Reflections on Memorial Day
The history of Memorial Day is a long one and, like so many other holidays we mark, its beginnings are just mysterious enough to lend some romance to the celebration. Although not declared a national holiday by federal law until 1967, it’s widely believed that this day, originally called “Decoration [...]
Thank You Parish Volunteers!
As we are finishing another program year, I can’t help but look back and see all of the things we have accomplished in the last 10 months. Each spring I spend time evaluating how well the various Religious Education programs have served our children and youth. I look for the [...]
Happy Mother’s Day
Today is the Fourth Sunday of Easter but perhaps better recognized as Mother’s Day. I would like to start out by sending best wishes and prayers to all mothers. Today’s readings are most appropriate for Mother’s Day as they try to teach us many of the same things our mother’s [...]
You Can’t Be Catholic Alone
A frequent question I hear from young people, is “why do we need organized religion”? It isn’t just young people either; there are many in our world today who don’t think our Church is necessary, and they can have a relationship with God and with Christ that will sustain them [...]
Canonizations of John XXIII & John Paul II on Divine Mercy Sunday
Today, Divine Mercy Sunday, the first Sunday after Easter, Popes John Paul II and John XXIII will be canonized in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. I know a few people who will be sitting in St. Peter’s square and celebrating the Mass, and although I can’t be there in person [...]
Embracing the Triumph of Christ
F or starters, it is important to say, “thank you” on behalf of the parish staff, to those who have been so helpful in seeing to the celebration of Holy Week and Easter this year. These include all the liturgical ministers (Lectors, Ushers, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion), and those [...]
Reflecting on the Pascal Mystery During Holy Week
It’s Palm Sunday and so begins Holy Week. I have come to appreciate the wisdom of setting aside such a significant period of time to reflect on the great gift of the Paschal Mystery. It is also fitting that we would mark the beginning of this week with Jesus’s Passion. [...]
Lazarus – From Grief to Joy
This weekend’s Gospel, the story of Lazarus, is almost overwhelming in the number of truths that we can reflect upon while reading it. There is a not so subtle reference to the Paschal mystery – the life, death and Resurrection of Christ. We can see in this gospel that death [...]
Listening For God’s Word
Could it be that for all the thought we put into critical decisions in life, we still miss the answer? Perhaps knowingly, perhaps out of ignorance, we leave out a single, critical, and indispensible source of information. As much as we invest time, worry, research, hair-tugging, and hand-wringing in crucial [...]
The Woman at the Well
Water is one of the most common elements in our lives. It is everywhere, whether it be in rivers and lakes, flowing from our sinks, or falling from the sky. We need this water for life. Even our bodies are comprised mostly of water. Yet when Jesus meets the woman [...]
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