POST TRANSPLANT JOURNAL DAY 14...BIRTHDAY of the BVM.........

Just back from my morning fasting blood labs at Mayo Clinic and awaiting President Obama's Address to School Children, which I will watch while having my breakfast, today is the liturgical feast day of the Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is also the birthday of my CSU-Sacramento classmate, Teri Tenenbaum Currier. Happy Birthday Teri.........I t was also on this date 30 years ago, that I met Teres Bugatto Mugnaini. She was then a college freshman and I was a first semester graduate student, when we met at a Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity Recruitment Party. Both Teri and Teres have ties to Lambda Chi and were Little Sisters to our active chapter as undergraduates. I will return to Mayo at 3:15 p.m. this afternoon for 2 appointments. First with the Transplant Coordinator Nurse and then with the Transplant Team's Physician's Assistant for labs results and follow-up visits. Two weeks in, we are befriending other transplant recipients and their family members at the Clinic, with very interesting stories about their own kidney, liver, and heart transplants. And watching me the past two weeks they are commenting on how much better I look and how I am moving about with very good improvement. And I continue to experience the near perfect, pleasant and proficient team of doctors, nurses, technicians, registration staff and greeting attendants, that work for Mayo Clinic.
Adam, my blood lab tech this morning was the best, most conversant and friendliest one, yet. MORE TO COME LATER.........Fr. Troy

IT IS OFFICIAL : I AM BEING RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL TODAY.........

My Transplant Team Doctors confirm my condition is much improved and they will be releasing me from the Hospital, today - LABOR DAY. I will be taking a tablet antibiotic and they are adjusting my blood pressure and pain medications. I will be back here Wednesday for my next scheduled blood labs and follow-up visit, so the Transplant Team will keep a close watch over my progress. The nurses and physician assistant report my incision is virtually closed and my pain level is down to a 1-2, on a scale of 10. A happy and hopeful report.........Fr. Troy

LABOR DAY 2009 - FATHER TROY's TRANSPLANT JOURNAL DAY 13 WITH MY NEW KIDNEY.........

HAPPY LABOR DAY, EVERYONE !!!!!!!!! My Physician's Assistant today, Dave was just in to see me with very good news. My white blood cell count has returned to normal, Mayo Clinic Hospital has gotten on top of the bacteria in my blood and urinary tract infection, with today's labs returning negative for the second day in a row, and given I am feeling so much better, if Dr. Blair, the Infection Specialist, and Dr. Mulligan, my Kidney Transplant overseeing Doctor are concurring, they will release me to my rented house this afternoon. Alleluia !!!, my three day post transplant ordeal of pain and infection is all but behind me. I have been watching the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon since last night, and valuing with renewed sensitivity the chronic disesaes of millions that current medicine cannot yet conquer. It has me thinking greatly of my CSU-Sacramento classmate Captain Brian Welch and his family, and their 9 year continuing struggle with ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease, which has nearly incapacitated him physicially, but not conquered his will to live or spirit of love. I am ecstactic to be getting out of the hospital and resuming some normalcy, including doing my banking, so as not to remain a 2 week plus red ink customer of the Bank of America. I will report further later today on my progress. Love + Prayers, Fr. Transplant Troy.........

POST KIDNEY TRANSPLANT DAY 12...FATHER TROY'S TRANSPLANT JOURNAL FROM MAYO CLINIC HOSPITAL ARIZONA.........

My kidney transplant team of doctors have determined my current problem is a urinary tract infection, not any form of organ rejection, due to my suppressed immune deficiency caused by the transplant. They have identified the particular bacteria in my blood and are treating it with a specific antibiotic to knock it out. The doctors are of a mind to send me back to my rented house only after eradicating the bacteria from my blood, so that I will be on tablets not an i.v. once I am released from the hospital. My abdominal pain has totally subsided and my incisional pain is about the same it has been the past ten days, for which I am grateful. My appetite is returning again, and my fluid intake is increasing. Having my computer back online is a blessing as it helps to pass the lonely hours in this hospital room. My sisters and weekend relief caregiver visit me twice a day for an hour or so each visit, otherwise I have the constant presence of nurses and doctors and lab technicians, around the clock, like clockwork. E-mail, blog responses, phone calls and cards and letters, also break up the day nicely. I am waiting on the Hospital Chaplain to bring me Holy Communion. And I am standing by for MSNBC's rebroadcast of today's, "Meet the Press". Today is also the 31st Anniversary of my fraternal friendship with my very dear friend, Curtis Richards. Tuesday, I will also celebrate 30 years of friendship with Teres Bugatto Mugnaini and the Bugatto-Mugnaini Families.
Promising another update tomorrow.........Love + Prayers, Fr. Troy.........

SENATOR EDWARD MOORE "TED" KENNEDY 1932-2009

47 years ago, the youngest brother of the 35th President of the United States, just 30 years old ran for the United States Senate in Massachusetts, as his brother's successor. EDWARD MOORE "TED" KENNEDY, was elected to the first of nine terms, until his death from a brain tumor on August 25th, the night of my kidney transplant. Ted Kennedy's cause of death was the same as my own father's, a glio blastoma brain tumor, no one has ever survived for more than two years. During his nearly 5 full decades in the U.S. Senate Edward Kennedy who died at age 77, had one advantage his three older brothers never had - the length of years. Joseph, John, and Robert Kennedy, died at ages 29, 46, and 42, respectively. Ted Kennedy's length of years afforded him the opportunity to become one of the most effective U.S. Senators in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, and one of the leading voices advocating for the poor, working class, labor, minorities, civil rights, human rights, health and education, in our nation's history. Four of the major pieces of legislation in which he played a pivotal role into passage are the Civil Rights Act of 1964; The Voting Rights Act of 1965; The Americans With Disabilities Act, in 1990; and The Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993. He was called the, "Last Liberal Lion", of the Senate for his steadfastness and tenacity for fighting for causes he passionately believed in. But although a dyed in the wool liberal Democrat, he was always able to cross the isle and gain significant Republican co-sponsorship for the major issues he championed. Yet, Ted Kennedy was far from perfect. Personal failings such as drinking, womanizing, divorce, and the most significant - Chappiquiddick, an automoblie submersion off a Massachusetts bridge in the wee hours of the morning 40 years ago, in which a young staffer of his late brother Bobby was killed, would forever haunt him. It may well have doomed his 1980 bid for the Presidency. But in time he turned his life around, remarried and went on to being an even more devoted and successful Senator, as well as father and surrogate father to his dead brothers children. One of my close friends, Joseph Patrick McNamara, has asked me to rank Senator Kennedy's 5 most significant speeches. From my Mayo Clinic Arizona Hospital bed, without much research, I would say among them are : 1.) The 1980 Democratic Nati0nal Convention Speech, ..."The Hope still lives, the Cause endures, the Dream lives on"...in which he conceded his failed presidential candidacy; 2.) The Eulogy at his brother Robert's June 8, 1968 Funeral Mass in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, at which point he became the titular leader and patriarch of the Kennedy Clan at age 36; 3.) His Chappiquiddick Address to the citzens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the country, explaining his role and responsibility for the Chappiquiddick tragedy; 4.) His Senate Judiciary Committee Speech in 1987, opposing the nomination of Judge Robert Bork for the United States Supreme Court; 5.) The last major Ted Kennedy Speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, three months after his brain tumor was diagnosed and against doctors orders, using the Inaugural words 0f his late brother, President Kennedy, on January 20, 1961, "The torch has been passed to a new generation", endorsing the election of Barack Obama and Joseph Biden for the Presidency and Vice Presidency of the United States. At the end of his life, EDWARD MOORE "TED" KENNEDY, was a devoted husband and father to his children and his dozens of fatherless nieces and nephews, an accomplished and very effective Senator with some 550 bills passed that he sponsored, an advocate for the struggling and the marginalized, and a repentant Catholic, who in his final days on earth wrote Pope Benedict XVI, a letter confessing and asking forgiveness for his sins. He will be greatly missed. May the Kennedy Family, our country and the world continue to keep his memory alive. Eternal Light shine upon him. May he Rest in Peace.........Fr. Troy

DAY 11 POST TRANSPLANT - FATHER TROY'S TRANSPLANT JOURNAL UPDATE.........

I am sorry for my 5 day delay in blogging you a Transplant Journal update. From Tuesday until Friday, there was no active internet connection in the vacation guest house I have rented. Then, Thursday night / Friday, I was experiencing severe incision and abdominal pains requiring a return stay at Mayo Clinic Hospital. I am writing this Father Troy's Transplant Journal From my hospital room. The doctors and nurses are monitoring my pain and running extensive tests to determine the reason for my increased pain. My white blood cell count is elevated, so they are thinking it may be some form of infection. I am feeling much better today, the abdominal pain has subsided and the incision pain denoting healing, is per normal. Hopefully, they will be releasing me back to the guest house soon. Joe DiMarco, from Presentation Parish is here to provide relief caregiving this Labor Day weekend, and stayed with me at the hospital overnight. His is the first of six weekends of assistance from the Presentation Parish Men's Club in Sacramento, they are providing me. Bishop Jaime Soto called me on Thursday, inquiring as to my progress and assuring me of his prayers and support. My sisters, Alice and Alene, and I are learning the ropes of 24 / 7 caregiving, and will please God, be joined by Jeremy Lipp on September 17. That's all for this edition. More tomorrow as my post kidney transplant experiences unfold. Prayers + Peace, Father TROY DAVID POWERS.........

FATHER TROY'S POST TRANSPLANT JOURNAL DAY 6...AND CONVALESCING WELL.........

It was another early morning as my first post transplant and early release from the hospital, regular follow-up visit to the Mayo Clinic Hospittal Speciality Building was at 7 a.m., with a fasting lab and medications review. Back at the hotel since 9:15 a.m., we will return to Mayo for a set of appointments at 3 p.m. Lab results and a meeting with the senior doctor on my Transplant Team Dr. Raymond Heilman, are scheduled. A hamburger with FRENCH FRIES ! for lunch from Carlos O'Brien's, led to a restful afternoon nap before returning to the Mayo SpecialityBldg. for my Lab results from this morning, which Dr. Heilman reported were very good. The only weak one, my Phosphorous count, which was 1.6, and should be 2.5 or better. DAIRY PRODUCTS. MORE MILK, YOGURT, CHEESE, ICE CREAM, are in order...YUMMY. I love all of them and have missed them greatly. We bought a half gallon of Neapolitan on the way home and I ate some immediately on arriving back at the hotel. I have invited Victor & Tammy over for a farewell ice cream party later...Tomorrow we move to our vacation guest house at 2610 TRAPONOTTO ROAD, Phoenix, Arizona 85086.........Fr.Troy

FATHER TROY's TRANSPLANT JOURNAL...DAY 2 OUT OF THE HOSPITAL.........

