Pastoral Messages

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2.8.26

Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 58:7-10; Psalm 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. …

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2.1.26

Sunday’s Readings: Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13; Psalm 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’. …

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 1.25.26

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

…from your Pastor’s Desk – Brothers and Sisters in Christ, today’s Gospel from Matthew 4 shows Jesus beginning His mission: moving to the darkness of Galilee, proclaiming the Kingdom’s arrival, and calling ordinary fishermen—Peter, Andrew, James, John—to “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”. …

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 1.18.26

Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 49:3, 5-6; Psalm 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 Jr. To some 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. …

The Baptism of the Lord 1.11.26

Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; Psalm 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10; Acts 10:34-38; Matthew 3:13-17

…from your Pastor’s Desk – The Baptism of the Lord – And a voice came from the heavens, saying: “This is my beloved Son; with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3) Jesus has just been baptized by John. There’s a crowd. Many of them have also just been baptized. Jesus feels the enormity of the occasion and kneels to pray. Then, suddenly, something happens to change everything. …

The Epiphany of the Lord 1.4.26

Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 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. …

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph 12.28.25

Sunday’s Readings: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5; Colossians 3:12-21 OR 3:12-17; Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

…from your Pastor’s Desk – We are on the verge of another year. Hard to believe that Thursday will be 2026! It also means that we have another Holy Day to celebrate! A very special feast day. Thursday was Christmas, today is the feast of The Holy Family. Thursday we celebrate; ‘Mary, The Holy Mother Of God’ …

4th Sunday of Advent 12.21.25

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

…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. …