The cake was a little banged up. Symbolic of the cancer survivor!
I have attended a few Cancer Survivor Events over the last 40 years. Let’s face it. Cancer seems to touch almost every family in some way. The pain and suffering are truly heartbreaking to see.
My latest journey into the cancer battle has sparked something in me. I want to see World Day of the Sick become more prevalent in the Church across the United States. Pope John Paul II instituted this day 35 years ago. It seems like it has gained very little traction here in the United States. It is my intent to change that. How am I going to do that? I am not sure yet, but ideas are percolating.
Mark it on your 2027 calendar now. It is on February 11, each year on the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes. What can you do in your family, your parish, your local Catholic hospital, nursing home, or hospice center? How can we minister more effectively to families who are suffering? Have you considered becoming a Stephen Minister?
I have eight months to brainstorm. I will be doing something to raise awareness of this important day to spur prayer and action all year long. It is my desire that we lift one another up in spite of the toxic tone so very prevalent in modern day culture. If we as Church do not set the standard for caring for the sick, who will?
To all of you who have survived cancer, or any other life-threatening illness, I know it wasn’t easy. You have the wounds–physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually–but you continue on with grit. May you see God’s blessing in the midst of the struggles!
I encourage you to visit the official website to learn more at www.ncsd.org.My Journey of Survival–40 Years (first diagnosis), 25 Years (2nd diagnosis), 4 months (3rd diagnosis)!Blessings to all who are currently engaged in the battle!
During my recovery from colon cancer surgery, I have kept myself occupied with a lot more prayer and study. I am grateful for God’s grace in continuing to call me into a deeper relationship with Him. My slowness in responding through the years makes the call seem ever more urgent at this point in time.
Reading and praying with Sacred Scripture is such a tremendous blessing. It still astounds me how a passage I have heard or read many times suddenly comes to life in a new way. The circumstances of life and the movement of the Holy Spirit coincide for profound insights and serious promptings to action.
I am reading three different books at the same time, and the overlap has been amazing. The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, The Glories of Divine Grace, and Preparation for Death gel together nicely. The writings of St. Alphonsos Liguori have impacted my life for many years. My personal favorite, and most life-changing for me, is Preparation for Death. I have it read it multiple times over the last 30 years. I am especially excited about it now, because a couple of individuals at the parish have organized a summer book study on it after hearing me speak about it. God’s grace is going to overflow upon our community in a powerful way as we delve into the spiritual wisdom of St. Alphonsus Liguori.
Bottom line–let’s be diligent in our prayer, study, and action. Be battle ready!
I have had the pleasure of visiting Trinity Heights a couple of times in recent years. It is well worth the time visit this serene and peaceful shrine. I just saw on social media that the new chapel built on the campus was blessed by the bishop recently. It looks like it is time for another road trip to see this beautiful addition.
High School Graduation for our youngest on May 21, 2016!
My children were four and ten years of age when I was diagnosed with cancer the second time. They were six and twelve when I underwent open heart surgery to repair my mitral valve. My hope and prayer were to live long enough to see both of them graduate from high school. I have now made it ten years past that goal. I have had the blessing to see both of them graduate from college as well.
To all who are celebrating milestone events this spring, may God bless your efforts abundantly. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
The years pass quickly. It seems like just yesterday I was sharing diaconal duties with (now Father) Andrew at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Thank you Fr. Andrew for your ministry to God’s people.
In the ordination rite of Deacon Andrew Kinstetter to the priesthood I was struck by the immensity of grace poured upon the new priest as he receives the paten and chalice from the bishop. I accepted these gifts from Fr. Andrew’s parents and family and brought them to the bishop. He them presented them to Fr. Andrew as part of the ritual. The signs and symbols in our liturgical celebrations are powerful indeed.
Fr. Andrew Kinstetter–may God continue to bless you abundantly in your ministry as a priest.
There are beautiful churches all across the state of Iowa. This one is definitely worth the stop to visit. You may enter as a tourist, but you will leave as a pilgrim on the journey.
There are some secular sites to visit in the area after visiting our Lord.
The National Farm Toy Museum is worth a stop if you have any connection to agriculture in your background.
May 18–Blizzard Warning in Wyoming and severe weather throughout the central part of the country. I wonder what the weather is like in Cancun today. I had the blessing to be there last December, and it was beautiful. It would be worth the trip to just go back to the two churches I had the pleasure of visiting.
