Sunday’s Readings: Zechariah 9:9-10; Psalm 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14; Romans 8:9, 11-13; Matthew 11:25-30

…from your Pastor’s Desk – “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest. … ” Today’s Gospel should give us comfort when we feel down and out. If we feel that we have worked our fingers to the bone and have not seen any success, the Gospel is for us. …

Sunday’s Readings: 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a; Psalm 89:2-3, 16-17, 18-19; Romans 6:3-4, 8-11; Matthew 10:37-42

…from your Pastor’s Desk – The Love of the Lord – In the Gospel Reading, Jesus seems to recommend an inhuman attitude: you are not to love your mother or father or your child more than Jesus. In fact, you are not to love your own life more than Jesus. If you do, you will lose what you love. What does it even mean to compare loves in this way? …

Sunday’s Readings: Jeremiah 20:10-13; Psalm 69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35; Romans 5:12-15; Matthew 10:26-33

…from your Pastor’s Desk – The Be-DAD-itudes – The Beatitudes are one surprising, often overlooked, source Catholic men can turn to for guidance in becoming the men, husbands, and fathers our families need us to be. The late Pope Francis has called the Beatitudes our “guide on the path of Christian life.” …

Sunday’s Readings: Exodus 19:2-6a; Psalm 100:1-2, 3, 5; Romans 5:6-11; Matthew 9:36—10:8

…from your Pastor’s Desk – Nobody Sunday? – For the last 16 Weekends every Sunday has had a title from ‘The First Sunday of Lent’ on March 22nd up until last week’s feast of ‘The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ’. So, when I first looked at the readings for today – I saw it was just ‘The 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time’. I jokingly said to myself – aha – ‘No-body Sunday’. …

Sunday’s Readings: Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a; Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; John 6:51-58

…from your Pastor’s Desk – The Eucharist and SCUBA – People have commented that when I raise the Host after Consecration, I hold it up longer than most priests. Well, if I do, I am not doing it for dramatic effect! When I hold up the Eucharist after Consecration, you and I spend a moment in adoration. At that moment I know that you and I are exactly on the same page. …

Sunday’s Readings: Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9; Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; John 3:16-18

…from your Pastor’s Desk – Beyond Human Reasoning – The Holy Trinity, today’s feast, is quite beyond human reasoning. “Two is company, three is a crowd” is a popular expression. But the New Testament would have it otherwise. There, the figure three symbolizes completeness and perfect symmetry. …

Sunday’s Readings: Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23

…from your Pastor’s Desk – HAPPY BIRTHDAY! – A few years back, we had a very cool conflation of celebrations. Mother’s Day and Pentecost were on the same day. And, as was brought to my attention just before mass that day, a mother and her daughter were both celebrating their birthdays on that same day! … Pentecost Sunday is the birthday of our faith mother, The Church. At Pentecost, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the disciples to begin a new life between them, …

Sunday’s Readings: Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9; Ephesians 1:17-23; Matthew 28:16-20

…from your Pastor’s Desk – Ascension Day – Parting messages have their own impact. The last words said by someone moving away or even going away for a long time hold special places in our hearts. I remember the many deployments I went on in my years of military service and how touching were those words between husband and wife and parent and child. … Christ’s words as he left His disciples on Ascension Day are no exception. …

Sunday’s Readings: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17; Psalm 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20; 1 Peter 3:15-18; John 14:15-21

…from your Pastor’s Desk – Many people are deeply concerned about what is happening in our world. And not just rising gas prices. And not just National Security. It seems, rather, that there is a growing sense of National Insecurity. The secular world says people are returning to church because they are afraid. That may be so in some instances, but I feel that they are just ‘returning home’. …

Sunday’s Readings: Acts 6:1-7; Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19; 1 Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12

…from your Pastor’s Desk – The Lovely Month of May – As I sit down to write this, looking out my office window I see the trellis covered with roses. Dozens and dozens. Also, beautiful Lilacs, one of my personal favorites. It’s May! May has been a favorite time of year for many Catholics. …