FEAST OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL

“You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.  …I give to you the keys to the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 16:18a, 19).  With these proclamations, Jesus indicates both that there will be a church and that Peter will be its foundation as Jesus returns to his heavenly Father.

The New Testament clearly shows St. Peter as the leader of the apostles.  Jesus chooses him to have a special relationship with him.  He was the first one whom Jesus called to […]

“Jesus said to the crowds: ‘I am the living bread come down from heaven.  Whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.’” (Jn. 6:51).  Last week, we explored the central mystery of the Church as we celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.  Today, we celebrate another important mystery of our faith: the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy […]

“In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  This is how we Christians begin all our prayers because we believe in and worship a triune God.  But, what do we actually mean when we say that God is a Trinity?  As we celebrate Trinity Sunday, allow me to offer some reflections on this very important mystery of our faith.

First of all, it is important to realize we are dealing with a mystery, a reality that is well beyond our total understanding, just as […]

“I have told you this while I am with you.  The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you. (Jn. 14:26)

As we prepare to come to the end of the Easter season once again with the celebration of Pentecost Sunday next week, I would like to offer some reflections on the importance of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church and in each of our lives.  If you have been paying […]

 This has certainly been an exciting – and, indeed, historic – time for the Universal Church as 132 cardinals from 70 countries around the world recently met in the Sistine Chapel to elect our next pope.  And, after just four ballots, so many of us watched excitedly as white smoke billowed from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel just after noon on 8 May.  I don’t know about you, but I certainly did not expect an American to be elected – the first pope from the United States of America […]

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.  Mother’s Day is not part of the Church’s liturgical calendar.  In fact, liturgical directives state that “this secular observance must in no way diminish the primary focus of Sunday as the celebration of the paschal mystery.”  Yet, this national holiday allows an opportunity to […]

Habemus Papam!  We have a Pope!  This has certainly been an exciting – and, indeed, historic – time for the Universal Church as 132 cardinals from 70 countries around the world started meeting in the Sistine Chapel to elect our next pope on 7 May.  And, after just four ballots, so many of us watched excitedly as white smoke billowed from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel just after noon on the second day.  I don’t know about you, but I certainly […]

As we continue experiencing a rather unusual time in the Church between the death of Pope Francis and the election of a new pope, allow me to provide you with a step-by-step overview of how the Church operates during this time.  Over the 2,000 years of its existence, the Catholic Church has developed laws, regulations and protocols to order its life; the time of the sede vacante (vacant seat) and the upcoming conclave are no exception.  This period of time has been regulated over the past 30 years by the […]

 HAPPY EASTER!  As we bring the Octave of Easter to its conclusion, know that I have kept you in my prayers all week, that you may experience ever more fully the joy of the Resurrection.  Today is also Divine Mercy Sunday.  How appropriate it is to celebrate our Lord’s mercy as we say farewell to Pope Francis whose years of ministry as our Holy Father were highlighted by his preaching on mercy both in word and deed.  Who can forget the first Good Friday that he celebrated as pope.  Rather […]

Alleluia!  This Easter proclamation that we repeat over and over again during the joyful Easter Season has a powerful meaning, one that we should all know and embrace.  It is a combination of two Hebrew words: “hallelu” (the plural imperative of “hallel”) which means “praise” and “yah,” the first half of the Hebrew word for God, Yahweh.  So, it literally means “everyone praise God!”  We should praise God always because of all the good he does for us every moment of our lives.  But Easter is the time for us […]