During my recovery from cancer surgery over the last eight weeks, I have spent a great deal of time engaged in spiritual reading. What a blessing that has been. In addition to my own reading, I have also started my second trip through “The Bible in a Year” with Fr. Mike Schmitz. It was a tremendous blessing the first time I did it. I am already walking away with new insights the second time around. Being forced to slow down does have some benefits.
People sometimes ask me what I am reading. In the last three weeks I have completed these selections.
Why these selections? I read Soulwinning many years ago. One statistic still stays etched in my mind from all those years ago. The Moody Bible Institute shared a statistic that only about 5% of Christians will ever lead another soul to Christ. Although this book is written from a Protestant perspective, the reason I chose to read it again was because of the missionary zeal contained within the pages. There are doctrinal difficulties in the text, but I was not reading it for doctrine and dogma. I was trying to capture the zeal and fervor.
Trustful Surrender is something I wanted to study because of current life circumstances. I thought I was in a particular place in life to more fully understand surrendering to Divine Providence.
Radiating Christ–that’s the goal.
Contemplative Enigmas–Silence and solitude are much needed in life but can seem quite elusive in our harried world. This book raised my awareness of being present to God at all times.
The Wounded Healer–I thought the title described me.
Spiritual Combat Revisited–I wanted to raise the bar on being vigilant in avoiding sin and growing in virtue.
Sacred Fire–It describes in an amazing way the two different parts of our life. I am definitely in the second part of life of trying to give my life away. How do I build others up? This process also includes preparing to give my death away. This was a unique perspective on preparing for a good and holy death.
What am I reading now?
Yes, I struggle to just read one book from cover to cover. I tackle multiple titles at once. The Sacred Heart of Jesus books and The Glories of Divine Grace are intricately connected in so many ways. I want to be sure I celebrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus well during the month of June and always.
Spiritual Masters reminds me that we have a treasure chest of wisdom from those who have gone before us. I don’t have to figure it all out on my own.
The book by Curtis Martin is an easier read than the others. I use that for simple reminders about the basics of faith. I typically read that when I am tired just before going to sleep.
The last two books are from the writings of St. Alphonsus Liguori. I have been blessed immensely by his teachings. I have read Preparation for Death multiple times. Simple words of wisdom are scattered all throughout the text:
“Those who pray will be saved; those who pray not will be condemned.”
“If anyone believes in eternity and chooses not to become a saint should be confined to a madhouse.”
My dear friends, I encourage you to read, study, and pray with Sacred Scripture. Do spiritual reading. Keep your mind immersed in God’s Word and the teachings of the Church. Mediocrity is not an option when it comes to our journey of faith. We are called to be great saints!
Most dioceses in the United States of America now celebrate The Ascension of the Lord on Sunday rather than Thursday. There are two components that stand out to me each year in regard to what we have lost by doing that. First, is the original novena. Second, we never hear the readings assigned to The Seventh Sunday of Easter.
Waiting upon the descent of the Holy Spirit during the time from The Ascension of the Lord until Pentecost was powerful for the Apostles. It should remain powerful for us as well. These (originally) nine days of prayer were an opportunity to pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Thankfully, many people still utilize these nine days to do just that. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t line up as well with the liturgical calendar as it now stands.
Another real loss is the fact that we never hear the readings assigned to The Seventh Sunday of Easter. I invite and encourage you to read them on your own. There is plenty to meditate upon in these omitted readings. You can find them here:
The website address of www.deaconvernon.com has been my primary domain for many years. Unfortunately, social media outlets squelched my reach during the pandemic, and the algorithms have never seemed to show me any grace since then. Thus, it is time for a fresh start.
My webmaster is actively attempting to transfer ten years of blog posts from www.deaconvernon.com to www.articulatinghope.com. It is a time-consuming process, but I am grateful we will be able to preserve those posts in the archive section of the new website.
You can find my public page on Facebook under Articulating Hope. That is also a switch. My primary page has been Deacon Vernon, but the overseers at that particular organization saw fit to completely lock me out of my account for a while during the pandemic. My audience never returned, because most of them weren’t seeing my posts.
My recent cancer diagnosis has reminded me of the shortness of time on this earth and the length of eternity. Thus, I want to strive to make good use of the time I have been given to share in the preaching, teaching, and healing ministry of Christ. It is my intent to use these pages to bring you, the reader, blessings and encouragement to live a life focused on the Lord. Yes, my goal is to be ARTICULATING HOPE!
