Sunday’s Readings: Acts of the Apostles 4:32-35; Psalms 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24; 1 John 5:1-6; John 20:19-31

…from your Pastor’s Desk – “Thinking Thomas” – No Doubt. – There is something to be said for doubt at times. It is a good thing to be able to doubt oneself, provided it doesn’t become an addiction that cripples us; to doubt one’s ideas, one’s principles, one’s work and to doubt much of what we hear. …

Sunday’s Readings: Acts of the Apostles 10:34a, 37-43; Psalms 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23; Colossians 3:1-4 OR 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8; John 20:1-9

…from the Pastor’s Desk – HAPPY EASTER! A Happy Thought on a Happy Feast. – Have you ever considered that this is the only time when people, even strangers, give a spiritually based greeting? Merry Christmas is often replaced by ‘Happy Holidays’ and ‘Happy Thanksgiving’ has become a secular salutation; but so far ‘Happy Easter’ stands firm in its acknowledgement of what we commemorate. Even though there is more wide-spread celebration at Christmas, we are truly an Easter people. …

Sunday’s Readings: At procession: Mark 11:1-10 OR John 12:12-16 At Mass: Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalms 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24; Philippians 2:6-11; Mark 14:1—15:47 OR Mark 15:1-39

…from your Pastor’s Desk – This week we begin a time so sacred to us Catholics that it is called ‘Holy Week.’ It is true that as far as individual celebrations go, Christmas seems to overshadow Easter, but Holy Week is more than just Easter Sunday. Today’s Liturgy makes a diametrical shift from the celebration of our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem to the agony of His Passion and death as told in the Gospel of Luke. This day is an ‘Overture,’ if you will, of the days to come. …

Sunday’s Readings: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalms 51:3-4, 12-13, 14-15; Hebrews 5:7-9; John 12:20-33

…from your Pastor’s Desk – Here is a ‘truism’ – Every life worth living, every great work, has a price that has to be paid. And whatever that price is, it always involves letting go of something we value.
The child, in a sense, has to let go of childhood to become an adult.
The single have to let go of the ‘single’ lifestyle to become married.
The elderly have to let go of the work-a-day world to become retired.
Life comprises then, a series of letting go, or as todays Gospel says – ‘deaths’. …

Sunday’s Readings: 2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23; Psalms 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6; Ephesians 2:4-10; John 3:14-21

…from your Pastor’s Desk – Here we are, half-way through Lent 2024. If you are like most of us – you’ve already struggled with your Lenten Resolutions – perhaps you have even flat out failed and fallen. Do not be discouraged – Christ Himself fell 3 times on His way to Calvary – but He got back up each time and so can you. Here are some special prayers to help you through this week. …

Sunday’s Readings: Exodus 20:1-17 OR 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17; Psalms 19:8, 9, 10, 11; 1 Corinthians 1:22-25; John 2:13-25

…from your Pastor’s Desk – MID-WAY. – No, not the WWII battle or the Aircraft Carrier. This Thursday you will be mid-way through Lent 2024. How is it going? Have you been able to maintain your Lenten resolutions? I find myself doing a series of ‘re-starts’. I think God is okay with that. We do the best we can. But you may be asking yourself, “What if I’m at the midpoint of Lent and not much is going on? …

Sunday’s Readings: Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18; Psalms 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19; Romans 8:31b-34; Mark 9:2-10

…from your Pastor’s Desk – “10 Things to Remember for Lent” – 1. Remember the formula. The Church does a good job capturing certain truths with easy-to-remember lists and formulas: 10 Commandments, 7 sacraments, 3 persons in the Trinity. For Lent, the Church gives us almost a slogan—Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving—as the three things we need to work on during the season. …

Sunday’s Readings: Genesis 9:8-15; Psalms 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15

…from your Pastor’s Desk – Realigning Our Priorities – All of us have, at one time or another, named certain things as our “priorities”. From time to time, when we become aware of our not doing something that is really important, we say, “I have to make that a priority.” Lent is an important time to do a top-to-bottom review of what we value and what we actually do in our everyday lives. …

Sunday’s Readings: Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46; Psalms 32:1-2, 5, 11; 1 Corinthians 10:31—11:1; Mark 1:40-45

…from your Pastor’s Desk – This Wednesday we have a fascinating conflation of days. Wednesday is both Valentine’s Day, a special day of special recognition of our loved one[s] and 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. I remember that this has happened several times in the not too distant past. But let us not have one preclude the other – for both celebrate love. One at a human level – the other at human and Divine. “What greater love can one have than to lay down one’s life for a friend?” …

Sunday’s Readings: Job 7:1-4, 6-7; Psalms 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6; 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 1:29-39

…from your Pastor’s Desk – As I re-read this bulletin – I see a lot of reminders of the rules…let us not forget why we follow them. Let our motivations be pure. It’s not sufficient to know the rules, let us live them — understanding the spirit in which these rules were fashioned. Let us allow God’s spirit to penetrate our being so deeply… that our actions and God’s desires become one. …