It is Day 5, post transplant and my convalescence proceeds with some pain, but not as much as I was expecting. I am interspersing extra strength tylenol into the mix during the day and taking the percocet prescription only overnight, as of today. This is recommended by my Mayo Clinic Transplant Coordinator. I am still mostly resting and urinating, but took a brief walk earlier and will walk about again later. My sister Alice, will be bringing me Holy Communion from St. Bernadette's Church in about a half hour, before my evening anti rejection drugs, insulin, and dinner. It has been a relatively good day, made better by 2 phone calls. My Indianapolis seminary classmate, Father Dan Donohoo, called to check up on me and Father Oliver Maher held a Walk Down Memory Lane Dinner Party at the Cathedral presbytery in Kilkenny, tonight with our usual suspects, and I spoke with those present, Oliver, Brigid Mullins, Ger and; Kev Butler, Dr. Fr. Dermot Ryan, and Father Dan Bollard. What a joy it was to chat with them on this other side of my kidney transplant. Tomorrow brings my first return visit to the Mayo Clinic for fasting labs and tests at 7 a.m. More Soon. Love, Prayers, + Gratitude,.........Fr. Troy

POST KIDNEY TRANSPLANT DAY 4.........REPORTING AFTERWARDS FOR THE FIRST TIME.........

Hello Everyone, from Day 4, after my kidney transplant in Phoenix. My big, vibrant, new kidney thanks to Victor, is functioning very well. I am voiding as much as nine pints a day of fluids and the anti-rejection drugs are showing no side effects, as of yet. My pain level is a 5 or below most of the time, thanks to laying down most of the time, although I am walking more, with a metallic cane, by doctor's orders- 10 minutes more each day. My entourage of donor and caregivers are here in the Hampton Inn, until Tuesday September 1, whenVictor and Tammy return to Sacramento, and we move into the vacation guest house I have rented through October 17. Curtis Richards was here from Washington, D.C., Monday-Thursday and was a great help to me and all of us. I have spent last night and today, watching the funeral rites for Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy. It was very Irish-American and very Catholic...More Soon. Love. Prayers, + Gratitude,.........Father TROY DAVID POWERS "Transplant Troy"

LIVE FROM PHOENIX...#2, FATHER TROY'S & VICTOR'S TRANSPLANT EVE JOURNAL.........

My early out the hotel door with my twin sisters Alice and Alene to the Mayo Clinic Hospital for pre op testing and interviews from 7:35 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., went well. Starting with a fasting blood lab, followed by a EKG and Chest X-Ray readied me to meet one of the transplant team doctors, my nurse coordinator, and a social worker. We learned our hospital check-in time is 5:45 a.m., and that we are the first transplant surgery of the day at 7:30 a.m. My surgeon's name is Dr. Mulligan, a good ol' Irish name to be transplanting a Powers. The surgery will take 2-4 hours, so it should be completed by lunchtime in California;. Curtis Richards has arrived and will be joining us for a BBQ dinner at poolside here at our hotel tonight. Curtis, Alice and Alene, will be telephoning an extensive contacts list tomorrow afternoon and evening. I will not be taking calls or making them for several days of my early convalescence. Nor will I be e-mailing until I am stronger.........PEACE + PRAYERS to EVERYONE, TROY TRANSPLANT

FATHER TROY's PRE TRANSPLANT JOURNAL...LIVE ! FROM PHOENIX.........#1

EUREKA !!!!!!!!!, We have arrived in Phoenix, uneventfully, right on time and are ensconced in our Hampton Inn Suites on North Scottsdale Road. The 5 of us, (Jeremy will be down circa Sept. 11) are going out for Mexican food at Carlos O'Brien's.........What a first night in Scottsdale, beginning with the truly fantastic suites, the best I've ever stayed in ...Our dinner at Carlos O'Briens right across the street from our hotel is said to be, "The Best in the Valley", and now we know why.  My sister Alice and I celebrated with a frozen margarita and Victor a gin and orange juice, as we toasted finally getting here for transplant.  Then it was off to Fry's supermarket to buy provisions for the days ahead.  Our hotel shuttle driver, Rodney, was celebrating his birthday on Sunday, so I did what my mother would have done, bought him an ice cream cake.  In this case, a Carvel Ice Cream Cake, which I first heard Larry King talk about on Mutual Radio, more than 30 years ago...Then we recessed back to the suites for a nightcap of a special drink the Herrera's and I enjoy, a Watermelon Cooler.  That's all the libations I will have until well into my convalescence and recovery.  As I can drink as much asI like with dinner before 7 p.m. Monday night, but no alcohol allowed.  I will gladly celebrate being able to drink more than 48 ounces of fluids a day again.  Tomorrow, Monday is an early start, with a 6:40 a.m. shuttle to the Hospital for pre-op tests and prep.  I meet up with my beloved friend Curtis Richards, who will meet me there and come back with me to the Hampton Inn Suites to join us for dinner.  Curtis has rearranged his work schedule in Washington, D.C., to be here Monday-Thursday, and will be helping me, in part by assisting my sisters in calling my contacts list with a first post transplant progress report on Tuesday.........More LIVE From Phoenix/Scottsdale pre-transplant for the last time tomorrow night.  Love, Peace, + Prayers,  Fr. Troy

FATHER TROY'S PRE-TRANSPLANT JOURNAL.........#13...

T Minus 2 days and 9 hours until my long awaited kidney transplant in Phoenix at the Mayo Clinic Arizona Hospital. Beyond the assurance of others prayers, the most asked question I am getting is, Father, are You nervous ? I answer honestly, I feel excited and nervous, but confident and believing God is not about to abandon me. I also believe in the stellar medical staff and health services provided by the Mayo Clinic. I know we are in very good hands, my donor and I. Today, after completing my last dialysis treatment, I met Bishop Emeritus Francis Quinn at Mercy McMahon and then headed out to Franklin Blvd., to check in with Msgr. Kavanagh. I ended up concelebrating with, and presiding at St. Rose's 5 p.m. Mass with him. As my fare thee well visit with them. Tonight my packing begins, less clothes than sweats, shorts, tees, and pajamas, with a handful of shirts and pants. Some twenty books, my laptop, ipod, and radio, as well.
Thank you for your prayers and support. The next pre transplant journal entry will come from Phoenix tomorrow night. God's Peace be with you one and all.........Fr. Troy

...378...890...1323...

On this Saturday August 22, three days before my kidney transplant,at the Mayo Clinic Arizona in Phoenix, I am sitting through my final dialysis treatment. These nearly two and a half years amount to 890 days since I was diagnosed with end stage kidney disease and began dialysis in Sutter Roseville Medical Center. From March 15, 2007 to today, I have received 378 dialysis treatments, 359 of them at the Davita Orangevale Dialysis Center, 8 of them in Sutter Roseville, and 11 of them in hospitals and clinics in Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Canada, Juneau and Phoenix. My 378 dialysis treatments amount to a grand total of 1,323 hours on the dialysizer. And those of you who know me, know my penchant for numbers !!!!!!!!! Ninety five percent of my dialysis treatments have been with the team of medical professionals and technicians at the Orangevale Clinic. I am here because my nephrologists, Drs. Bhat, Thornton, Spin, and company, are affiliated here and they are such solid members of my wider medical team that I wanted to retain them during the course of my renal ordeal. The Davita Team of co-workers has prominently posted a motto that reads, "WE ARE A GROUP OF DEDICATED TEAMMATES COMMITTED TO CREATING A CLIMATE OF COMPASSION, CARING AND EXCELLENT SERVICE FOR OUR PATIENTS AND EACH OTHER." Given they work 12 hour days with three distinct daily shifts of as many as 20 patients, 6 days a week and our patient personalities can at times be difficult or unpredictable, they do a fantastic job. To all of them I say thank you for seeing me through these almost two and a half years. A grateful shout out to the nurses, Jackie, Debbie, Dan, Sherrie, Joyce, Angie, and to nutritionist, Nancy, social workers, Hazel and Amber, receptionists, Casandra, Donna, the bio med staff, Marcus, Russ, James, and to the technicians, Bev, Amy, Lisa, Clare, Wendy, James, John, Jun, Alyssa, Jonathan, Josh,Tiana, Paige, and all the rest of the Davita Orangevale staff, who have made this a productive and tolerable experience, especially when I have been less than patient at times. I am full of gratitude for all of the men and women here and elsewhere who devote their efforts to us who need this indispensable lifeline. Let me also acknowledge and express appreciation for the Fresenius Corp. and their Holiday Dialysis International, on the internet that arranged dialysis treatments for me and simplified my worldly travels, especially Francesca and Rachel. I also thank my fellow dialysis patients, many of whom I have come to know and appreciate for their own stories and friendship. For me, please God the dialysis experience is all but over. But for my fellow patients and the 77,000 dialysis patients needing transplants with only 11,000 donors annually, I say stay strong and focused that many of you will also be blessed with a kidney transplant. Know I will be praying for you and advocating for greater kidney donations from all prospective donors, that you too may successfully see the completion of your dialysis and transplant journeys. God Bless YOU and Keep YOU, God make the Divine Face Shine upon YOU and be Gracious to YOU, God Grant YOU Peace.........Reverend Father Troy David Powers

SPREAD the Word...READ Father Troy's TRANSPLANT JOURNAL here while I convalesce in Phoenix the next few months at, troydavidpowers.blogspot.com THANK YOU 30-60-100 fold.

FATHER TROY's TRANSPLANT JOURNAL.........#12...

Day 12 of the pre transplant journaling with just 5 days to my kidney transplant at the Mayo Clinic Arizona in Phoenix, has been a multifaceted day. After bundling up personal papers and storing them safely away, I went to the bank and drew on my transplant account the rental cashier checks for my convalescence-caregiving house in Phoenix from September 1-October 17. I was also interviewed by reporter Denise MacLaclan, of the Catholic Herald diocesan newspaper, for a story in their next editions. I put together phone contact lists for my caregivers to call with the first progress reports following my transplant.
Then I went out to South Sacramento to visit and luncheon with my chilhood pastor, priestly mentor and spiritual second father, Msgr. Edward J. Kavanagh. He is progressing nicely from a broken hip nearly six weeks ago. The therapist who worked with him today was hopeful he is improving in gaining back his ability to walk well. I saw my primary caregiver Jeremy Lipp, at La Rosa Blanca and dined with parishiners out celebrating a family birthday. My excitement is being joined by nervousness, but the power of prayer and confidence in my transplant team, has me feeling ready and able to get this kidney transplant and to be returned to full time priestly ministry, just months from now.........Fr. Troy

FATHER TROY's TRANSPLANT JOURNAL.........#11...