In presentations that I have given through the years I have jokingly mentioned that I am apparently a slow learner. Well, it has now dawned upon me that it is possible that it is not a joke. Maybe I really am a slow learner.
Major events in life tend to get our attention. It seems like one or two major catastrophic events would suffice for learning purposes. That has not been the case in my life. At this point, there have been three cancer diagnoses over the course of 40 years, open heart surgery, two heart ablations, and five cardioversions just to name a few of the lessons listed on the syllabus. I don’t recall signing up for this particular degree.
My first cancer diagnosis was on July 17, 1986. Yes, it will soon be forty years since that devastating diagnosis. Getting that news as a young adult in the prime of life was quite the shock. Just a few short years earlier I was playing both basketball and baseball at the collegiate level. Now, suddenly, I needed help to just get out of bed. A total of 52 days were spent in the hospital over a four month period.
Northeast Missouri State University at the University of Missouri St. Louis (Early 1980’s)I had the opportunity to wear number 30 for both sports in my senior year.
Being diagnosed a second time 15 years later hit quite differently. By that time, I was married and we had two young children. The lessons were looked at through a very different lens at this point in time. The first diagnosis was all about me. Look at what I am losing. The second diagnosis was all about what my family loses if I don’t survive this. My kids will grow up without a dad being present. Hmmm. Was I maturing? Was I moving from selfishness to selflessness? (The jury is still out.)
Two years after that diagnosis came the need for a mitral valve repair. Open heart surgery was a new arena for me. I always felt cancer was giving me time to prepare. Death would not happen suddenly. As the cardiothoracic surgeon explained the procedure in great detail for repairing or replacing the mitral valve, I knew the possibility of something going wrong could result in never waking up. That was a new lesson on the syllabus of life.
After surgery, the heart surgeon said, “That will fix it for a while.” I got about eleven years out of it. Unfortunately, in the last ten years I have had two heart ablations and five cardioversions in an attempt to keep my heart in rhythm. The chemotherapy drugs from my treatments in 1986 damaged my heart.
I have learned more about the medical industrial complex than I ever cared to know. Learning the medical jargon and understanding the procedures and processes help put the mind at ease from the fear of the unknown. However, wouldn’t it have been awesome to not have needed to learn these things? (Just wondering.)
Finally, we arrive in 2026. How do you celebrate Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras? I celebrated by fasting, doing the prep for a colonoscopy, and actually having the colonoscopy on Fat Tuesday. Good times!
A blood test had revealed that I was anemic. An endoscopic procedure and colonoscopy were utilized to try to find the source of internal bleeding. The colonoscopy revealed a large, cancerous tumor in the ascending colon. That was not the news I expected to hear as soon as I woke up from the colonoscopy. The gastroenterologist said we needed the pathology report to confirm it, but he was certain I had colon cancer. A few days later the pathology report confirmed that finding.
Diagnosis was on February 17. Surgery was on March 17. Did you think my celebration on Fat Tuesday was phenomenal? Look at the party I planned on St. Patrick’s Day. Colon cancer surgery! Do I know how to live or what?
Anyway, at this point, I am nearly two months out from surgery. Recovery has seemed slow, but I am not as young as I used to be. Bouncing back takes on a different perspective now versus forty years ago.
Prognosis looks good. No other organs appear to be impacted. All the lymph nodes that were removed during surgery tested negative as well. We are simply doing vigilant surveillance at this point. The first year is always crucial.
My dear family, friends, followers, and parishioners at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton:
The challenges of life can seem immense. I know that from first-hand experience. I intend to share more thoughts and reflections as time moves on about what I have experienced and what I have learned in the process. Having forty years of hindsight now gives me a very unique lens with which to evaluate and assess the pilgrimage of life. Suffering is a difficult journey, but the graces that come with it are truly profound. I realize that I could have never learned some of these difficult and complex lessons from a textbook. I had to be more united to the Cross of Christ to grasp the teachings.
As for now, I simply want to thank you for your kindness, care, and compassion. Your intercessory prayers on my behalf are truly appreciated.
I look forward to being with the parishioners at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton again very soon as I start easing back into some ministerial responsibilities. If all goes as planned, I am scheduled to be the deacon and homilist at the 5:00 pm Mass on Saturday, June 13, and the 8:00 am Mass on Sunday, June 14. I thought that would be a good way to celebrate being nearly three months out from surgery at that point.
Please continue to pray for me as I continue to pray for all of you.
