalence and skepticism of Sacramento Church leadership. I will continue to Push Forward in fulfilling my unconditional commitment to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ and to further educate and form myself  through the Doctor of Ministry  degree program at the Catholic University of America online and in Washington, D.C.  This is the same resolve and effort I encounter in the participants and providers of the Handicapables Ministry.  They are brave and courageous not just once a month, at Christmas, Easter, on their birthdays or anniversaries, but Everyday and they deserve to be afforded every opportunity to be included in the life of the Catholic-Christian Community of Believers.  I eagerly look forward to ministering to and with them each month in the various parishes in Sacramento the Handicapables are invited to visit for Sunday Mass and Lunch.  All our parishes need to reach out to, welcome, and incorporate, Persons with Disabilities and Special Needs.  Not to do, is discriminatory and alienating. Christmas and the dawning of the New Year is a fine time to help evaluate your parish community's commitment to Catholic Disability Ministry.  You might consider inviting the Handicapables to Mass and Lunch some month soon with your parishioners..............Father Troy David  

THE 4TH DAY OF CHRISTMAS 2014-2015 IS THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS MARY + JOSEPH..............

Today's 4th Day of Christmas is the Feast of the Holy Family.  The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, of Nazareth who are the central persons in the Nativity of the Lord that is Christmas.  They exemplify the values of Love and Fidelity to the core experiences of vital, close, interpersonal, relationships as mothers, fathers, and children, despite the challenges we face in living them out.  The unconditional commitment and constancy of the Holy Family stands in stark contrast to the dysfunction that besets so many human families in our time. Ab lack of commitment to marriage, to the concerted and properly balanced upbringing of children rightly formed and nurtured, rather than used as pawns of divisive and divorced parents, communicating openly and honestly not in self interest only, but on behalf of the mutual well being; these are some of the attributes all our families would do well to emulate.  Jesus, Mary,  and Joseph,  show us the way to become holy families of Faith, Hope, and Love.  Like them our families also require a truly moral dimension,  An experience of Belief in God and the practices of prayer, spirituality, worship. and ministry, that brings a higher power and greater purpose to our lives in maintaining and honoring our Family relationships.  How you and your loved build a solid, loving, committed, Family determines whether you are the holy family God invites you to be, or a dysfunctional family that betrays the meaning and example of Christmas and the Holy Family of Nazareth.  Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Pray For Us, that All Families Become Holy Families..............Fr. Troy David

CHRISTMAS BREAK AWAY FROM SENIOR-ITIS FOR THE SAKE OF MY SPIRITUALITY AND SOCIALIZATION..............

A part of my Christmas Joy is the opportunity to break away from the senior-itis of my surroundings for the past 33.5 months and to be in the freedom of a more natural environment for a 58 year old priest who although physically disabled is neither retired or an incompetent invalid.  For the sake of my spirituality and socialization I will spend much of Christmas elsewhere heeding the advice of personal and professional friends to not give up or give in to the unfairness and injustice of my current circumstances.  To refresh and renew my spirit and socialize in settings that are not geriatrically driven.  I will spend much of the time praying, reading, writing, in the enjoyment of a location where I am not being marginalized because of my amputation.  Ab very Happy and Wholistic Christmas be yours also..............fr.tdp

CHRISTMAS DAY DINNER WITH THE GEACHES...FAMILY, FAITH, FELLOWSHIP, IN FIDELITY TO THE SAVIOR'S NATIVITY..............

I am blessed for the second consecutive year to be invited to join Karin and Roger Geach and their Family for Christmas Dinner in Elk Grove.  To their clan of 23 members - mother, father, two daughters, two sons, four spouses, thirteen grandchildren, they graciously add me to their wonderful Family Christmas feast of festive food and drink in their delightful home.  After more than thirty five years of friendship being and sharing with them is always a joyful experience.  I am grateful to them for including me now for the opportunity on Christmas Day to come out of the shadows and the sidelines of my current residence.  A Blessed Christmas to all your Families and Readers of my blog, "Insights Into Life And Faith"..............Father Troy David Powers

GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST...THE BIRTH OF JESUS THE CHRIST REDEEMS THE WORLD, HALLELUJAH !!!!!!!!!!!!,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

