As they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.  While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.  They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?  This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”  (Acts 1:10-11)

This Thursday, we will celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of […]

CONGRATULATIONS FIRST COMMUNION CLASS!

Last weekend and this weekend, (at the 5:00pm and 9:30am Masses), 86 of our young parishioners received our Lord in Holy Communion for the first time!  This is a very important event in their faith lives as they now join with the rest of the believing community in participating fully in the Celebration of the Eucharist.  As the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains so well:

The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.”  The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of […]

THE MONTH OF MARY

It’s hard to believe that it’s already May, but here it is!  As you surely know, this month is traditionally dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God and the Mother of the Church.  As Pope Paul VI expressed so well in his encyclical entitled the Month of May, this is the “month which the piety of the faithful has especially dedicated to Our Blessed Lady,” and it is the occasion for a “moving tribute of faith and love which Catholics in every part of the […]

Alleluia!  Our Lord is risen and offers us new life!  We certainly need to hear this message this year as we finally emerge from the coronavirus pandemic but now find ourselves watching in horror the carnage and destruction resulting from the war in Ukraine.  The Paschal mystery proclaims that Jesus, truly man – the son of Mary – really died on the cross and then overcame the power of death as he rose on Easter. The resurrection of the body, the central mystery of Easter, is an essential Christian doctrine.  As […]

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!  (Lk 19:38).  On Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, we are called to join with our Lord, Jesus Christ, as he makes a triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and then suffers derision and mockery, scourging and finally crucifixion because he comes to offer a new way of life and claims to be who he truly is – the Son of God.  This week is, indeed, what we Christians call it: Holy […]

Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her.

Be joyful, all who were in mourning;

Exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast. (Is 66:10:11)

Today, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, is also known as Laetare Sunday.  It gets this name from the first word of the Entrance Antiphon used at Mass when there is no music; you will see it quoted above.  In Latin, the antiphon begins with the word “Laetare,” which, as you see above, translates into “Rejoice.”  As we quickly approach the end of Lent – next week is the Fifth […]