T - Minus 5 Days and counting to my kidney transplant at Mayo Clinic Arizona Hospital in Phoenix. The address to the Mayo Clinic Hospital, Phoenix is : 5777 East Mayo Blvd.
Phoenix, Arizona 85054
602-515-6296
I am scheduled to be in the hoispital for one week and be released on Tuesday September 1.
That day we will move into the vacation guest house I have rented from then until Ocotber 17.
My caregivers will be calling a substantial number of you Tuesday afternoon/evening to give you a progress report following the transplant. As soon as I am able to do so, I will be making Transplant Journal updates on a daily basis right here. Spread the word with the direct address to my blog which is : troydavidpowers.blogspot.com
On another significant note, today August 20, Feast of St. BERNARD, Abbot and Doctor,
is the 90th BIRTHDAY of Monsignor GERARD SCHONS.........He was feted at a very special luncheon today by Monsignors Kavanagh and Church and the staff of St. Rose's Parish in South Sacramento. I was his altar server and lector there thirty to forty years ago and he delivered a post Communion reflection at First Mass, 22 years ago.........HAPPY BIRTHDAY JERRY...
Fr. Troy

BUDDIES.........

Preparing for my kidney transplant next Tuesday has me thinking of, and appreciating anew, the many friends with which I am blessed. Bishop Francis Quinn's use of the word, "buddy", to describe our relationship at my pre-transplant party Monday night, has me thinking about my other buddies. Father Oliver Maher, Administrator of St. Mary's Cathedral in Kilkenny, Ireland is one of my chief buddies. He has been since our days as classmates at St. Kieran's Seminary. Oliver will come to be with me in Phoenix in late September and early October. Curtis Richards, is also definitely one of my key inner circle buddies. Our friendship has endured over more than three decades through all that life has brought our way. Curtis has now informed me he will be coming from Washington, D.C., and has arranged his schedule, so to be with me for several days next week as I undergo my transplant and begin the initial convalescence. Joe Gibson and Ray Riehle, are two more of my long time buddies. Their friendships through the past two and three decades, have been a wonderful exchange of interpersonal sharing and intellectual endeavor. This Saturday, August 22, one of my very special buddies, Alex Mauro celebrates his 20th Birthday. Alex's bond with me is undeniable. A man with special needs, Alex exudes love and is a reminder to me and you, that God has a place for everyone and the Alex's of this world remind us they too, share God's Love.

Mari Farnsworth and the Helping Hands ministry volunteers who have driven me back to the rectory after dialysais, are other buddies of mine. As are, David McAffee and the Presentation Men's Club, who will be providing for my weekend caregiving while I am convalescing in Phoenix. Others who qualify as buddies to me during my renal ordeal are five Presentation women who have stepped up and cooked dinner for me one night each weekly for the past two and a half years. Sid Currey, Joan Qualls, Julia McAffee, Kitty Freidrichs, Irene Cervantes, have provided me with kidney friendly meals, keeping my potassium and phosphorous in check.
There are many more too great in number to include here as buddies of mine. But one more person must be included. He is not only my friend and wheelman, but my living donor, Victor Herrera. Victor has stood by me faithfully from just seconds after I received the prognosis of my kidney failure,that it would require a transplant, he volunteered then and there to be my donor..."GOD IS GOOD".........Fr. Troy

FATHER TROY's TRANSPLANT JOURNAL.........#10...

With it just 6 days to my kidney transplant, today was a day for vital post transplant decisions. After days of discussion and consideration, Bishop Soto and I reached agreement about diocesan support for my post transplant expenses. He is fully aboard in wanting to assist me and getting me well again to resume my full time priestly ministry. Also today, I arranged with a Phoenix area realtor for a guest house rental for the six week convalescence where my caregivers and I will be staying, September 1 - October 17. We had hoped to stay at the Mayo Clinic's Transplant Village, but alas it is full and the best hotel arrangement would have cost as much, if not more than the guest house. I ended my work day by visiting my retired colleague and my Folsom Pastor during my 3.5 years as Associate Pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish, Father Bill Kinane. He is recuperating from a rotar cuff injiry in April, but as always his generous spirit and priestly fraternity are truly wonderful..."Schlaft in himmlischer ruh "......Sleep In Heavenly Peace.........Fr. Troy

FATHER TROY's TRANSPLANT JOURNAL.........#9...

Since March 15, 2007, I have done 376 dialysis treatments, for the most part on Monday, Wednesday, Friday afternoons. This week, please God my last week of dialysis ever, I am doing the final three dialysis treatments on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, to accomodate my pre -transplant departure schedule of concerted activities battening down the hatches. At today's dialysis treatment the final blood draw was taken from me, as it was from Victor my donor, on Monday, to confirm that we are a perfect blood match for kidney transplant. Mine should have been done yesterday as well, but I moved Monday's dialysis to today, so as to see Bishop Soto and be on time for the Geach Family's Party for me. It was UPS expedited to Phoenix this afternoon. My transplant pre-op schedule for Monday at the Mayo Clinic has arrived. I will be tested and prepped by the transplant team from 7:35 A.M. -230 P.M., then return to my entourage at our hotel for a dinner before 7 p.m., as my pre transplant fasting begins then. The one concession to me is I can drink as much as I like with dinner, but no alcohol. Monday and Tuesday, also start out as days of fast for me.........Fr. Troy

FATHER TROY's TRANSPLANT JOURNAL.........#8

Day 8 of my countdown to my kidney transplant and another full day it was. Following my 6:30 a.m. Mass at Presentation, I spent the morning doing more of the tasks on my pre-departure foolscap pad. Then in the late afternoon I had a meeting at the Pastoral Center with Bishop Jaime Soto, a productive, hour long, discussion about my transplant needs. He seems to sincerely want to be of help, so I am hopeful I will have his and the Diocese's support. While waiting to see Bishop Soto, I chatted briefly with Bishop Weigand. Then I proceeded to my Pre-Transplant Thank You and Fare-thee-well Party at my 30 year friends, the Geach Family's son and daughter in-law, RODD & KARLA's Original Pete's Pizza Pasta Grill Restaurant at Elk Grove Blvd. & I-5. Friends and Parishioners of mine from all over the Sacramento area attended and the food and drink flowed abundantly as all present shared the gifts of themselves with me. My most special guest tonight was our very own beloved, Bishop Emeritus Francis Anthony Quinn, whom I was honored to have with us. Bishop Quinn personally recruited me as a priest for the Sacramento Diocese and is my ordaining bishop, May 2, 1987, in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, the Centennial Year of our Diocese. My grateful, heartfelt, and prayerful, THANKS to all who attended tonight's party from Presentation, St. Philomene's, in northeast Sacramento, St. Joseph's, Elk Grove, St. John the Baptist, Folsom, and St. Rose's, South Sacramento, Parishes. Also, to one of the teachers in my youth from Woodbine School, Mrs, Matsunaga. And of course, Roger, Karin, Rodd, Karla, Ryan, Josefina Geach and Kelli & Patrick Moran, and their children/grandchildren, for sponsoring the event. Thank you all for treasuring me, as I treaure all of you.........Fr. Troy

FATHER TROY's TRANSPLANT JOURNAL.........#7...

T - Minus 9 Days and counting, to my kidney transplant on this 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, and one week to my departure for Phoenix and the Mayo Clinic Arizona. Today has been exhilarating as both the Presentation of the BVM, and St. Philomene's parishioners celebrated with me my joy and excitement, that at last, my transplant is about to oocur. Visiting the post Communion portion of St. Philomene's 9 a.m. Mass, meant I got the chance to participate briefly, with my classmate, Fr. Eduino. Then resting in my quarters this afternoon, I telephoned my Indianapolis classmate, Fr. Daniel Donohoo, whose 50th Birthday was yesterday. Another full day tomorrow to begin an almost nonstop week. It will be a blending of business and pleasure, including a meeting with Bishop Soto at the Pastoral Center and my Pre-Transplant Party at Original Pete's Restaurant, in Elk Grove, sponsored by the Geach Family.........Fr. Troy

FATHER TROY's TRANSPLANT JOURNAL.........#6

Saturday, Day 6 of my transplant journal, has been T- Minus 10 Days and Counting to My Kidney Transplant Day, Tues. Aug. 25, at the Mayo Clinic Arizon, in Phoenix. It has been a necessary day of rest and relaxation, after a very busy, non stop week of pre-transplant activities. The week ahead will be even busier for me battening down the hatches before heading to the high desert for at least two months. I went home to South Sacramento for a few hours and went to lunch with a priest friend. Returning to Presentation for 4 o'clock Confessions and the 5:30 p.m. Mass, I am mulling over what to have for dinner. I will preside at 8 a.m. Sunday Mass here at Presentation then I will head over to St. Philomene's for the remainder of their 9 o'clock Mass and my announcement of the kidney transplant..........Fr. Troy

THE GREAT HEALTH CARE REFOTM DEBATE.........

The renewed health care reform debate currently underway throughout o country underscores just how important an issue it is for American families. In as abundant and affluent nation as ours, that 47 million persons of our 300 million plus population is without any health insurance coverage at all, is scandalously wrong. Health Care Reform has been a diffcult and contentious American consideration for over a century. The first American Presidential election campa ign in which health care reform was a major issue was 1912, that renowned three way race between incumbent Republican President William Howard Taft, former Republican President Theodore Roosevelt, running as the standardbearer of the 'Bull Moose' Progressive Party, and Democratic New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson. Roosevelt campaigned long and hard for passage of a National Health Program. President Harry S Truman made it a central plank of his uphill election effort. Of course, Presidents Clinton and Obama have campaigned for health care reform. Time for talking shop is well past. If, "money the mother's milk of politics", can provide obstacles to health care reform with political consultants, profressional organizers and bankrolling millionaires, then a fair and honest health care reform initiative needs to be put before the American people debated openly and with integrity, not these contrived protest productions at town hall meetings And if the American politics of 2009 dictates more stalemate and status quo , blocking reform, then why don't we begin again by finding a humane and civilized way to include all our uninsured sister and brother citizens ?.........Fr. Troy

FATHER TROY's TRANSPLANT JOURNAL.........#5...