In the darkness of this Christmas Eve night as the Midnight hour fast approaches, Believers in the Holy Birth  more than 2,000 years of a child in a manger Who is the Son of God and the Savior of the World, rejoice in the Redemption He revealed for sinners in becoming The Word of God our Father Made Flesh. With the host of Angels who gloriously acclaimed the Nativity of the baby Jesus on that Bethlehem night, to the billions of Disciples who have followed Him as Lord and the God of our Salvation for more than two millenniums, the Christmas Event is the overture to Eternal Life in God's immemorial Kingdom.  With hearts and minds fortified by Faith in the Divine Plan for Creation, Hallelujah and Glory to God in the Highest is our song of praise and jubilation in the One Who is, was, and will be, Forever Son of God, Prince of Peace, and Savior of Humankind.  Take time anew tonight, tomorrow, and during the coming 18 days, to affirm your Faith and Fidelity in the Holy Birth of Jesus The Christ Whose Life, Death, and Resurrection, envelops us into the Eternal Father's Holy Family of Love and Christmas Joy..............fr.tdp

THE VIGIL OF CHRISTMAS AND OUR FAITH FILLED SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS ENTRANCE INTO THE NATIVITY OF THE CHRIST WITH OUR FAMILIES AND FELLOW BELIEVERS..............

Surrounded by the front loaded frenzy of the holiday season, we come to the culmination of the Advent Season the vigil of the Nativity of the  Lord Jesus - Christmas Eve.  A day of immediate readiness for our personal, familial, and societal celebration of our Savior's Birth with meals, merriment, and exchange of gifts, Christmas Eve is like New Year;s Eve, in many ways the most sentimental day and night of the year.  We cherish loved ones near and faraway; remembering those who now share in the Christmas of Eternal Life; and partaking in the tastes, sounds, and activities, that denote the observance of the Christmas Season.  For Catholic-Christians the true observance of Christmas begins and ends with the inclusion of religious and spiritual practices that define the reason for the season of the Redeemer's Holy Birth.  Attendance at Christmas Mass and other Christian Worship Services; Prayers of Praise and Gratitude, in our homes or wherever we are, for the Blessings of Family, Faith, Friendship, and Fellowship; in acknowledgement and appreciation for all the Festival of Christmas represents for us as members of the Body of Jesus Christ and Family of Humankind.  I will spend today writing Christmas cards, organizing simple gifts, enjoying the small living evergreen tree very good friends provided me, listening to Christmas carols, and preparing a homily, before presiding and preaching at a Christmas Eve Vigil Mass with the Friedrich Family and concelebrating Midnight Mass in Sacred Heart Church with Msgr. Walton and Fr. Cletus.  I pray that you and your families will take time within the next day to include Interpersonal Prayer, Public Worship, and Shared Service and Remembrance of others in your celebration of Christmas 2014-2015..............Fr. Troy David

POPE FRANCIS STRONGLY ADMONISHES THE ROMAN CURIA FOR THE, "TERRORISM OF GOSSIP AND THE PATHOLOGY OF POWER"..............

In a pre-Christmas Address to members of the Roman Curia in the Vatican, Pope Francis went far beyond merely delivering a holiday feverino to end the Year of Our Lord 2014, reinforcing his papal leadership intention of eradicating the corruption and malfeasance entrenched in much of the central administration of the Catholic Church, in very strong language.  He told the assembled Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, and their co-workers to rectify their practices, seriously admonishing them for what the Supreme Pontiff referred to, as self serving, "Terrorism of Gossip", and the, "Pathology of Power".  The tenor of +Francis' message to Curial officials and the Universal leadership of the Church around the World is that they govern their lives, ministries, and administrative responsibilities according to Gospel values,Christian charity, and social Justice; rather than self serving agendas and personal agrandizement.  Seeking to reform and renew the authenticity of Catholic-Christianity and the Church's true purpose and in the 3rd Millennium, Pope Francis is to be commended for the efficacious effort he continues to exert to call the all of the members the Body of Christ to accountability, service, and leadership, that is unfettered by anything but the common good of God's People and the Salvation of Creation..............fr.tdp

DESPITE WHAT SOME MAY SAY, THINK, OR FEEL, AS A PRIEST OF JESUS CHRIST I AM NOT HALF A MAN OR A TARNISHED COMMODITY JUST BECAUSE I AM AN AMPUTEE..............

