……from your Pastor’s Desk Don’t be a Hater! The first words we hear from Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel passage might startle us. They were spoken by the Lord to convey without the shadow of a doubt a very important message to his followers. The words of Jesus are these: “If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother,…

……from your Pastor’s Desk A Lesson in Humility The Litany of Humility is a prayer worth pondering. As it is a long litany the following are only excerpts: From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of…

……from your Pastor’s Desk Heaven’s Gate Jesus tells two parables about someone asking a favor at a late hour. They teach us a lot. Maybe you remember the first one, which Jesus told two weeks ago. He said there was a man knocking on a friend’s door at midnight, wanting to borrow some bread. The friend yelled back; Do not bother me;…

……from your Pastor’s Desk The Assumption of The Blessed Virgin Mary Monday, August 15 “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” – Luke 1:42 The feasts of Mary may be puzzling to the casual observer. And some are surprised at the brevity of the dogma of this specific feast in its entirety: “We pronounce, declare and…

……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…

……from your Pastor’s Desk Well, I told you last week that God hears and answers our prayers. And sometimes real fast! It wasn’t just a few weeks ago I mentioned that we are looking for several teachers for our Religious Education Program, and asked your prayers. Well – we found them – or, maybe, they found us. So, I asked each of…

……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…

……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…

……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.…

……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…