THE MONTH OF MARY
As Jesus hung on the cross, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son,” and to his beloved disciple, John, “Behold, your mother.” From early in the Church, Mary has been seen as the Mother of the Church. As any mother who loves her children, Mary cares for us and will intercede for us whenever we turn to her in need.
Throughout the Church’s history, we have often turned to Mary in our particular time of need. In 593AD, tradition tells of Pope St. Gregory the Great carrying the icon […]
FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
I was riding my bike a few days ago and passed one of our neighbors as he was leading his three kids on their bikes. Keeping my safe six foot distance, I called out to him and asked him how he was feeling. “Somewhere between stir and crazy,” he responded, “but hey, I get to spend more time with my kids.” Every cloud has a silver lining and I was glad he could see the silver lining in the cloud that’s been hanging over all of us these days. One […]
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY
Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers of the parish and the mothers of all our parishioners! We all know how important our mothers have been to us as we grew up and so we join with our nation in honoring them today. And, as we are still in a stay-at-home state due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, we become even more aware of the essential role they play in our homes in ways that we may have taken for granted in the past.
So often I hear Mother’s Day derided by […]
FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
We’re all familiar with the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. It’s a wonderful image for us, especially these days as we feel lost and uncertain as to where we – or, in fact, the entire world – is headed. As we hear in today’s Gospel, Jesus calls each of his sheep by name – just as he did at our baptism – and leads them out to find green pasture and plentiful water for the day. We are also familiar with the story of Jesus going after the […]
FEAST OF ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA
We celebrated the feast of our patron, St. Catherine of Siena, this past Wednesday and, as I reflected on her life, I also turned to our stained glass window in church for inspiration. Like so many of our stained glass windows, this one is filled with symbolism that teaches us about our patron saint. So, I would like to tell you about this window. First, however, allow me to offer you a brief biography of our patron saint; you may be surprised how much our time has in common with […]
THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER
Of all of the stories in the Gospels, the one we just heard is certainly one of the most well-known; we’re all familiar with it. But, this year, I think this story can strike a special cord for us because we can really identify with the two disciples. They were frightened and confused. Their plans had been upended, their hopes and dreams had been shattered and they just wanted to get out of town to escape danger. Sounds like us right now, doesn’t it, as we continue to struggle through […]