The 1978 United States Catholic Bishops Pastoral Statement on Ministry to Persons with Disabilities and Special Needs decreed, "There is No Separate Church for the Disabled".  Thirty six years later that declaration is not as true as it sounds.  Too many of our Catholic churches and other parish and ministry facilities remain inaccessible to those of us with special needs, who require the use of accommodations such as wheelchairs and walkers, to enter and exit church buildings.  The lack of external and internal ramps in any of our churches and subsequent structures, are far overdue and are a given to the, "full. active, and conscious", participation and presence of the  Disabled Catholics in our communities.  Bishops need to step up and show leadership in facilatating the full implementation of Catholic Disability Ministry and the issues of accessibility, inclusion, and empowerment; of those of us with Special Needs without exception or discrimination, and without further delay or indifference,  Pastors, Administrators, Pastoral Councils, Finance Councils, Prinicpals, DREs, School Boards, Liturgy Committees, and Building Commissions, must enlighten and educate themselves to guarantee Disability provisions are made with no excuses to see everything their parish communities do is open and available to the presence and participation of the Disabled.  All Catholic-Christians must grow in sensitivity to those with Needs.  Whether priests - as one of my international priest diocesan colleague has referred to me as, "Half a Man", in response to my physical disability challenges; or diocesan administrators - as for nearly three years I have been treated as if I am a tarnished commodity, "a burden, liability, and hardship", rather than the capable, competent, person and priest I am, retaining human dignity.  As we near 2015 may the mutual and unconditional commitment of all U.S. Catholics to Disability Ministry increase as we fulfill what Jesus and Pope Francis want us to do - Reach out and Include All God's People..............Rev. Fr. Troy David Powers

REVEREND FATHER OSCAR GOMEZ MEDINA, PASTOR AND ST. CHARLES BORROMEO PARISHIONERS MAGNANIMOUS WELCOME FOR THE HANDICAPABLES MINISTRY DECEMBER MASS AND LUNCHEON YESTERDAY..............

The Handicapables Ministry in Sacramento and yours truly are very grateful to Reverend Father Oscar Gomez-Medina and his parishioners at St. Charles Borromeo Church in South Sacramento, for the warmth of their welcome and spirited hospitality yesterday at their parish.  Father Gomez-Medina was fraternally and pastorally present to me and embracing of  all of us in welcoming and affirming our presence and the parishioners were welcoming and hospitable.  The Mass was beautiful and I much appreciate the opportunity to preach for only the fourth time in the past year, given the opportunity it provided to evangelize the congregation about the greater need for Catholic Disability Ministry in our diocese and throughout the country.  As is customary at the monthly Handicapables Mass, the host parish served us a luncheon following the Sacred Liturgy which included service by the St. Charles School 8th Graders. My heartfelt thanks to Frank Nava, Director of the Handicapables; Permanent Deacon David Cabrera and his wife; Della and all the members of the group; as well as Father Oscar and his parishioners for a truly wonderful pre-Christmas liturgical and fellowship priestly public ministry experience..............fr.tdp

THE FOURTH AND FINAL WEEK OF ADVENT - EMBRACING THE BLESSED VIRGIN'S EXAMPLE OF FAITHFUL DISCIPLESHIP IN THE LORD JESUS' FIRST COMING..............

Our waiting as God's Advent People for the Lord Jesus' Coming this Christmas is almost complete on this Fourth and final Sunday of this season of hopefulness, joy, and longing, for the Anointed One who comes into the fallen World to be the Savior of Humankind.  Just as John the Baptist was raised up by The Divine to herald the imminent arrival of The Christ into human history, so too was Mary ever Virgin chosen by our Heavenly Father to become the Mother of God and bring forth The Redeemer.  Her unequivocal and universal assent to God's Will and her unflinching devotion in discipleship to the Saving Son of God she bore, nurtured, and followed, is a perfect example for all of us as Catholic-Christian Disciples.  How has this Advent Season formed you to be better ready and willing to proclaim and witness to the Holy Birth of Jesus The Christ Our Lord and Savior during the Christmas Season - December 24th - January 11th ?  Spend these next three days making yourself personally, spiritually, and socially, ready for the Coming of the Christ Child and resolve to make the full and authentic observance of the Nativity your foremost priority in tandem with your families, friends, fellow believers, neighbors, and everyone you encounter during the festive season of Christmas..............Rev. Fr. Troy David Powers

CELEBRATING SUNDAY MASS AND PREACHING TOMORROW WITH AND FOR THE HANDICAPABLES MINISTRY @ ST. CHARLES BORROMEO CHURCH IN SOUTH SACRAMENTO..............

