FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT
Have you noticed them? The crocuses and daffodils that are beginning to break through the soil and some are even blooming, the rhododendron buds that are starting to bulge, the hint of green in the weeping willows – all of nature is getting ready to delight us, once again, with a glorious spring. As I mentioned at the beginning of our celebration this morning, on this, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, we are invited to rejoice. This Sunday has been traditionally known as Laetare Sunday, taken from the entrance antiphon […]
Reflections on the “Year of St. Joseph” in anticipation of the Solemnity of St. Joseph
“Where was St. Joseph buried?” a parishioner asked me recently. I thought for a moment and replied, “I don’t think we know. I have been to three places that claim to be burial sites for Mary: in Jerusalem, Ephesus and Kashmir. I have been to two burial sites for Jesus: inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and just outside the walls of Jerusalem. But I’ve never heard of or read about a burial place for St. Joseph.” “How, sad,” the parishioner commented. As I thought more about it throughout […]
THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT
Over the past three weeks, the Sunday readings have reminded us of God’s covenant relationship with us. Remember, a covenant is an agreement between two parties, based on love and calling for a faithful relationship. God has established covenants with us because of his infinite love. He promises to care for us and calls us to be faithful to him. On the first Sunday of Lent, we heard of God making a covenant with Noah, promising him that “there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth.” This is […]
NEXT GENERATION PARISH
This has been a very interesting year, hasn’t it!?! Last February, we started hearing about a virus that was spreading quickly around the world with deadly consequences. The medical world struggled to understand and even name it; it finally settled on COVID-19 since it was a version of the coronavirus discovered at the end of 2019. With increasing alarm, our government reacted, calling for all non-essential activity to stop for a short time beginning on 18 March 2021. That short time was extended and rules and guidance changed constantly as […]
SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT
“Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love … [and] offer him up as a holocaust.” These are shocking words to us; we can’t imagine anything so barbaric. But, they would not necessarily have been so for Abraham. Child sacrifice was an accepted practice in Abraham’s time among the pagan religions; even some of the Jewish kings practiced it. But our God does not desire human sacrifice. So, as we hear with great relief in today’s first reading, God stops him! God was putting Abraham to the test, […]
Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa and Collection for the Church in Latin America
We are all finding life to be a little more difficult this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. You may find that your regular work schedule and your children’s school schedule have been significantly altered, your children’s sport activities and your social life have been seriously curtailed. You may even find yourself between jobs or you may have gotten ill from COVID-19 or even had a member of your family or one of your friends die from the virus. It has, indeed, been a difficult year for all […]
First Sunday of Lent
As if the coronavirus pandemic isn’t enough of a worldwide crisis, now we’re struggling with extreme temperature swings and ongoing storms not only here but in unusual spots around the world. Did you see the photograph of the Pantheon in Athens covered with snow? It’s such an unusual event that the place has been packed not with tourists but locals coming to take a look. And, on the other hand, there was recently a tragedy in India where dozens of people lost their lives due to flooding caused by heavy […]