Another full and active day for me counting down to departure for Phoenix and my kidney transplant on Aug. 25. After celebrating the 6:30 a.m. Mass at Presentation Parish and having breakfast I drove down to the Pastoral Center for a transplant needs meeting with a member of the Bishop's staff, who failed to appear. So I headed off to Folsom for my final pre-transplant dental appointment and then after lunch with a parishioner went to Orangevale to do my 375th dialysis treatment. While in the dialysis chair I continued addressing the two dozen items to be completed before I leave for the Mayo Clinic Arizona in Phoenix on Aug. 23. Tonight, after getting back to my quarters and chillaxing for an hour or so I went to La Rosa Blanca Restaurant for dinner and had a very moving conversation with Jeremy, my primary caregiver who will be gong with me and my twin sisters to Phoenix.........Fr. Troy

FATHER TROY's TRANSPLANT JOURNAL............#4...

It has been another full day for me working on pre transplant activities ranging from legal matters and medical issues, to transportation and lodging arrangements for me, my donor, and my caregivers, in Phoenix. For the past several days myself and others in my circle of friends, have been researching the options for housing during the post transplant convalescence period in Phoenix. The newly opened Mayo Clinic Arizona Transplant Village is already full up and we are on a long waiting list, so an alternative must be found. As of tonight, it looks like me and my caregivers will either be in a hotel or a guest house. That will mean a short ride 3 times a week back to the Transplant Center for follow-up medical appointments an blood labs. Today, I also set up a Transplant Account at the Bank of America Arden & Eastern Branch, from which all my kidney transplant expenses will be paid.........Fr. Troy

FATHER TROY's TRANSPLANT JOURNAL.........#3...

Day 3 of my Transplant Journal and a very active day it has been. I slept the most solidly last night I have in weeks, feeling a sense of relief my BIG day is finally set for kidney transplant, Aug. 25, in Phoenix. Both of my twins sisters, Alice & Alene, will be joining my friend and La Rosa Blanca younger son and waiter, Jeremy Lipp, as my 24 / 7 primary caregivers, Monday-Friday in Phoenix, post transplant. Now that we are unable to reside at the new Mayo Clinic Transplant Village, due to high demand and a lengthy waiting list, we will either be in a hotel or a guest house, whichever is most economical and true to my fiscal conservative self. I had my penultimate dental appointment for transplant certification with Dr. Jerry Ortner, DDS, this morning, with one more Friday. Why this is essential is my teeth must be in perfect order before transplant to avoid the frontline of post transplant infections, the mouth and teeth. A coterie of Presentation parishioners picked me up after dialysis to bring me home and took me out to a turkey dinner. (my lifelong favorite) Upon returning to the rectory I went over to the parish Nano Nagle center, for a brief visit to the Life Teen parents meeting presided over by our by our newlywed Youth Minister Brennen Cull.........Fr. Troy

FATHER TROY's TRANSPLANT JOURNAL...#2.........

On this second day of my new Transplant Journal, I have the best of news. My kidney transplant has been scheduled for two weeks from today, Tuesday August 25, at the Mayo Clinic Arizona in Phoenix. After 1,316 hours and 30 minutes of dialysis I am certainly more than ready to proceed with my transplant, so that I can be returned to full time ministry. The joy and excitement I feel to have this second chance at a near normal life and to carry out the priestly ministry I was ordained 22 years ago to share in providing servant-leadership for the People of God in my native place, is awesome. My sister Alice White, and my friend Jeremy Lipp, will be my primary caregivers, Monday-Friday. The Presentation Parish Men's Club will provide my weekend caregiving.........Fr. Troy

FATHER TROY 's, "TRANSPLANT JOURNAL".........1st EDITION

This is the first edition of my newly christened, Father Troy's "Transplant Journal". Beginning now I will write almost daily blog column updates for my pre-thru-post kidney transplant experience. You, your family friends, fellow parishioners, and all in my circle, will have the opportunity to monitor my responses for the coming 2-10 weeks. The very good news I returned home to, from a week's vacation last Saturday is that my living donor, Victor Herrera passed all his required tests at the Mayo Clinic Arizona in Phoenix and the transplant team has informed him my transplant will take place there in Arizona with the date now between Aug. 25 - Oct. 20. That means I will remain in Phoenix until at least November or December, doing post transplant convalescence at the Mayo Clinic where hopefully me, my donor, and our caregivers will all reside for 6-8 weeks at the Transplant Village on the hospital campus.........Fr. Troy

OUR NEWEST UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT MEMBER : JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR.........

It is a proud and overdue moment in American history for Hispanic citizens in the United States with the nomination, confirmation and installation, of the very first Hispanic Justice ever and only the third woman to sit as a Supreme Court Justice and that, is in just the past 28 years. This Latina woman, about which much has been made the last 2 months, is a first generation, ,Puerto Rican American. She was valedictorian of her high school class, second in her class at Princeton University, an outstanding law student at Yale, where she was Editor of the Law Review, one of the highest recognitions a law student can receive. The bedrock, core values of our democracy include Freedom and Fairness. This outstanding Latina woman scholar, attorney, and judge, deserves the opportunity for a fair start to become a respected and diligent 111th U.S. Supreme Court Justice. She also is making history being a Catholic, the 6th Catholic,-Christian sitting on our highest Court, another historical first and making the Catholic to non Catholic ratio of the Supreme Court, an unprecedented, 2-1. Politics aside, what we now know is that Justice Sotomayor is a moderate liberal, and moderates appointed by conservative or progressive Presidents have often proven to be unpredictable votes as confirmed for life, sans impeachment, Justices. Again, I am not advocating she not be judged objectvely for the decisions she will render the next 20-30 years perhaps, but responded to fairly and not merely through a partisan prism.........Fr. Troy

FORWARD PROGRESS TO MY KIDNEY TRANSPLANT CONTINUES.........

More very GOOD NEWS about my approaching kidney transplant. The Mayo Clinic Arizona in Phoenix has informed Victor Herrera, my donor that the transplant will take place between Aug. 25 - Oct. 20. We have requested Aug. 25th.........MORE TO COME SOON...Fr. Troy

PROMISING NEWS ON MY KIDNEY TRANSPLANT.........

Returning from my Alaska Cruise with Fr. Ben DeLeon, while taking a dialysis treatment in Vancouver, BC Canada on Sat. Aug. 8th, my kidney donor Victor Herrera called me with very good news. He has passed all his required tests at the Mayo Clinic Arizona, in Phoenix. He will be my donor. And the Phoenix transplant team has told him my transplant will occur in September or October. So, very promising and happy news that my nearly two and a half year, 372 dialysis treatments to date, renal ordeal may soon be over. I am still searching for a second 24 / 7 primary caregiver, Monday - Friday. If you know anyone who is available have them contact me at 916-396-2309, or by e-mail, at troypow@yahoo.com
Today, Sun. Aug. 9th, Presentation Parish in northeast Sacramento, where I am in residence, held a second annual BLOOD DONOR SUNDAY. The Bank Blood workers were busy from before 8 a.m., until after 1 p.m., with a myriad of parishioners giving blood. My thanks to all who participated as the blood donated will in part, be available for me should I need it in regards to my kidney transplant.........Fr. Troy

NORTH FROM ALASKA.........Part 4.........

Day 7, the last full day of my Alaska cruise with Fr. Ben at sea, as we head back to our final docking in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Grateful thanks from both of us to Karin and Roger Geach, for their gift of a truly wonderful dinner last night in the Portofino Restaurant aboard ship. It was an exquisite two and a half hour culinary experience. Tonight I look forward to our final night's dinner with our week long dinnner companions, Sean and Kaley, a young, 3 years married couple who are on their first cruise and hosting his parents and uncle and aunt as well. They are all Canadians. Sean works in Oil Sands development in Calgary, his parents live in Montreal, and his uncle and wife are from Toronto. A South African couple has also been at table with us this week. This cruise has been equally enjoyable as our 2005 Greek Isles cruise. Has me thinking about future cruises, to perhaps the Baltic, the Caribbean, or Brazil and South America. Thank you for sharing in this week's adventure. I do another dialysis treatment in Vancouver Saturday morning, then flight home to Sacramento, and will return for Sunday's 2nd annual Blood Donor Day at Presentation Parish, which will be taken up for my use if necessary, in conjunction with my approaching kidney transplant. In advance, THANK YOU PRESENTATION PARISHIONERS. See you Sunday........Fr. Troy David Powers

NORTH TO ALASKA.........Part 3.........

Wednesday, Day 5 of our Alaska cruise, I disembarked in Skagway and was taken to the airport for a 40 minute puddlejumper flight in a plane seating 5 passengers, to Juneau for my dialysis treatment. The pilot Mike did a great job and is from Santa Cruz, CA. The woman seated next to me Dana, is from Fort Bragg. and the other man aboard, Paul, formerly of Skagway, now lives in New Orleans. The flight, and dialysis were uneventful and the cruise line provided me transportatation from the ship, to the airport, dialysis center, hotel, and back to the ship. It is now about 10 a.m. Thursday morning I am back onboard the SERENADE OF THE SEAS. Tonight, Ben and I will dine in the Portofino Fine Restaurant for a really good Italian Dinner, compliments of my friends Roger and Karin Geach. Now it's time to explore downtown Juneau.........Fr. Troy

NORTH TO ALASKA.........Part 2.........

Day 4, of Fr. Ben and my Alaska cruise and we breakfasted today viewing some of the Glaciers here. It has been a day at sea, so we are actually sailing toward our next port of Skagway tomorrow. After touring in the morning, I will fly over to Juneau to take my dialysis treatment. And I will stay overnight in Juneau and re-join the ship on Thusday afternoon. I am waiting to hear from my transplant donor Victor, who is wrapping up his testing at Mayo Clinic Arizona in Phoenix. Hopefully, it wll be a greenlight all the way for transplant in coming weeks. More soon as both adventures continue. Love and Prayers.........Fr. Troy

NORTH FROM ALASKA.........Part 1.........

This week of August 1, 2009 Father Benedict DeLeon and I are on a Alaska Cruise. After embarking from Vancouver, Canada on Saturday night, we spent Sunday at sea. Our first stop on Monday is ICY STRAIT POINT, and the village of HOONAH. Tuesday we are at sea again and then on Wednesday we will be in the port of SKAGWAY. In Skagway, after touring the sites, I will fly a puddlejumper 30 minutes to JUNEAU, where I will take a dialysis treatment. More to be shared of our Alaskan adventure in coming days. Thanks for sharing in it here on my blog.........Fr. Troy

THE CHALLENGES OF RACE...IN LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL......