With the Season of Advent in Liturgical Year B 2015 coming to its crescendo as we prepare for the Festival of Christmas in coming days, I am pleased to share with you that thanks to the invitation of the Handicapables Ministry in Sacramento and the kind and considerate welcome of Reverend Father Oscar Gomez-Medina, Pastor; I will be concelebrating and preaching at 4th Sunday of Advent Mass tomorrow.  The members of the Handicapbles Ministry will join the parishioners of St. Charles Borromeo Church at the 10:30 am Mass in the parish church at 7584 Center Parkway in South Sacramento,.............fr.tdp

GLADLY DOING WHAT A PRIEST DOES - HELPING WITH ADVENT/CHRISTMAS CONFESSIONS @ DIVINE SAVIOR ORANGEVALE AND SACRED HEART EAST SACRAMENTO..............

AMERICAN AND CUBAN ACCORD ON RESUMPTION OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS AFTER 53 YEARS ENCOURAGED BY THE EFFORTS OF POPE FRANCIS..............

THE IMMINENT COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS IS HERALDED BY THE ANCIENT TITLES FOR THE MESSIAH IN THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES..............

TWO YEARS AFTER THE NEWTOWN MASSACRE AND DESPITE FURTHER SIMILAR SHOOTINGS A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS FAVOR GUN RIGHTS NOT GUN CONTROL FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TWENTY YEARS..............

PIECING TOGETHER SOME PUBLIC MINISTRY THIS ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS..............

THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT AND MARY'S CANTICLE OF JOY..............

AS ADVENT PEOPLE OF GOD ST. MARK THE EVANGELIST HELPS ENLIGHTEN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES..............

UNITED STATES SENATOR ELIZABETH WARREN - A LEADER FOR ALL THE PEOPLE LEFT RIGHT AND CENTER ?..............

MONSTER 6 YEAR WIND, RAIN, AND SNOW, STORM STRIKES CALIFORNIA AND THE PACIFIC COAST OF THE USA..............

TIME MAGAZINE CHOOSES THE EBOLA FIGHTERS AS 2014's PERSONs OF THE YEAR..............

THE C.I.A. TORTURE REPORT - AMERICANS RIGHT TO KNOW..............

CHICAGO ARCHBISHOP CUPICH EXPRESSES HIS VIEW OF ADDRESSING CATHOLIC PRO CHOICE POLITICIANS AT THE COMMUNION RAIL..............

OUR LADY OF ADVENT: THE BLESSED MOTHER'S IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF JESUS THE CHRIST..............

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT 2015...JOHN THE BAPTIST PROCLAIMS THE ONE WHO IS COMING EXCEEDS OUR EXPECTATIONS..............

VIDEOTAPE PROOF, MEDICAL EXAMINER'S FINDING OF HOMICIDE, YET STATEN ISLAND GRAND JURY DOES NOT INDICT POLICE OFFICER DANIEL PANTALEO IN DEATH OF ERIC GARNER..............

AT LONG LAST THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PASSES THE "ABLE ACT" FINANCIALLY EMPOWERING PERSONS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS..............

A FIRST OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC MINISTRY THIS ADVENT AND NEW LITURGICAL YEAR @ DIVINE SAVIOR PARISH ORANGEVALE..............

POPE FRANCIS : A 21ST CENTURY ST. FRANCIS XAVIER JESUIT MISSIONARY WHO IS THE VICAR OF CHRIST ?..............

MEMORIALIZING MY MOTHER JOSEPHINE VIRGINIA COREY FEUSI POWERS ON HER 32ND ANNIVERSARY / THE JOSEPHINE TREATMENT ROSES THIS YEAR ARE PRESENTED TO THE PENNINGTON SISTERS..............

FIRST MONDAY OF ADVENT - BEING WATCHFUL FOR THE LORD'S THREE-FOLD COMING..............