Thursday July 21

Hello again. My name is Victor Ingalls.

About a week before arriving in Enterprise for the summer, I received an email from a good friend Father (as of June 11) Steven Vrazel. He was assigned to this parish in Enterprise two years ago as a seminarian and has since been receiving their weekly bulletin via email. In his correspondence with me (and a number of other seminarians), he sent me a copy of their latest bulletin commenting, "Hey check out your new name."

I opened it up and read the following: "This week we would like to welcome our new Seminarian for the summer, Victor Blitz."

Haha. How in the world did "Ingalls" morph into "Blitz???" And who is this Victor Blitz? Does he exist? Is this just a typo? Kinda sounds like a Super Hero...

Within hours, buddies were calling me saying, "What's up Blitz?" It even spread around Montgomery circles a bit. Enough that a close friend of the family came by and gave me a personalized water bottle commemorating my newfound name:

Thanks Colleen.

Once landing in Enterprise, the mystery began to unravel. Cindy, the parish secretary, confessed that she had made a typo. But that there was a REAL Victor Blitz who was a parishioner who had recently moved into the nursing home.

Fr. Vrazel had sent her an email drawing her attention to the typo...but not before forwarding his PDF copy to me and several others...haha. Cindy went on to make the painstaking effort manually correct all 300 bulletins! Thanks Cindy!

But try as she may, she could not keep the "Blitz" phenomenon from developing.

Last week, I went with a couple of parishioners to bring Communion to Victor Blitz in the Nursing Home. It was a clashing of destines...a fusion of identities...a real Victor encounter. Things really came together when I asked V. Blitz to explain the meaning of our name to our friends. He answered with matter-fact-resolve saying, "It means that I'm the Boss!" hahaha.

Perfect. I told him that was the best way I had ever heard it put. We have been laughing about that ever since.

Today, I was able to visit Victor again with some friends.

I told Vic to look handsome...and I think he really stepped up to the plate.

I was also able to meet his sweet wife today who drives to visit him 4-5 times a week. Please pray for the Victor and his wife Jenelle. That God may bless them with strength, endurance, courage, and love as Victor and her continue to adjust to his residence in the Nursing Home.

Afterwards, we stopped for lunch at the Hickory Pit which is now a 2 time tradition.

Will and Betty are long time parishioners of St. John's and very active in just about everything. I am very thankful to them for letting me join in their Ministry to the Sick. Also, Nancy, Betty's sister visiting from Atlanta, joined us today. Each of us enjoyed the "Clevis Special" at the Hickory Pit which is a pulled pork sandwiched smothered in BBQ sauce, cole slaw, onions, and pickles. Mmmmmmmm m. Thank you Clevis for all you have done for us!

This evening, I started a 5 class series on the Mass. The aim of the course will be two fold: to REDISCOVER the MASS and to take a look at the new translation of the Roman Missal (the prayers of the Mass) which will be implemented this coming Advent.

Tonight we took another look at the Mass and the Eucharist in general, trying to understand more fully what a gift it is. Realizing the the Eucharist is really the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Realizing that at Mass, the Power of Christ (which is the both the power through which the entire universe was created AND the power through which it was being redeemed and IS being sanctified) is made present in the most powerful way in the universe. Realizing that we are, indeed, called to be the Body and Blood of Christ (i.e. Be perfectly united with God...to fully become "Church") and that it is the Eucharist that helps us most powerfully to "become what we eat."

Here are two prayers from Eucharistic Prayer II of the Mass which really highlight the desire of Christ for all of us at Mass:

First Epiclesis: Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy, so that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Second Epiclesis: May all of us who share in the body and blood of Christ be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit.

So it is receiving Jesus (the perfect Unity with God with Father and all his Creation) that we too (by receiving it with humble and contrite hearts) may become Jesus...we may come into full COMMUNION with God and all his creation. Recall the words of St. John the Baptist: "He must increase. I must decrease" (John 3:30). Also the words of St. Paul: "And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way." (Ephesians 1:22-23)

We had a pretty good turn out and I think everyone enjoyed it...

despite having to listen to me run my mouth for a little over an hour.

Here are the words of three different Saints on the importance of the Eucharist:

"You envy the opportunity of the woman who touched the vestments of Jesus, of the sinful woman who washed His feet with her tears, of the women of Galilee who had the happiness of following Him in His pilgrimages, of the Apostles and disciples who conversed with Him familiarly, of the people of the time who listened to the words of grace and salvation which came forth from His lips. You call happy those who saw Him...But, come to the alter and you will see Him, you will touch Him, you will give to Him holy kisses, you will wash Him with your tears, you will carry Him within you like Mary Most Holy."

~ St. John Chrysostom

"The celebration of the Holy Mass
is as valuable as the death of Jesus on the Cross."
~ St. Thomas Aquinas

"Man should tremble, the world should vibrate,
all Heaven should be deeply moved
when the Son of God appears on the alter in the hands of the priest."
~ St. Francis of Assisi

If anyone reading this is in the Enterprise area, I'd like to invite you to come to any or all of the remaining classes. And to those of you who did come, feel free to bring a friend or family member. It is something I am really passionate about and something I think you will find interesting and hopefully more so nourishing. All of them will be held in the New Dining Hall of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Enterprise, AL from 6:30PM-8PM. They will be held on the following Thursdays:

July 28, August 4, August 11, & August 25

Alright ya'll. Peace be with you.