In recent days we have observed anew the reality that racial polarization is still very much present in America, despite the election last year of our first Afro-American President of the United States. The loud outcry stirred by the imbroglio between a black Harvard professor and a white Cambridge police officer, has focused the eyes and ears of our citizens on how far we have not yet come in unconditionally accepting and responding to each other without allowing race, ethnicity, or national origin, determine our response. This latest episode is perhaps a great teachable moment for our nation and the world. Whether racial profiling, reverse discrimination, or just miscommunication, was the root cause of this incident, it is a vital opportunity for all of us to revisit our actions and attitudes and to recommit to live in a color blind society of acceptance and equal opportunity for all peoples.
As Catholic-Christians we have a baptismal calling to love one another as we live the values of the Gospel. Jesus Co-Eternal Son of God, was born into the world with the purposes of saving and redeeming all people who follow him. White, black, yellow, brown, the color of our skin makes no difference to adherents of the Gospel of Life and Jesus the Christ.
Let us pray that as the dissension caused by this latest interaction in Massachusetts, gives way to dialogue and the police officer and the professor join The President for a beer in the White House, may we strive to arrive at the fullest acceptance of each other, just as Jesus does. This incident may well be a teachable moment for our country in the power of a continuing dialogue on as important and contentious an issue as race relations. The United States of America and the World have made meaningful progress in matters of civil rights and equal opportunities for peoples of all races and ethnicities during the past five decades. And yet we have so much further to go in concretizing the acceptance and openness we exhibit toward each other regardless of our skin color. Perhaps this incident can propel us forward further into the expanse of mutual acceptance and respect for each other and put the issue of racial profiling on notice, that it has no place in our nation or the world.........Fr. Troy

MARTHA, MARTHA, SAINT OF HOSPITALITY

Dining with friends and colleagues last night in our shared fellowship and fraternity of the priesthood, was an ideal prelude to St. Martha's Feast Day, we celebrate today, July 29. According to the Gospels, the sister of Mary and Lazarus, Martha is recognized for the hospitality her family generously shared with Jesus and other visitors. Jesus was indeed close to Martha, Mary and Lazarus, dining in their home and spending quality time with this family of three in what can be described as a human interest story. Yet, despite their closeness, Jesus stayed away when Lazarus took seriously ill and died. That occurrence as recorded in John 11 : 17-27, establishes a personal confession of faith in her verbal exchange with Jesus Who proclaims Himself, "The Resurrection and The Life", by responding positively by indicating trhat she believes Jesus to be, "the Messiah, the Son of God, He who is to Come into the World". That profession of belief is perhaps only equaled by Thomas the Apostle when he proclaimed, "My Lord and My God", after witnessing to the Risen Christ. On this day when we honor the St. Martha in all of us, what acts of hospitality and generosity are you committed to share with others, today, this week, in the remaining days of summer ? The soiree I attended last night fulfilled the attributes for which St. Martha is remembered. May your current socializing with your family and friends mirror that same generosity of spirit and observe the fullness of fellowship and hospitality following Martha's scriptural lead.........Fr. Troy

SEEK AND INDEED I DID FIND.........

EUREKA !! It took a full month to find not one, but two, 24/7, primary caregivers to assist me in my post kidney transplant convalescence occurring soon. But, I HAVE FOUND THEM !!!!
Jeremy Lipp, and John Flores, will be my primary 24/7 caregivers Monday-Friday, and my twin sisters Alice and Alene, will lead a team of weekend caregivers, who wikll include members of the Presentation Parish Men 's Club. I am truly grateful to them and everyone who is offering to assist me in this endeavor. My Living Donor, Victor Herrera is in Phoenix from July 29-August 5, to do his testing at the Mayo Clinic Arizona. Meanwhile having been officially listed as a Transplant Candidate by both Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, and the Mayo Clinic Arizona in Phoenix, I am in the process of battening down all my hatches, checking off my list of necessary activities, I must complete before transplant. Preparations for the first two months of my post transplant convalescence caregiving is at the heart of those necessary activities. In the next few weeks my primary 24 / 7 caregivers and I will go to Phoenix to do the caregiving training required by the Mayo Clinic.........Fr. Troy

...AND THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS.........

On this 40th anniversary Ruby Jubilee day of the Lunar Landing by Apollo XI and that, "one small step for man, and one great leap for mankind", by astronauts Armstong, Aldrin, and Collins, we are misssing today the man who brought the joyful news of the our first ever landing on the Moon to our country and the world. That man was WALTER CRONKITE. Walter Cronkite the anchorman of the CBS Evening News from 1962-1981, was voted in 1972, to be the most Trusted man in America, eclipsing then President Richard Nixon by sixteen points. I was in Kindergarten when "Uncle Walter" as he came to be known by many began bringing the evening news into our homes at the dinner hour. From then until now he has always been the newsman I most respected, admired and enjoyed. In college I learned I had another a unique interpersonal bond with Walter Cronkite, our shared birthday. As I like to tell it, I was born on Walter Cronkite's 40th Birthday, November 4, 1956. Before knowing it was Mr. Cronkite's birthday November 4th stands out for being the liturgical feast day of St. Charles Borromeo, the 16th Century Cardinal-Archbishop of Milan Italy, who put the reforms of the counter reformation Council of Trent, into effect. Among his reform innovations were creating seminaries to form and educate future priests for ordination and the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, CCD, to teach children the Catholic Faith.. November 4, 1956, the day I was born and Walter Cronkite was 40 years old, was also the day the Russians forcefully put down and squashed the Hungarian Revolution. On Friday night as I was about to come off the dialysis machine the news broke that Walter Cronkite had died in New York with his family attending him, at age 92. It made for a weekend of mixed emotions, as I have been both mourning and monitoring the news and retrospectives of Cronkite's iconic and legendary career. The integrity and trust with which delivered the news has not and will not hardly be seen again. Whether it was broadcasting theDemocratic and Republican political conventions, as he did from 1952-1980, except for one in 1964, work for which he became known as first newsman to be declare an Anchorman, the Gemini and Apollo launchings and orbitings culminating in his enthusiastic and exuberant celebration of Man on the Moon, to tthe Kennedy and King Assainations, or reporting the Civil Rights struggles of the 1950's and 1960, the news was always first withWalter Cronkite.. So Thank You Walter Cronkite for helping us make sense of world affairs for that almost hallowed half hour in front of the television as you clearly, crisply, and convincingly, brought the facts and events of the day to a waiting nation. Who of us will ever forget your nighly closing proclamation, "And that's the way it is",...this July 20, 2009. I am guessing you will now be proclaiming those words from your eternal anchor desk in God's Kingdom......BECAUSE THAT'S THE WAY IT IS. Love You "Uncle Walter".........Fr. Troy

1909 - 2009 "CENTENNIALS"

In January 1969, I received a clock radio from my grandmother, four months after I started junior high school. It became my window to the wider world of Sacramento and San Francisco, and on some nights to Southern California and Oregon. I used that radio to listen to news and talk, even more than music. In addition to KFBK 1530, AND KCRA 1320, in Sacramento, I worked my way up the dial to SanFrancisco, and KCBS 740, AND KGO 810. Listening to all that radio news and call in talk on a daily basis rounded me out and increased both my knowledge and my vocabulary. All of that came flooding back as I was sitting in my car this week listening to the news on KCBS Radio. A commercial was aired as I sat there listening touting the 1ooth anniversary of KCBS Radio. That starting me to thinking about Centennials occurring this year of some significance. This week the NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is marking its 100th Anniversary. For the past century the NAACP has worked for equal opportunity and protection for all peoples of color. Civil rights and human rights have been prospered because of the foundational work of the NAACP. My college fraternity, Lambda Chi Alpha, is also lighting up 100 candles this year. A general, social fraternity with more than 200 chapters on college campuses in the United States and Canada, Lambda Chi came to California State University, Sacramento, in the Spring 1977, my first semester on campus. I was the first recruit to the Sac State colony and became the second initiate, Phi Pi 2, and had a truly memorable undergraduate and alumni experience for more than three decades now, highlighted by the honor of serving as High Alpha, (Chapter President) and High Pi, (Alumni Chancellor). Sadly, the Sac State chapter, the Phi Pi Zeta,with more than 500 total initiates in 2009, of Lambda Chi Alpha, closed its doors in May. As a priest of the Sacramento Diocese there are two centennials being celebrated this year in Sacramento parishes. Immaculate Conception Parish at 32nd Street and Broadway is celebrating the Centennial of its founding. Only miles away at 12th & S Streets, St. Elizabeth Parish, the Portuguese national parish is also celebrating 100 years since its founding. I have a heartfelt family connection to both of these Centennial parishes. Being fifty percent Portuguese, my mother's family faith life was anchored in the early years of St. Elizabeth's Parish. My grandparents were married there in 1915. My mother and her siblings were all baptized there. Growing up I remember attending services from Our Lady of Fatima celebrations to funerals and my feeling of ancestral pride anytime we went to St. Elizabeth's Church. In my adult life St. Elizabeth's has taken on renewed focus, as my seminary classmate, Father Eduino Silveira served there as Pastor from 1991-2005. Immaculate Conception Parish in the Oak Park neighborhood of South Sacramento has been a familiar experience from my youth as a number of my maternal cousins and their families lived in the parish. Baptisms, weddings, funerals and occasionally Sunday Mass, brought us to Immaculate Conception for several memorable experiences. One thing was always the same. Stationed a the punch bowl in the parish hall was an 80's something Portuguese woman, named Chapa, we kids called the Punch Lady. Ever present, she doled out four ounces of fruit punch to every child and adult who stood before her. And you didn't dare waste the punch ! More than twenty years later, weeks after I was ordained a priest, I met her again at our annual ancestral feast of the Birthday of St. John the Baptist celebration. I was then a baby priest of 30, and she was 106 !!!!!!!!!
So as these five Centennial Year celebrations occur I pay tribute to the accomplishments and experiences of KCBS RADIO, THE NAACP, LAMBDA CHI ALPHA FRATERNITY, AND ST. ELIZABETH AND IMMACULATE CONCEPTION PARISHES. May they continue to provide the very best to the people they serve just as they have provided me memorable moments.........Fr. Troy

THE PONTIFF AND THE PRESIDENT IN CONFERENCE.........

