…from your 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 Holiday’s’ and ‘Happy Thanksgiving’ has become a secular salutation; but so far ‘Happy Easter’ stands firm in its acknowledgement of what we commemorate.…

…from your Pastor’s Desk Holy Week 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…

…from your Pastor’s Desk Spring Cleaning March 20th was the first day of spring, although with all the rain and cold weather, you may not have noticed. Traditionally, spring is a time to throw open the windows and clean out all we have stored and accumulated over these many cold and wet months. We easily amass so much more than we need.…

…from your Pastor’s Desk Annual Ministry Appeal&Bankruptcy Q and A I know some of you are waiting to commit your AMA offering until you hear whether these funds can be accessed for any legal settlements. Short answer – NO, they cannot. The funds raised by the Annual Ministry Appeal are received and held in trust for Ministries that are Super – Parochial,…

…from your Pastor’s Desk The Gospel Reading tells the story of a woman who is worthless by the standards of Jewish society at that time. Jesus has sent his disciples off for food, and he is sitting at a well when she comes to draw water. There is every reason why he shouldn’t talk to her at all. First, she is a…

…from your Pastor’s Desk Transfiguration This week we have the wonderful gospel of the Transfiguration of Jesus. For one brief moment, his disciples are allowed to see what lies ahead for all who follow his way. We begin our own ‘transfiguration’ while still on earth, not so much achieving ‘glorified body’, but transforming our heart, our spirit, our soul into the Lord’s.…

…from your Pastor’s Desk “Where have all the Flowers gone?” A few years ago, it used to be fashionable at this time of the year in certain circles to say to people “Have a happy Lent!” I must say that I was guilty of it myself! I stopped saying it because I think that it made the penitential season of Lent sound…

…from your Pastor’s Desk This Wednesday is 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. This raises a yearly question for each of us. What should I give up for Lent? Or, perhaps, what should I take on? Preferably…

…from your Pastor’s Desk Whatever Happened to Limbo? Here’s the short answer: while Purgatory (with a very different feel and a thoroughly revised understanding) remains very much a part of Catholic teaching and belief, Limbo does not. Just check out the official Catholic Catechism – it has 2,865 paragraphs. Purgatory gets three paragraphs; Limbo gets zero – not even a mention! While…

…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…