Sunday’s Readings: Numbers 21:4b-9; Psalm 78:1bc-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38; Philippians 2:6-11; John 3:13-17

…from your Pastor’s Desk – THE CROSS THAT SAVES – Paradoxically, we Christians affirm our passion for life under the sign of the Cross, which in Roman times was a cruel, inhuman instrument of execution, the most frightful form of death. Echoing Our Lord Himself, the Church strongly opposes all forms of torture and above all the death penalty–and yet here we are on today’s feast, honoring the cross on which an innocent prophet and healer, who had spent His life helping others, was put to death. …

Sunday’s Readings: Wisdom 9:13-18b; Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17; Philemon 9-10, 12-17; Luke 14:25-33

…from your Pastor’s Desk – Don’t be a Hater! – The first words we hear from Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel passage might startle us. They were spoken by the Lord to convey without the shadow of a doubt a very important message to his followers. The words of Jesus are these: “If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” Yikes! Hate? …

Sunday’s Readings: Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29; Psalm 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11; Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a; Luke 14:1, 7-14

…from your Pastor’s Desk – A Lesson in Humility – The Litany of Humility is a prayer worth pondering.
As it is a long litany the following are only excerpts: From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, O Jesus. …

Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 66:18-21; Psalm 117:1, 2; Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13; Luke 13:22-30

…from your Pastor’s Desk – A couple of years ago, ESPN and Netflix put out a documentary series called “The Last Dance,” a documentary on the life and career of Michael Jordan. And it was very popular. People loved getting an inside look into the life of Jordan, and were in awe at the extreme dedication he had to basketball, to greatness, to the workouts and diets and schedules and routine. …

Sunday’s Readings: Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10; Psalm 40:2, 3, 4, 18; Hebrews 12:1-4; Luke 12:49-53

…from your Pastor’s Desk – From Todays Gospel. Luke 13:49-53 “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!” Here Jesus is speaking to the people of His time, …

Sunday’s Readings: Wisdom 18:6-9; Psalm 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22; Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 OR 11:1-2, 8-12; Luke 12:32-48 OR 12:35-40

…from your Pastor’s Desk – The Assumption of The Blessed Virgin Mary Friday, August 15 – “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” – Luke 1:42 The feasts of Mary may be puzzling to the casual observer. And some are surprised at the brevity of the dogma of this specific feast in its entirety: …

Sunday’s Readings: Ecclesiastes 1:2, 2:21-23; Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17; Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11; Luke 12:13-21

…from your Pastor’s Desk – Where There’s a Will… – I was going through a bunch of files on my computer and came across a copy of my will from 1998. Like many, I was reticent to open it and read it. Some people even think that preparing a will , will, somehow hasten their own death. For the record, it does not. …

Sunday’s Readings: Genesis 18:20-32; Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8; Colossians 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13

Ask and You Will Receive – When you want something, do you pray to God for it? A lot of people in this country, even in these troubled times, do say that they “whisper a little prayer.” Excellent. Others put aside time each day for prayer or even for Mass. A number use the present web site to understand and pray about the readings for the coming Sunday. …

Sunday’s Readings: Genesis 18:1-10a; Psalm 15:2-3, 3-4, 5; Colossians 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42

…from your Pastor’s Desk – DON’T BE ANXIOUS – In the prayers we used for Mass until a few years back – we prayed each day that we would be “Protected from all Anxiety”. Quite a task. Truly a request only God could answer. Much more than ‘Don’t Worry – Be Happy” [I must admit I loved that song when it was popular and still find myself singing it sometimes!]. And although it seems that we do need some tension in our lives for productive growth – too often we just ‘worry’ too much, and are NOT happy. …

Sunday’s Readings: Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Psalm 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37 OR 19:8, 9, 10, 11; Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 10:25-37

…From Deacon Bob – Dear Parishioners of Holy Spirit, It’s been about a year since I have been with you as your deacon and along with my wife, daughter and granddaughter. We have shared beautiful moments with you at mass and are so thankful for our church family. This is a warm and inviting parish that has made us feel welcomed and allowed us to feel God’s love through the many smiles and sharing of life stories. …