Last week following the First Family's visit to Russia and President Obama's attendance at the G-8 Summit in Italy, The President, First Lady and their daughters visited the Vatican where President Obama conferred with Pope Benedict XVI. The Pontiff (a title for the Pope meaning bridge-builder) and the President met for 30 minutes and the topics they discussed included the Interfaith Dialogue; a shared desire for Mioddle East Peace; the President's Outreach to Muslims; and a mutual desire to fight Militarism and Extremism; a shared interest in Overhauling Immigration Rules and Practices. Pope Benedict also discussed the Catholic teaching on Abortion and Stem Cell Research, two issues where the Church and the current American Administration are in serious disagreement. Whereas Pope Benedict has just published a new Encyclical on the human responsibility for Charity exercised in Truth, which he was giving to other world leaders visiting him recently, the Pope instead gave President Obama a copy of the Vatican document reiterating the Catholic Church's opposition to Abortion, human embryo Stem Cell Resarch and In-Vitro Fertilization. It occurs to me that the meeting between Pope Benedict and President Obama sets an example for all of us Catholic-Christians. The Pope did not avoid conferring with the President, despite the serious difference of opinion between them over the acceptibility of Abortion and Stem Cell research. Pope Benedict's willigness to meet with President Obama as one head of state to another and to discuss and dialogue on a myriad of critical issues, while not ignoring to include the Catholic teaching on Abortion and Stem Cell research struck a reasonable and appropriate balance. For me this hearkens back to the University of Notre Dame and President Obama's Commencement Address two months ago. It underscores as I said then that the wiser, more constructive way for Bishop D'Arcy, Ambassador Glendon, and others to have responded would have been to attend and do as the Pope did last week, reiterate the Catholic teaching where we disagree with the President. This is not a political calculation, but our moral obligation as well as common sense. Let us continue the constructive dialogue while at the same time fully representing what we believe as Catholic-Christian Disciples of Jesus the Lord.........Fr. Troy

FDR AND THE FOUR FREEDOMS.........

Writing on Freedom in my July 4 blog column started me thinking about the topic of freedom in our American history. And that reflection led me to the consideration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's January 6, 1941, "Four Freedoms" speech. On a cold winter's night, eleven months before the United States entered World War II, before a joint session of the 77th Congress, President Roosevelt proclaimed : 1.) Freedom of Speech and Expression; 2.) Freedom of Religion and Worship; 3.) Freedom from Want; 4.) Freedom from Fear. Freedom of Speech and Expression is one of the hallmark rights of the American Experience. It is our individual and collective right as a free people unfettered by a monarch or a dictator, to speak our opinions openly and honestly, knowing with the courage of our convictions that we will not be imprisoned or penalized for what we say. Freedom of Religion and Worship are ingrained in the American Experience from the very founding of the 13 Colonies. The right to believe in God, or not belief, and the opportunity to worship freely, or choose not to participate, is a right of freedom we as Americans cherish. Freedom from Want is a principle of the American Experience that closely parallels the Gospel value of providing for the needs of all in the community. The economic reality of this freedom challenges us to balance our free market philosophy with Christian charity, so that we do not become enslaved to capitalism run amok. Freedom from Fear is another principle of the American Experience that reflects the Judeo-Christian experience of God's Word. Our ability to be free from fear is grounded in the most repeated words found in the Bible, "Be Not Afraid", "Fear Not". President Roosevelt's words on the Four Freedoms have stood the test of time and are as true today, nearly seventy years later as they were when he first proclaimed them. America and the World have every reason to reaffirm and sustain these Four Freedoms and to live these Four Freedoms with gratitude and an unconditional commitment to keeping them a viable possibility for all peoples.........Fr. Troy

I NEED YOU : POST TRANSPLANT CAREGIVERS UPDATE

Having retained one of the two necessary primary caregivers I will need in the first two months of my post kidney transplant convalescence period, I am still seeking a second primary person to provideme with 24/7 caregiving. Others are also still needed to supplement them, especially on the weekends. Can you give me a day or two of care and companionship, by agreeing to spend a weekend with me in either Los Angeles or Phoenix after my kidney transplant ? Helping me with the basics of daily living - grooming, meal preparation, medications monitoring, exercise and recreation, companionship. The initial response of so many to my caregiver help request has elicited a common reply I am hearing over and over, " I would be glad to help you were it not for my work and other obligations". Well, this may be your opportunity to assist without having to do anything but take a mini weekend vacation. And whether it turns out that the transplant takes place in Los Angeles or Phoenix, both are sunny places to spend some time in. Come for a weekend visit with me and invest a little of your time and energy in helping me prepare to return to the resumption of my fulltime priestly ministry. I NEED YOU.........All are welcome to assist me, as families with children and teenagers can make it a south state or southwest family holiday, while also making a personal contribution to helping me in my convalescence. I am confident more than enough of you will answer my call.
CAN YOU ? WILL YOU ? Here's how.........Call me at
916-485-1841 or at Presentation Parish 916-481-7441, ext. 12.........Fr. Troy

.........BORN ON THE 4TH OF JULY.........

"We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men (people) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Those words are some of the most memorable words in American history, learned and recited by students in schools throughout the land. From the pen of patriot Thomas Jefferson, who became the 3rd President of the United States, those words and the document they introduce, set in motion the American Experience of Independence and freedom. 233 years ago today, July 4, 1776, the 13 colonies of a world renowned Empire declared their independence from England and formed the United States of America. Those 13 colonies were forged and formed in emancipation on the bedrocks of freedom, justice, liberty, and opportunity. Through the 19th and 20th centuries the spirit of independence that set our nation in motion continued to evolve and expand as citizens settled further territory north, east, west, and south of the colonies, establishing a union of 50 sovereign states. And the foundational principles inherent in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights,- freedom, justice, liberty, and opportunity, continue to ring out as a clarion call to all Americans summoning us to value our independence. As we celebrate this Independence Day 2009, with parades, picnics, barbeques, and fireworks, let us remember the Spirit of '76, two and a third centuries later, with the concerted dedication and focus of our forebearers and founders. We do that by our individual and mutual commitment to making and maintaining these United States as a freer, more just, liberated, equal opportunity, oriented nation. Our commitment to those foundational principles are as important here and now as ever before, if we are to bring peace and prosperity again to our country and the world. Happy 4th of July. May this national holiday weekend renew our willingness to make the USA all it can and should be for the common good of all our peoples. Happy Independence Day and may God Bless America always.........Father Troy

"SACRAMENTO AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH", FATHER STEVEN AVELLA'S NEW BOOK.........

One of the extra special experiences working with Father Jerry Ryle at St. Philomene's the past two and a half years has been the opportunity to come to know and interact with Father Steven Avella, who like Jerry and I grew up in Sacramento and is a professor of Religion, American Life, and the West, at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In recent years Father Steve has spent appreciable time on breaks from the university doing priestly ministry in the Sacramento area parishes of St. Rose, Roseville; St. Lawrence, North Highlands; St. Christopher, Galt; St. Philomene, Arden-Arcade. A powerfully persuasive preacher, Father Steve is an avid student of the history of the Church of Sacramento. On June 12, Father Steve launched his latest book, "Sacramento And The Catholic Church : Shaping a Capital City". , at the Sacramento Archives and Museum Collection Center. A standing room only, overflow, group of Father Steve's friends and fans were in attendance that night. His book captures with vivid detail and copious research of historical records, the ways in which from the Gold Rush and the 1850's to the present, the City and the Church have interacted with one another in the development of Sacramento as an urban community. This book makes a very worthwhile contribution to a better understanding of the dynamics of the secular and religious values of Sacramento as the Capital City of California. When I say getting to know and interact with Father Steve is one of the special experiences of my life, I truly mean it. Whether it is reading his books, concelebrating Mass with him, or spending an evening at table feeding on his words, insights and depth of knowledge, about our local historical roots of faith, politics and culture, and how they have affected the development of Catholic-Christianity in the life of Sacramento, it is always joyfully rewarding.
I strongly recommend his book, "Sacramento And The Catholic Church", to everyone who wants a clearer, deeper, appreciation of Sacramento's history. And if or when, Father Steven Avella presides or preaches at Mass in your parish, savor the special experience it is, and know you and others present with him will be better for it.........Father Troy

TRANSITIONS IN PRIESTLY MINISTRY...IN HOMAGE TO FATHER JERRY RYLE.........

As the summer unfolds so do transitions in the priestly ministry of the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento. 14 parishes will be receiving new Pastors including the two parishes in which I have most recently served, Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish and St. Philomene Parish, in the Arden -Arcade area of northeastern Sacramento. I would happily become Pastor of either of these two wonderful parish communities, but presently the kidney transplant I am awaiting blocks my being appointed to any parish. It is a personal disappointment and pastoral frustration for me not to be allowed to do the very work I I was ordained a priest to do. Please God, my transplant will take place soon and after the necessary convalescence I can resume full participation as a priest and pastor of the Church. The outgoing Pastor of Presentation Parish, Father Andrew is being transferred to Isleton / Walnut Grove. Father Jerry Ryle, like myself, a local grown, native vocation of Sacramento, is retiring from parish ministry after 41 years. But he will immediately have a very busy retirement as he becomes the Director of Campus Ministry at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. Father Jerry will be truly missed by the People of God in the Sacramento Diocese, especially in the parishes he has served, including as Pastor over the past 23 years, St. Lawrence, North Highlands, St. Christopher, Galt, and St. Philomene, Arden-Arcade. Father Jerry's spirituality, theology, and liturgical prowess, are renowned. His love of God and the Church are undeniably evident in the manner in which he ministers and interacts with others. Possessing a forthrightness with and empathy for his parishioners and brother priests, Father Jerry has a natural intellectual curiosity about life from focusing on the depth of the daily news, to a personal insightful appreciation of the arts. Another of Father Jerry Ryle's many gifts is his stellar ability as a storyteller. His connection with others is often grounded in their stories and his ability to relay the stories he hears into pertinent and meaningful shared experiences with the community of believers. I am extremely grateful to Father Jerry for the friendship and fraternity he has extended to me the past two and a half years. We have worked collaboratively together quite well because our Sacramento roots and ecclesiolgy comfortably parallel one another. As we bid him farewell for now and wish him all the best in his new campus ministry in Connecticut I pray his personal pastoral spirit will continue to permeate the hearts and minds of the People of God here in the Sacramento Diocese and there on the East coast at Sacred Heart University. Thank you Reverend Father GERALD RYLE for your more than four decades of priestly ministry in Sacramento. May the Lord (God) continue to bless you and keep you, Amen. May the Lord make God's Face shine upon you and be gracious to you always, Amen. May the Lord God give you peace now and forever, Alleluia AMEN.........Father Troy David Powers

IN SEARCH OF POST KIDNEY TRANSPLANT CAREGIVERS.........

