“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:40).  Next weekend, we will join with all parishes throughout the country in taking up the annual collection for Catholic Relief Services.  Founded 76 years ago by the Catholic Bishops of the United States to serve World War II survivors in Europe – many of whom had lost everything in the war – it has since then expanded significantly in size and scope of work.  With a staff of […]

Happy New Year!  I hope you have enjoyed this marvelous festive season as we celebrated once again the birth of our Savior at Christmas as well as the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph last Sunday.  Gathering together with family and friends is certainly a wonderful way to commemorate our Lord joining our human family so that we could become once again worthy to be part of God’s family!  The Christmas season ends with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord next Sunday.

As we begin […]

“As long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the Lord.” (1 Samuel 1:28).

As we continue our celebration of the Christmas Octave on this feast of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, this Sunday we hear readings at Mass that are about just that: family – accented by dedication to the Lord, and faith and trust in God with an openness to His will.  In our first reading from 1 Samuel, we hear Hannah, the mother of Samuel, dedicate her only son, whom she bore at an […]

Christmas is just two days away and we all get an early peak at the beautiful Christmas decorations in our church today.  But, you will notice that the two Christmas trees – one at the St. Joseph Shrine and one in the baptistery – that had been filled with 575 tags for women’s and children’s gifts at Mercy Hospice – are gone; so are all the tags!  Over the past few weeks, so many of you have so generously taken the tags and returned with gifts for these needy women […]

The Christmas season is filled with red and green; they are festive colors that mark the season!  As you read last week’s and this week’s Parish Bulletin, however, you may notice some unwelcome red as you see that our expenses exceeded our income.  This is the second time in this fiscal year that we have found ourselves operating in the red.  It’s the first time since I’ve been your pastor that we’ve been in the red so early in the fiscal year.  Usually, we don’t get to this situation until […]

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the wave. …And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud. …When these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand” (Lk 21:25ff).

With these words, our Lord helps to prepare us for his coming.  As we begin a new liturgical year today, the First Sunday of Advent, allow me to […]

On this, the last Sunday of the Church’s liturgical year, the Church calls us to think of the end of our lives, our final judgment and our final destiny – the Kingdom of God.  The apocalyptic vision that we hear in today’s first reading from the Book of Daniel sets the tone by speaking about the coming of a “Son of man” who receives dominion, glory and kingship over all peoples, nations, and languages who will serve him.  The passage from the Book of Revelation that we hear today is […]