…From Your Pastor’s Desk “Be not Afraid. I go before you always. Come follow me, and I will give you rest”. Great words from a song written by Bob Dufford, S.J. The beginning of the second verse is very poignant for today’s Gospel: “If you pass through raging waters in the sea, you shall not drown…” The disciples in today’s gospel were…

…From Your Pastor’s Desk HAPPY FATHERS DAY The word Father brings up many different emotions and feelings for people. Hopefully for most it is positive, but not everyone has had a good father. Some have never had a father at all. So what does it mean to be a father? Let us look at one of the most famous fathers. Saint Joseph.…

…From Your Pastor’s Desk The Writing below was originally crafted in 2021, but it bears repeating.So, here is an updated version. No-Body Sunday? For the last 16 Weekends every Sunday has had a title from ‘The First Sunday of Lent’ on February 18th up until last week’s feast of ‘The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ’. So, when I first looked…

…From Your Pastor’s Desk The Eucharist and SCUBA People have commented that when I raise the Host after Consecration, I hold it up longer than most priests. Well, if I do, I am not doing it for dramatic effect! When I hold up the Eucharist after Consecration, you and I spend a moment in adoration. At that moment I know that you…

…From Your Pastor’s Desk Memorial DayMonday, May 27 Dear God our Father, Your word tells us, “Unless the LORD build the house, they labor in vain who build. Unless the LORD guard the city, in vain does the guard keep watch” (Psalm 127:1). Thank You for those who have guarded not only our cities, but our country, allies, and many other communities…

…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…

…From Your Pastor’s Desk Ascension Day Parting messages have their own impact. The last words said by someone moving away or even going away for a long time hold special places in our hearts. I remember the many deployments I went on in my years of military service and how touching were those words between husband and wife and parent and child.…

…From Your Pastor’s Desk Have you ever fallen in love? I hope so. To fall in love is essentially an emotional experience. And the word “love” is often used casually as we hear phrases like “I love Pizza” or “I love the Giants” or “I love that person – be they, actor, athlete or even favorite saint”. But back to falling in…

…From Your Pastor’s Desk In last Sunday’s gospel reading Jesus was the good shepherd and we the sheep. Today’s image expresses an even closer relationship: a vine and its branches. This is so close a relationship that you could say it is beyond relationship; it expresses identification. “I am the vine…you the branches.” But, as I’ve found out since living in ‘wine-county’…

…A Reflection by Sr. Candice Tucci, O.S.F. The stone rejected by the builders,becomes the cornerstone. Cornerstones are crucial to the integrity of the building. It is laid first to make sure of the building’s stability and is the rock upon which the weight of the whole stands strong. This one stone is crucial to the whole. Jesus the Christ is the Cornerstone…