As the time for my kidney transplant nears, it is my all important responsibility to find and retain, 24 / 7 caregivers to help me in the first one to two months after the transplant surgery. My family members, personal friends, and parishioners are all acceptable caregivers. I will need at least two caregivers sharing a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for one to two months of my convalescence period after my transplant. A multiplicity of caregivers during that two month period will lighten the load and is also acceptable. Helping me for one day, several days of each week, one week's time, or for one month, or the entire two months will be very much appreciated. Even children and teenagers can help me, although they cannot be primary caregivers during my initial recovery period. The essential elements of my caregivers responsibilities will be : Providing me with transportation to Transplant Center , getting me to and from all medical appointments and accompanying me to all the follow-up appointments during the initial convalescence period; I will also need the caregivers to provide help with Taking the prescribed medications at the appropriate times, in the proper dosages, and also getting medications refilled; The caregivers will also monitor my blood pressure, temperature, weight, and blood sugar levels; Calling the Transplant Coordinator as instructed or needed; During those two months I will also need help with Cooking and preparing my meals; Dressing and bathing; doing my Laundry, as I will not be able to lift more than 5-10 lbs., for a month after leaving the hospital; assisting me in paying my bills; and providing me with companionship during my convalescence. I must have a 24/7 team of caregivers in place before the transplant can occur. My transplant will not take place if 24 / 7 caregivers are not put in place first. The caregivers must be able to go to Los Angeles or Phoenix, should my kidney transplant occur in either of those cities. I am supremely confident that my circle of friends and community of believers will step up in sufficent numbers to provide for my post transplant recovery and convalescence. Thank you for your interest or willingness to become my caregiver and support me in this important endeavor. If you are willing to be one of my caregivers please call me at Presentation Parish, 916-481-7441, ext. 12; or on my land-line, 916-485-1841. If I am not in when you call, leave a voice mail message with your name and telephone number. "May the Lord God bless you and keep you, May the Lord God make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you, May the Lord God grant you peace".........Father TROY DAVID POWERS

THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST WE SHARE...THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST WE ARE...

Every Sunday of the year the Catholic-Christian community gathers to honor the declaration of Jesus the Christ to celebrate the Eucharist in His memory. From the beginning of Christianity 2,000 years ago when the earliest members of the Christian community met in house churches on Sundays where they celebrated the Liturgies of Word and Eucharist, and then joined in an Agape meal, Sunday Dinner. Thus Sunday, the first day of the week, has been commemorated for two milleniums as the Lord's Day, a day of rest, a day for family and friends. And the Holy Eucharist is at the center of Sunday. Since the 4th Century, Catholics have celebrated the Eucharist daily, as well as on Sundays. The Second Vatican Council, (1962-65), the latest ecumenical council in the history of the Church, proclaimed the Eucharist to be, "the source and summit" of our lives as Christ's Disciples. Therefore, one Sunday of the Liturgical Year in the United States also bears the title of the Eucharist under the designation, 'CORPUS CHRISTI', the Body and Blood of Christ. The Body and Blood of Christ is the sacrament of the Eucharist we celebrate and partake of at the Lord's Table. But the Body and Blood of Christ is also who and what we are when we participate in the Memorial of Jesus' Passion, Death, and Resurrection, His Paschal Mystery. On this Solemnity of Corpus Christi what outward sign of connectedness with the Eucharist are you exemplifying ? Your presence at, and participation in, Sunday Mass is the most concrete and complete way you show your commitment and fidelity to being a member of the Body of Christ in the community of believers and the wider world. Celebrating Mass so often throughout the year we must not take it for granted, or experience it as a rote ritual. Feasts such as Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ, fortify our faith and focus on the true meaning of the Eucharist in our lives : to share in the Paschal Mystery of the Risen Christ, by becoming full members of the Body and Blood of Christ we celebrate and receive. Alleluia ! Amen !.........Fr. Troy

KIDNEY TRANSPLANT UPDATE : MAYO CLINIC ARIZONA, PART ONE.........

On Thursday June 11, I was notified by my transplant coordinator at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, that their Transplant Team is all but ready to agree to list me as a kidney transplant candidate. The transplant surgeon wants me to complete one final set of vascular tests of my lower extremities to assure there are no obstacles to a successful transplant. Dr. Bhat, my chief nephrologist (kidney doctor) will order the vascular tests, hopefully soon. Then my prospective donor, Victor Herrera will return to Cedars-Sinai to complete his necessary testing. Tuesday June 9, and Thursday June 11, Victor and I attended part one of the Mayo Clinic Arizona, interview evaluation for a kidney transplant. It went quite well. Transplant team Dr. Raymond Heilman, with whom I met and who gave me a physical examination said, I am, "a very good candidate for a transplant". I also underwent a tb test, a bone mineral analysis test, an electrocardiogram, an echocardiogram, and an extensive set of fasting blood labs. Then Victor and I attended a Kidney Transplant Education Class, a Nutrition consultation, a Financial precertification meeting, and I had my photograph taken and received my tuberculosis test result back, which was negative. The Mayo Clinic has two locations in Phoenix/Scottsdale. The Clinic where the testing is done is in Scottsdale, about 8 miles from the other site. The Hospital where the educational component is held is in Phoenix. Fortunately, the Mayo operates a shuttle between the two sites. On Wednesday I did my dialysis treatment at the Fresenius Medical Clinic in North Scottsdale. To conclude our first three day visit to the Mayo Clinic Arizona, we dined with our three day taxi driver Rob, at a wonderful, family owned, Italian Restaurant in Phoenix, "ANDIAMO", where we had wonderful plates of spaghetti and meatballs and spaghetti bolognaise. As he did at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, Victor documented our visit by taking photographs which we will share with you soon. Returning to Sacramento for a wedding, a Portuguese community celebration in Bryte of St. Anthony's Day, and parish farewell celebrations for Fathers Jerry Ryle and Andrew Koziczuk, I will go back to Phoenix this Monday night to complete the interview evaluation process at the Mayo Clinic. My major homework in coming weeks will be to identify and retain a 24 / 7 caregiver to assist me in the months immediately after transplant. That person will be with me whether it is in Sacramento, Los Angeles, Phoenix, or elsewhere, to prepare meals, oversee the taking of medications, and providing daily hygiene needs, as well as being a companion during the initial convalescence period. Pray that I will find such a person soon. Thank you for your continuing prayers, care, concern, and support. I appreciate it very much...TO BE CONTINUED......Peace + Prayers,.........Fr. Troy

ETERNAL LIFE GRANT UNTO HIM O LORD.........

On Memorial Day evening May 25, at 5:40 p.m., Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in northeast Sacramento lost one of our core founding members with the death of ART HALLAGAN. Art and his family have been continuous members of this community of believers for the past 48 years. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame of which he was a lifelong devoted alumnus, Art always spoke his mind saying what he truly believed about all topics. Art was generous in sharing his time and talents as an athletic coach for the young in this community through these many decades, especially in a multitude of roles with the Del Paso Manor Little League. In the three years I have known Art here at Presentation, he always had a sparkle in his eyes as he talked with me and his fellow parishioners Sunday after Sunday, following celebration of the Eucharist, over cups of coffee and donut holes in the narthex or on the terrace at the front entrance to the church. Art will be missed but not forgotten. Our conversations will be diminished without his contributions to them, which were always exact. My sympathies and assurance of prayers to the entire Hallagan Family and all his loved ones in their bereavement. Eternal Life grant to his holy soul O Lord, and let perpetual light shine on him. ALLELUIA ! AMEN !!.........Fr. Troy

THE POWER OF THREE IN ONE : THE HOLY TRINITY AND HUMANKIND.........

On the first Sunday after the conclusion of the Easter Season, we celebrate as Catholic-Christians the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, perhaps the most complex doctrine in all of Christianity. It is a sacred mystery how one God can simultaneously be three Persons at the same time. All of the major Christian creeds proclaim belief in a monotheistic, supreme, living, and true, God and not a multiplicity of lesser gods. Yet, at the same time we also believe this one God is manifested in three distinct persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Striving to comprehend and explain the mystery of the Holy Trinity through the centuries has given us various examples of how one can be three and three can be one. Perhaps the most famous of these analogies is that of St. Patrick in the 4th century. Patrick taught the newly converted Irish of the 4th Century that the mystery of the Trinity is like a shamrock. A shamrock is comprised of one stem, but one stem with three separate contiguous leaves joined interdependently as a singular, wholistic, existence. The scientific sphere produces another concrete analogy defining the Holy Trinity. It is the example of H2O. H2O is the unity of one set of chemical elements, that is manifested in three distinct appearances. It can be liquid, as is water; and can be frozen, as is ice; and it can be a mist, as is steam. Again, three distinct occurrences, while remaining one specific constituent.
Another comparable, more lighthearted example of the three in one reality is neapolitan ice cream. Neapolitan is one kind of ice cream, but is constituted of three different flavors, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry. These are three examples that allow us to begin to discern the mystery of the Holy Trinity. The sacred mystery of the Trinity in Catholic-Christian Faith we can only begin to pierce in our human existence on earth. Only once we are in the eternal presence of God in the Kingdom of Heaven will we ever fully comprehend the certainty and the sublimnity of the Holy Trinity. As we renew our commemoration of the doctrine that God is one Being in three Persons, let us pray with renewed hearts and minds, that the power of the 3 in 1 may become ever more evident in your lives, just as are shamrocks, H2O, and neapolitan ice cream. For the manifestation of the Father, Son, and Spirit, is akin to the theological reality of Creation, Salvation, and Sanctification. They too, are three unique occurrences of the one Living and True God, in three individual movements in the redemptive history of humankind. May the power of the Holy Trinity reign supreme in your experiences this week and always.........Fr. Troy

MY LATEST KIDNEY TRANSPLANT UPDATE.........

