Sunday’s Readings: Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18; Psalms 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13; 1 Corinthians 3:16-23; Matthew 5:38-48

……from your Pastor’s Desk – This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Holy Season of Lent – the time we change our lives for the better in preparation for the Most Holy of days – Easter Sunday. This raises a yearly question for each of us. What should I give up for Lent? Or, perhaps, what should I take on? Preferably – both! To make a more well-informed decision, I think it best to first address WHY we should do either – or both. …

Sunday’s Readings: Sirach 15:15-20; Psalms 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10; Matthew 5:17-37 OR 5:20-22a, 27-28, 33-34a, 37

Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 58:7-10; Psalms 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16

……from your Pastor’s Desk – Following Jesus – In the Gospels of the last four Sundays we have been following the story of Jesus’ early career. He went to be baptized. Then he moved to Capernaum from Galilee when John the Baptist was killed, and there he chose his apostles (who somehow knew him as the one to follow). Last Sunday we heard part of his “inaugural address,” the beatitudes. Now he begins to instruct the disciples about how to be his followers. …

Sunday’s Readings: Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13; Psalms 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Matthew 5:1-12a

……from your Pastor’s Desk – Seek The Lord – At the very beginning of this day’s readings, we are told to seek the Lord. And then, gratefully, we are told how to do that. Both readings, the psalm and the Gospel, all come together to give a definition of how to seek the Lord. We seek the Lord by seeking justice and righteousness, by seeking peace, by seeking humility. This we know. This we have heard every year when the Gospel is about the ‘Beatitudes’. …

Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 8:23—9:3; Psalms 27:1, 4, 13-14; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17; Matthew 4:12-23 OR 4:12-17

Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 49:3, 5-6; Psalms 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3; John 1:29-34

……from your Pastor’s Desk – John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King Junior. To some of us reading this, these names bring back memories of personal experiences during the turbulent times of the sixties and seventies; the start of the Civil Rights Movement, the Catholic Worker Houses and the beginning of the changes that are still in process today to make this country one of equality for all people. …

Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalms 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13; Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12

……from your Pastor’s Desk – Three Magi, Three Gifts for the Child-King – If I asked you to think of the three worst things you ever did in your life, even if you didn’t want to admit them, you could come up with them pretty quickly – certainly one of them – instantly. Now – If I asked you to think of the three best things you have ever done in your life (other than marriage and children) it would take a great deal more time. …

Sunday’s Readings: Numbers 6:22-27; Psalms 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:16-21

……from your Pastor’s Desk – On this first day of the New Year, there are two things we primarily come to do. We have come to offer thanksgiving for the blessings that we have received during the year past. We also have come to invoke God’s blessings as we begin the New Year. But before we invoke blessings from the Lord, we must also be thankful for His blessings that we have received. And here is where we need to ponder and remember how God has blessed us. …

Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalms 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6; Hebrews 1:1-6; John 1:1-18 OR 1:1-5, 9-14

……from your Pastor’s Desk – For unto us this day is born a Savior – Christ is born for us! That is the clear message of our celebration today. Christ is born— He didn’t just ‘appear’ but was born, just as we were all born. We believe that Christ, although Divine, is truly human like us in all things except sin. …

Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 7:10-14; Psalms 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24

……from your Pastor’s Desk – With deep joy and gratitude, I extend to you my prayerful best wishes for a holy and blessed Christmas. During this Advent Season, it has been my prayer that each of you would find opportunities to reflect on your own faith and relationship with the Lord Jesus and His Church. I hope the ‘Little Blue Book’ helped. …