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. …
Sunday’s Readings: Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalms 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9; 1 Corinthians 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28
…from your Pastor’s Desk – How to Overcome the Darkness of Anxiety – -Speak with the authority and humility of a Child of God. -Have a place where you belong and can pray. …
Sunday’s Readings: 1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19; Psalms 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10; 1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20; John 1:35-42
…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. Note: Still in Process. To those that weren’t born yet these names might as well be Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony and Harriet Tubman. Great historical figures all. …
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. …