Now in my third year of dialysis while awaiting a kidney transplant, I have begun looking beyond Sacramento for a possible transplant center. In addition to continue being listed at UC Davis Transplant Center, as I have been for the past two years, my prospective donor Victor Herrera and I are now exploring other recommended transplant centers for eligibilty interviews and acceptance. The two other transplant centers I have contacted in recent weeks are Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles and the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. On Wednesday May 20, Victor and I attended five and a half hours of interviews with the eleven members of the Cedars-Sinai transplant team of doctors, nurses, social worker, and coordinators and I underwent a brief physical, an EKG, a chest X ray and a full set of blood labs. Victor was also given a computerized body mass analysis by the donor transplant coordinator and found to be within the acceptable range for eligibility as my donor. In the next several weeks Victor will return to Cedars-Sinai to complete their required testing for potential donors. Then we await word of the transplant team's decision as to whether they will list me as a kidney transplant candiate at Cedars-Sinai. The Mayo Clinic in Arizona has also indicated a willingness to interview me to consider my eligibility in their transplant program. Victor and I will travel to Phoenix in coming weeks to meet with the Mayo Clinic's kidney transplant team, just as we did in Los Angeles. I am hopeful these further explorations will help expedite my receiving a kidney transplant, so that I can be returned to ministry and the work of being a parish priest I was ordained to do in the Diocese of Sacramento, 22 years ago.........Further updates will be posted here on my blog as developments warrant. Thank you for your prayers, support, and continuing friendships.........Fr. Troy

EASTER ENDS WITH PENTECOST AND THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

8TH SUNDAY OF EASTER - THE SOLEMNITY OF PENTECOST

JESUS IS RISEN AND ASCENDED, ALLEULIA AMEN !! For 50 Days we have celebrated Jesus' New and Risen Life and the summation of His public ministry with the Apostles and other Disciples. Before the Risen Christ ascended He commisioned His followers to proclaim the Good News to the whole Creation. After the Ascension, the Risen Christ kept His farewell promise to send the Holy Spirit to remain with the Community of Believers until Jesus' glorious Second Coming at the end of time. Today we commemorate PENTECOST SUNDAY, the fiftieth and final day of Easter and the day the Holy Spirit descended upon the shuttered, locked in the upper room, Disciples. The Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit imparted on the day of that first Pentecost, gave the original disciples of Jesus the Christ the courage, wisdom and strength, to be sustained in carrying out their foundational ministry in God's Church. Those Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit continue to renew us the People of God here and now, to be faithful witnesses to the Risen and Ascended Jesus and the Gospel values He hearkens us to carry out. Pentecost, the Sacrament of Confirmation, and Masses of the Holy Spirit, customary celebrated at the beginning and end of school years, help us encounter the power of faith, fellowship and fidelity, the Spirit imparts upon us. As believers and followers of the Risen/Ascended Christ, we are Easter People. As recipients of all the Holy Spirit imparts we become Easter/Pentecost People of God. This week and as we move beyond the Easter Season may the power of the Resurrection, Ascension and the Sending of the Spirit, truly transform your lives setting you on fire with the power of Pentecost and God's Spirit to be faithful witnesses to building up of God's Kingdom.........Fr. Troy

EASTER AND THE ASCENSION OF THE RISEN CHRIST.........

The 7th Sunday of Easter is now the Solemnity of the ASCENSION, the crescendo of the Easter event as after His Resurrection the Risen Christ ascended into heaven back to the right hand of God the Father. In Jubilee Year 2000, I was privileged to be included in a pilgrimage to the Holy Land as one of 40 Christian ministers sponsored by the Knights Templar. Among the dozens of sacred sites we visited was included the place in Jerusalem, a mountain top, where the Ascension is believed to have taken place. It has upon it a relatively small, circular, tower shaped building. Sacred Tradition teaches us the Ascension of the Lord occurred 40 Days after the Resurrection. Whether it is was forty days, forty hours, forty minutes, or even forty seconds, our faith in God's plan for salvation assures us Jesus the Christ, God's Redeeming Son, is risen from the dead and ascended into heaven until He gloriously returns at the end of time. The Ascension underscores Jesus' share in the Godhead of the Holy Trinity. Co-eternal with the Heavenly Father,who sent His Son into the world to conquer the power of sin and death over us and to reconcile humankind with the Divine. But the Ascension of the Risen Christ is also a significant moment in the history of the Community of Believers (the Church) for as the Apostles and other disciples were gathered around the Lord Jesus on a mountain top in Galilee before ascending, the Risen Christ commissioned them to go forth and baptize, teach, and preach, in His Name. Mark's Gospel specifically says, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to all Creation". Thus the evangelization and ministry of our Catholic-Christian Church was set in motion and here we are some 2,000 years later the inheritors of that commissioning. By virtue of our Baptism and initiation into the Body of Christ, we are commissioned to be present and participating members in the mission an ministry of the Church. As we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord this week what are you doing to respond to the commissioning of your Baptism and initiation into the Body of Christ, the Church ? The Community of Believers fulfills its role and responsibility by the presence and participation of each one of us in the prayer, worship and ministry, of being Catholic-Christian disciples. Being a disciple of the Risen and Ascended Jesus is more than a perfunctory obligation, it is an everyday opportunity to share and to serve. As God's Easter-Ascension people what are we doing to proclaim the Good News to our part of Creation ? The time is now to embrace the essential truth of our own commission to build up the Coming of God's Kingdom. May the closing days of the Easter season 2009 bring you joy and cause yo to say YES, anew to God's Call and your rightful sharing and serving of the Community of Believers the Risen and Ascended Christ founded as His Church on earth.........Fr. Troy

"YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER".........IN MEMORIAM

Today, Monday May 11, 2009, is the 8th anniversary of the death of Reverend Monsignor Cornelius Higgins, the founding Pastor of Presentation Parish, in February 1961, and the Chancellor Emeritus of the Sacramento Diocese. May he rest in peace.........

THE CONTROVERSY OVER THE COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER.........

6th SUNDAY OF EASTER

Universities are by their very definition places where discussion, discernment, debate and dialogue, take place in the process of learning and the attainment of a higher education. The University of Notre Dame is the premier Catholic university in the United States and is world famous as an institution of higher learning. One of my very close friends, a practicing and participating Catholic layman, is a Notre Dame graduate and has one of the best undergraduate educations of anyone I know. That did not occur by happenstance. It is is the result of my friend's hard work and the opportunity to study from a well honed curriculum inside and outside his major. The stellar reputation of the University of Notre Dame is the undeniable accomplishment of the Holy Cross religious order and the exemplary leadership for many decades of Father Theodore Hesburgh, the University President Emeritus. Father Hesburgh was not only an outstanding educator but an internationally acclaimed civil rights advocate. In recent weeks Notre Dame has been in the news amidst controversy over its invitation to President Barack Obama to be the 2009 Commencement speaker. Presidents are always sought after commencement speakers by colleges and universities, especially in the first years of their Administrations. Notre Dame's choice of President Obama as commencement speaker has stirred the opposition of conservative Catholics and traditionalist Bishops, due to his pro choice stance on abortion and support for stem cell research. 20% of the 265 American Bishops have stated their criticism of Notre Dame's invitation to President Obama, and yet 54% of voting Catholics cast their presidential ballots last November for Obama. I vehmently disagree with President Obama on the issue of abortion, yet I also concur with the decision of Father Jenkins and Notre Dame to invite the President of the United States to be their commencement speaker. Father Jenkins publicly enunciated reason for extending the invitation is to open a dialogue, as a, "basis for further positive engagement", with President Obama on Life issues. Abortion is the first of a whole fabric of Life issues in the sanctity of life we believe in, as Catholic-Christians, "from the moment of conception to natural death". Father Jenkins goes on to say, " it is of special significance that we hear from our first African-American president, a person who has spoken eloquently and movingly about race in this nation. Racial prejudice has been a deep wound in America and Mr. Obama has been a healer".
Catholic opposition to abortion and embryonic stem cell research is also joined with equal opposition to the death penalty and unjust war, as well as support for a plethora of social issues. The Pope in a 1995 encyclical, the 'Gospel Of Life', embraced the "seamless garment" theology of life advocated widely by the late Chicago Cardinal Bernardin. In that pastoral teaching the Pope was consistently pro-life without exception. Former President George W. Bush, delivered a commencement address at the University of Notre Dame, in 2001, the first year of his Administration. There was no controversy or protest then, and yet as Governor of Texas he allowed and oversaw the execution of more persons given the death penalty than any other governor in history. And his six years as Governor started the year the 'Gospel Of Life' was promulgated. A very wise professor of mine taught me, in a constitutional democracy we will never agree one hundred percent with any political candidate or public officeholder. When we disagree with them, it is our responsibility to debate and dialogue while representing and defending our beliefs. Instead of merely criticizing Notre Dame's decision or boycotting President Obama's appearance, why not have the Bishop of Fort Wyne/South Bend +John D'Arcy, or former Ambassador to the Vatican, Mary Ann Glendon, also speak at the commencement, reiterating the wholistic pro life Catholic teaching ? That would more ably represent the role and purpose of the University. I feel the commencement address the President gives at Notre Dame this week may follow the lead of President John F. Kennedy, in 1963, at American University, when he proposed the politically contentious Test Ban Treaty, as a part of the commencement address he delivered. Given the continuing roll out of policies and proposals by this Administration, the President could well use the forum of his Notre Dame commencement speech to propose an equally significant initiative.
One of the voices of balance and sanity in this controversy over the commencement speaker is the retired Bishop of Monterey, California, +Sylvester Ryan, the former President of the California Catholic Conference of Bishops, who wrote in the May 11, 2009 issue of America magazine, "I for one strongly support the President of Notre Dame, and although retired, I know many active bishops who hold to the same position, precisely because we understand that holding a strong conviction about abortion (which I do) even as a fundamental moral imperative does not abrogate the need for cooperation with and recognition of our current U.S. president, especially considering the multiplicity of issues in our complex world. To honor President Obama for what he represents, simply as the president, and especially as the first African-American president, is a genuine and deserved action from and by the University of Notre Dame."
We shall know soon enough how effective the commencement address or the controversy has been to advance the issues of Life from conception to natural death. it is my hope the spirit of debate, dialogue, discernment and discussion, may continue to be furthered at the University of Notre Dame and all colleges and universities. ........Fr. Troy

MAY : THE MONTH OF MARY AND MOTHERS.........

5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER

My mother, Josephine Virginia Corey Feusi Powers, was the most devout Catholic in our family. From her girlhood until her death in December 1982, at age 60, she was constantly praying and faithful about attending Mass, while generously serving her family and others. Her devotion to the Rosary and the Blessed Mother were a mainstay of her spiritual life, as were receiving Holy Communion and going to Confession. She not only raised me and my 5 brothers and sisters to appreciate the importance of our Catholic-Christian Faith, but also took it upon herself to see that many of her nieces and nephews received religious education and the Sacraments of the Church.
A loving daughter, she cared daily for my grandparents, until two montths before her death, when her diabetes and leukemia, which she endured the last five years of her life, were in their terminal stages. I share this to illustrate the fidelity of faith, family, and fellowship, God desires us to live as faithful witnesses of the Catholic-Christianity we profess. I remember as a very young child how my mother would go to Mass on Sunday mornings by herself and in time, with me and my siblings. We would arrive well before Sunday Mass began and stay for several minutes afterwards, to pray. Once we made First Communion she would gather us on a Saturday evening about once a month and take us to Confession. I am convinced that her example, prayers and support, are one of the primary reasons I decided to become a priest.
In this month of May, the month of the Blessed Mother and all our mothers living and dead, this week we celebrate Mother's Day, our annual occasion for remembering and celebrating the women in our lives who brought us to birth and raised us lovingly and selflessly.
As we affirm our mothers and grandmothers anew, we also pray through the intercession of Mary our spiritual Mother, that God will bless all mothers and reward them with the ultimate blessing - the gift of eternal life.........Fr. Troy