Pastoral Messages (Page 13)

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 2022

Sunday’s Readings: Wisdom 18:6-9; Psalms 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 – “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much….” – When Jesus says these words about us, two questions immediately arise. First, what has Jesus entrusted us with? Second, what therefore will be required of us? Each of us, naturally, has been given the gift of life. In our day and age, this is not a gift that we ought to take for granted. Still, when we thank God each day for the gift of life, what exactly are we giving thanks for? …

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 2022

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

……from your Pastor’s Desk – 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. …

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 2022

Sunday’s Readings: Genesis 18:1-10a; Psalms 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 to use 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. …

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 2022

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

……from your Pastor’s Desk – Beloved of God – If we listen carefully to the readings this Sunday, we will hear the whole Christian and Catholic life very gently stated—even (or especially) in this post-covid world, complete with Ukraine and high inflation. In the First Reading Moses describes how simple God’s command is. I would like to quote his words because they are beautiful. …

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 2022

Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 66:10-14c; Psalms 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20; Galatians 6:14-18; Luke 10:1-12, 17-20 OR 10:1:9

……from your Pastor’s Desk – Independence Day – How many people this weekend as they grill their hot dogs, drink their beer, light off their sparklers and fireworks – will stop for even a few moments and bow their head in gratitude? How many will try to think of creative ways to share their abundance with those who do not even have the basic necessities of life? …

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 2022

Sunday’s Readings: 1 Kings 19:16b, 19-21; Psalms 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11; Galatians 5:1, 13-18; Luke 9:51-62

……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 6th 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 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time’. I jokingly said to myself – aha – ‘Nobody Sunday’. …

Holy Trinity Sunday – 2022

Sunday’s Readings: Proverbs 8:22-31; Psalms 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15

……from your Pastor’s Desk – The Mystery of The Most Holy Trinity – It is Jesus Himself who teaches us the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. The Gospel today, from Saint John, is clear that Jesus understood both Father and Spirit. The development of this doctrine takes time because Jesus was not a teacher of philosophy or of theology. Jesus lived the mystery and spoke in such a way that we are able to come to understand it. …

Pentecost Sunday – 2022

Sunday’s Readings: Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11; Psalms 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13; OR Romans 8:8-17; 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! A mother’s birthday has a special appeal. It usually evokes a significant response in family members, especially in the strays. …